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RFE/RL Newsline, 08-03-24
CONTENTS
[01] FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS U.S. WILL ALLOW RUSSIA TO MONITOR
MISSILE-DEFENSE OPERATION
[02] MEDIA DISCUSS NEW MOMENTUM ON MISSILE DEFENSE
[03] FOREIGN MINISTER MEETS WITH HAMAS LEADER
[04] SECURITY AGENTS RAID MOSCOW OFFICES OF TNK-BP AND BP...
[05] ...IN WHAT ONE NEWSPAPER SAYS COULD ECLIPSE YUKOS SCANDAL
[06] MURDER TRIAL OF EX-YUKOS EXECUTIVE GETS UNDER WAY
[07] 'VEDOMOSTI' PREDICTS FEW PERSONNEL CHANGES AT THE TOP
[08] LUKIN SAYS VIOLENCE IN RUSSIAN PRISONS BORDERS ON TORTURE
[09] CRIMINAL CASE BROUGHT AGAINST ELISTA MAYOR
[10] CHECHEN RESISTANCE LAUNCHES MAJOR ATTACK
[11] ARMENIAN COALITION JUNIOR PARTNER URGES GOVERNMENT OF NATIONAL
UNITY
[12] ARMENIA ACCUSES AZERBAIJAN OF SEEKING TO DISSOLVE OSCE MINSK GROUP
[13] GEORGIAN, U.S. PRESIDENTS MEET
[14] GEORGIAN OLIGARCH'S WIDOW ACCUSES AUTHORITIES
[15] KAZAKH PARLIAMENT RATIFIES BORDER-SECURITY ACCORD WITH KYRGYZSTAN
[16] KAZAKH NATIONAL SECURITY COMMITTEE CONVENES HIGH-LEVEL
COUNTERTERRORISM MEETING
[17] KAZAKH RIGHTS GROUP ACCUSES SECURITY FORCES OF HUMAN RIGHTS
VIOLATIONS
[18] POLL SAYS KAZAKH PRESIDENT HOLDS SIGNIFICANT DEGREE OF 'PUBLIC
TRUST'
[19] KYRGYZ PRESIDENT ORDERS HEIGHTENED SECURITY MEASURES
[20] U.S. EMBASSY SUSPENDS ISSUING VISAS FOR BELARUSIANS
[21] BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT SLAMS CUSTOMS SERVICE, LAW ENFORCEMENT SYSTEM
[22] CANADA, NEW NATO MEMBERS SUPPORT UKRAINE'S BID TO JOIN ALLIANCE
[23] POLICE BREAK UP CRIMEAN TATAR PROTEST
[24] SERBIA'S NEIGHBORS RECOGNIZE KOSOVA
[25] UN REASSERTS AUTHORITY IN NORTHERN KOSOVA
[26] U.S. AUTHORIZES MILITARY ASSISTANCE TO KOSOVA
[27] MOLDOVAN PRIME MINISTER SUBMITS RESIGNATION
[28] CZECH RECONSTRUCTION TEAM BEGINS WORK IN CENTRAL AFGHAN PROVINCE
[29] MILITANTS DESTROY ANOTHER MOBILE-PHONE TOWER IN SOUTHERN
AFGHANISTAN
[30] THREE SUSPECTED TERRORISTS ARRESTED BY AFGHAN POLICE
[31] NATO ASKS FOR AFGHAN SUPPORT ON ANTI-KORAN FILM
[32] SWITZERLAND DEFENDS GAS DEAL WITH IRAN
[33] U.S. VICE PRESIDENT WARY OF NUCLEAR PROGRAM IN IRAN
[34] IRAN'S REFORMISTS WANT RECOUNT IN TEHRAN
[35] IRANIAN PRESIDENT SAYS ELECTIONS THWARTED ENEMIES
[36] IRAQI GOVERNORATES LAW APPROVED
[37] RECONCILIATION CONFERENCE ENDS IN IRAQ CAPITAL WITH CALL FOR UNITY
[38] IRAQI PREMIER PROMISES JOBS FOR SUNNIS FIGHTING AL-QAEDA
[39] FRANCE TO TAKE IN 500 IRAQI CHALDEAN CHRISTIANS
[40] BOMB ATTACK NEAR SHI'ITE SHRINE KILLS 52 IN CENTRAL IRAQ
[41] U.S. FORCES ARREST 17 SUSPECTED TERRORISTS THROUGHOUT IRAQ
[42] THERE IS NO END NOTE TODAY.
Thursday, March 20, 2008 Volume 12 Number 55
Russia
[01] FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS U.S. WILL ALLOW RUSSIA TO MONITOR
MISSILE-DEFENSE OPERATION
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview published in the
daily "Izvestia" on March 20 that the United States recently offered
Russia "confidence-building measures" that will enable Russian monitors
and monitoring equipment to determine that the proposed missile-defense
system is not directed against Russia (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 17,
18, and 19, 2008). Lavrov added that "we have managed to make Americans
acknowledge that our concerns are not unfounded.... In such [military
systems], what matters is the potential and not just the intentions."
He did not say whether the proposal is enough to end Russian opposition
to missile defense. Under the U.S. proposals brought to Moscow by
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates
this week, Russia reportedly will be able to use monitoring equipment
and occasional visits by monitoring officials at the proposed radar
site in the Czech Republic and at the interceptor base in Poland.
Germany's "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" reported on March 20 that
Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek suggested recently that the U.S.
proposal is acceptable to Prague because it does not involve a
permanent Russian military presence on Czech territory. The daily also
cited remarks by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk to the effect that
the proposal is worthwhile if it makes Russia feel more secure. Critics
charge that Moscow knows that missile defense is no threat, but uses
the issue to bully its neighbors, try to split NATO, and obtain
concessions from Washington on other issues. PM
[02] MEDIA DISCUSS NEW MOMENTUM ON MISSILE DEFENSE
The daily "Novye izvestia" noted on March 20 that the latest U.S.
proposals brought unexpected momentum into the discussion on missile
defense. The paper suggested that the recently announced replacement of
U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General Henry Obering by his deputy, army
Major General Patrick O'Reilly, as head of the U.S. Missile Defense
Agency might have something to do with the emergence of the U.S.
proposals and the subsequent positive movement on the missile-defense
issue. The daily "Vremya novostei" commented on March 20 that the tone
and atmosphere of bilateral talks on missile defense became much more
cordial during the latest talks in Moscow than was the case before. The
paper suggested that progress is now possible because the
administration of President George W. Bush urgently wants to resolve
several important strategic issues with Russia before Bush leaves
office in January 2009. "Vremya novostei" also indicated that Russia
now realizes that it cannot block missile defense and seeks instead to
obtain face-saving concessions from Washington. PM
[03] FOREIGN MINISTER MEETS WITH HAMAS LEADER
The daily "Vremya novostei" reported on March 20 that "Foreign Minister
Lavrov's three-day tour of the Middle East began [on March 19] with a
visit to Syria and a nasty surprise that stunned the Israelis and
leadership of the Palestinian Autonomy...[namely] a meeting with Hamas
leader Khalid Mish'al." Moscow is the only major power outside the
Middle East that maintains relations with the radical Islamic Hamas
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 28, June 19 and 29, July 31, and
November 29, 2007). The paper noted that "Russia's policy in the Middle
East is rooted in the Soviet past. The Kremlin deals with all involved
parties without exception," and that Hamas won the Palestinian
elections in January 2006. Israel and Palestinian Authority President
Mahmud Abbas previously criticized Moscow's ties to Hamas, but Russian
officials responded that there will be no settlement in the Middle East
without Hamas. On March 20, the daily "Vedomosti" took stock of the war
in Iraq to mark the fifth anniversary of the outbreak of that conflict.
The paper suggested that "the war in Iraq became a textbook trap of
disparity between the means and the end for the United States and its
allies. Their goal was never achieved. Continuation of the military
campaign and justifying it are as difficult as are admitting the
futility of the enterprise and getting out." PM
[04] SECURITY AGENTS RAID MOSCOW OFFICES OF TNK-BP AND BP...
Law enforcement officers on March 19 raided the Moscow offices of
TNK-BP, the oil company co-owned on a 50-50 basis by the British oil
major BP and three Russian companies -- Mikhail Fridman's Alfa Group,
Leonard Blavatnik's Access Industries and Viktor Vekselberg's Renova --
and then raided the Moscow offices of BP itself. Citing an unnamed
TNK-BP employee, crimezone.ru reported that those who raided TNK-BP's
offices showing Federal Security Service (FSB) indentification.
However, a spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry's Investigative
Committee, Irina Dudukina, told RIA Novosti that the raid was being
carried out by Interior Ministry investigators on the basis of a
criminal case brought against the Sidanco oil company, which was bought
by BP in 1997 and absorbed into TNK-BP in 2003. Newsru.com reported
that the case against Sidanco was brought in April 1999 and involved
charges of "premeditated bankruptcy." Dudukina said the officials were
collecting documents, not conducting a search. However, "Vremya
novostei" too reported on March 20 that the raids were conducted by FSB
personnel. JB
[05] ...IN WHAT ONE NEWSPAPER SAYS COULD ECLIPSE YUKOS SCANDAL
"Vremya novostei" on March 20 examined possible motives behind the
raids on the Moscow offices of TNK-BP and BP. "If the siloviki, our
sources note, 'came for' the Russian half of TNK-BP, then it looks like
an attempt to begin the process of transferring an oil asset to one of
the state holding companies even before the presidential inauguration
of Dmitry Medvedev," the daily wrote. "If the matter also concerns an
'encroachment' on the English share in TNK-BP, then it threatens to be
a strong international scandal, the consequences of which may exceed
even the Yukos case. And in that case, the matter will concern the
image of both presidents at once -- outgoing [President] Vladimir
Putin, who, as is well-known...gave his blessing to the deal between
TNK and BP, and incoming [President] Dmitry Medvedev, who will have to
start off his work with a reconciliation...with the world investment
community." JB
[06] MURDER TRIAL OF EX-YUKOS EXECUTIVE GETS UNDER WAY
The murder trial in absentia of former Yukos executive Leonid Nevzlin
began in Moscow on March 19. "The Moscow Times" reported on March 20
that Nevzlin, who fled to Israel in 2003 and currently resides there,
faces 11 charges, including murder and attempted murder, following a
four-year investigation led by the Prosecutor-General's Office. Nevzlin
has denied all the charges, claiming they are politically motivated.
The daily "Kommersant" reported on March 20 that Nevzlin is accused of
organizing five murders and six attempted murders for which former
Yukos security chief Aleksei Pichugin has already been sentenced to
life in prison. However, one of the targets of an attempted murder
allegedly planned by Nevzlin, Viktor Kolesov, former chief of
administration of the Yukos-controlled Rosprom, told the Moscow City
Court he doubts Nevzlin was behind the 1998 attack in which he was
beaten and robbed. Prosecutors allege Nevzlin ordered the attack on
Kolesov because Kolesov's "professional growth" posed a threat to
Nevzlin's "personal and professional interests." However, Kolesov told
the court that Nevzlin could simply have had him fired from Rosprom. JB
[07] 'VEDOMOSTI' PREDICTS FEW PERSONNEL CHANGES AT THE TOP
"Vedomosti" predicted on March 20 that the administration of future
President Medvedev, who will take office in May, will differ little
from the current Kremlin administration, with Sergei Sobyanin remaining
the head of the presidential administration and Vladislav Surkov
staying on as a deputy presidential administration chief. The daily
quoted a source "close to the presidential administration" as saying
that no final decision has been made as to who will head the Kremlin
administration, but that a "short list" includes Sobyanin, Surkov and
Igor Shuvalov, an aide to President Putin who is close to Medvedev.
However, "Vedomosti" quoted a source in Surkov's entourage as
categorically denying the possibility Surkov will be named Kremlin
administration chief. It also quoted a source "close to the Kremlin"
who denied that Shuvalov will fill that post and said that Shuvalov
will instead become head of the government apparatus, which serves the
prime minister and his cabinet. Medvedev has said he will choose Putin
to serve as his prime minister and Putin has said he will accept the
job. "Vedomosti" quoted two sources in the presidential administration
and two people "close to the Kremlin" as saying that the main figures
currently in the Kremlin administration, including Sobyanin and Surkov,
will keep their posts. The newspaper also quoted a Kremlin-connected
"political technologist" as saying that Igor Sechin, the deputy
presidential-administration chief often identified as the informal
leader of the Kremlin "siloviki," will likely become head of the
secretariat of the future prime minister and hold the rank of first
deputy prime minister. JB
[08] LUKIN SAYS VIOLENCE IN RUSSIAN PRISONS BORDERS ON TORTURE
In remarks to the Federation Council on March 19, human rights
ombudsman Vladimir Lukin expressed concern about the situation in
Russia's correctional facilities, including the practice of violence
"approaching the level of torture," newsru.com reported. "Over the past
10 years, the situation in the penitentiary system has changed," Lukin
told the Russian parliament's upper house, adding that some aspects of
prison life have improved, with new facilities being built. "But,
unfortunately, the situation is still difficult, as shown by the riots
that occurred last year in several [prison] colonies, including
colonies for minors," he said. According to Lukin, the main problem in
these penal colonies is "violence sometimes approaching the level of
torture" and that this situation "must be solved." In February, Lukin
called conditions in Russian prisons "close to torture" and slander
charges were brought against Lyov Ponomaryov, executive director of the
For Human Rights NGO, for stating in a 2006 interview that Federal
Corrections Service head Yury Kalinin is "the author of a sadistic
system of torture" and describing Russia's network of 40 strict-regime
prisons as "torture zones" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 26, 2008).
Newsru.com noted that video footage showing OMON riot police severely
beating inmates at a Sverdlovsk Oblast prison colony was posted on
youtube.com last month. JB
[09] CRIMINAL CASE BROUGHT AGAINST ELISTA MAYOR
A criminal case on charges of abuse of his official position has been
opened against Rady Burulov, who in January challenged Kalmykia
President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov to resign (see "RFE/RL Newsline," January
11 and 30, 3008), "Kommersant" reported on March 20. Burulov is said to
have concluded a contract to supply heating oil to the city with a
company founded by his father that is headed by his wife, and thus
inflicted financial damage on the municipal authorities estimated at
698,000 rubles ($29,465). "Nezavisimaya gazeta" on March 7 predicted
that in the wake of the strong showing in Elista in the March 2
elections to a new republican parliament of the combined Communist and
nonparty opposition, Ilyumzhinov would find a way to dismiss and thus
neutralize Burulov (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 4, 2008). LF
[10] CHECHEN RESISTANCE LAUNCHES MAJOR ATTACK
Some 70 resistance fighters entered the village of Alkhazurovo in
Urus-Martan Raion southwest of Grozny late on March 19 without
encountering any resistance and launched an attack using grenade
throwers and other arms, on the local government building, which was
burned to the ground, the resistance website kavkazcenter.com reported.
They also engaged in a battle with pro-Moscow Chechen police in which
no fewer than 13 police were killed and between seven and 10 wounded. A
Chechen government spokesman told kavkaz-uzel.ru that eight militants
were also killed; he said the total number of attackers was far
smaller, between 10 and 15. LF
Transcaucasia And Central Asia
[11] ARMENIAN COALITION JUNIOR PARTNER URGES GOVERNMENT OF NATIONAL
UNITY
The Supreme Body in Armenia of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation-Dashnaktsutiun (HHD) issued a statement in Yerevan on March
19 calling on all parties represented in parliament to form a
government of national unity, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported. The
HHD argued that doing so is the only way to implement the "serious
reforms" it says are needed to overcome the current standoff between
the authorities and the opposition in the wake of the disputed February
19 presidential election and the subsequent clashes on March 1 between
police and supporters of defeated presidential candidate and former
President Levon Ter-Petrossian. Of the five parties represented in
parliament, four -- the Republican Party of Armenia, Bargavach
Hayastan, the HHD and Orinats Yerkir -- have recognized the official
election returns, according to which Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian won
the ballot with 52.8 percent of the vote, followed by Ter-Petrossian
with 21.51 percent. The Zharangutiun (Heritage) party headed by former
Foreign Minister Raffi Hovannisian has rejected the official results as
falsified. Responding on March 19 to a question from Zharangutiun
parliament deputy Zaruhi Postanjian, President-elect Sarkisian said a
"detailed investigation" is needed before he takes any decision on
granting an amnesty to participants in the March 1 clashes in Yerevan
between police and protesters, Noyan Tapan reported. A second
parliament deputy, Viktor Dallakian, has also proposed such an amnesty
for persons who took to the streets on March 1 "to express their
political views" but did not engage in violence (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
March 19, 2008). LF
[12] ARMENIA ACCUSES AZERBAIJAN OF SEEKING TO DISSOLVE OSCE MINSK GROUP
Vartan Oskanian told the Armenian parliament on March 19 that
Azerbaijan is seeking through the OSCE Secretariat to force the
dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group that for the past 16 years has been
engaged in trying to mediate a solution to the Karabakh conflict,
RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported. The three states that co-chair the
Minsk Group -- France, Russia and the U.S. -- released a statement in
Vienna on March 19 reiterating that they support Azerbaijan's
territorial integrity and do not recognize the independence of the
republic of Nagorno-Karabakh. They also noted that "any peaceful and
equitable solution of the conflict will require unavoidable compromises
among the parties," and stressed the need to resume negotiations.
Several small Azerbaijani political parties construed the abstention by
those three states from the March 14 vote by the UN General Assembly on
an Azerbaijani resolution "On The Situation In The Occupied Territories
Of Azerbaijan" as a demonstration of pro-Armenian bias. Former
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Vilayat Quliyev, who an Armenian Foreign
Ministry source has implied was at least partly responsible for the
failure to make any headway toward resolving the conflict prior to his
dismissal in the spring of 2004 (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," July 9,
2004), said on March 19 that the efforts of the Minsk Group are
"useless," and that its approach to resolving the conflict has recently
become "tendentious and one-sided," day.az reported. LF
[13] GEORGIAN, U.S. PRESIDENTS MEET
Mikheil Saakashvili met at the White House on March 19 with U.S.
President George W. Bush, who praised Tbilisi's aspirations to NATO
membership but did not express explicit support for Saakashvili's hopes
that Georgia will be offered a Membership Action Plan at the April 2-4
NATO summit in Bucharest, "The Washington Post" reported. Meanwhile in
Tbilisi, some 1,500 people staged a demonstration in March 19 outside
the U.S. Embassy to demand that the United States drop its support for
Saakashvili, whom they accused of falsifying the results of the January
5 preterm presidential ballot to secure his reelection for a second
term. The protesters called on Bush not to shake Saakashvili's hand,
Caucasus Press reported. The NGO Human Rights Watch appealed to Bush in
an open letter "to emphasize the importance of justice and
accountability" for the brutal police crackdown on peaceful
demonstrators in Tbilisi on November 7. The open letter made the point
that "a parliamentary commission is no substitute for a prompt and
effective criminal investigation led by the Prosecutor-General's
Office," and called on the United States to "promote justice in Georgia
today as vigorously as it has championed Georgia's democracy in the
past." LF
[14] GEORGIAN OLIGARCH'S WIDOW ACCUSES AUTHORITIES
Inna Gudavadze, the widow of oligarch Badri Patarkatsishvili who died
suddenly at his British home last month (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
February 13 and 14, 2008), released a statement on March 19 accusing
the Georgian authorities of resorting to dubious means in a bid to take
over the Imedi television channel which her late husband co-owned,
Caucasus Press reported. She further accused the authorities of
preventing the station from resuming broadcasting. Imedi's license was
suspended following the November 7 crackdown; that ban was lifted
several weeks later but the station again halted broadcasting on
December 26 after the Georgian Prosecutor-General's Office accused
Patarkatsishvili of plotting to overthrow the government. The National
Communications Commission has till to rule on whether and when the
channel may resume broadcasting, according to the "Georgian Times" on
February 25. LF
[15] KAZAKH PARLIAMENT RATIFIES BORDER-SECURITY ACCORD WITH KYRGYZSTAN
The Mazhilis voted on March 19 to adopt minor modifications to a new
bilateral accord on border security with Kyrgyzstan, prior to fully
ratifying the agreement, AKIpress and Interfax-Kazakhstan reported. The
newly adopted amendments to the agreement, which was first signed by
Kazakh and Kyrgyz leaders in Astana in July 2006 (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," July 7, 2006), were limited to the language of the treaty
and did not add any substantive changes to the accord. Although the
parliamentary ratification of the agreement was subject to a rather
long delay, its passage offers both countries an important new
framework on border security, with specific cooperation for measures
and joint efforts to combat proliferation, implement more extensive
counternarcotics and counterterrorism operations, and fight human
trafficking. The agreement further calls for increased surveillance,
monitoring, and policing of several high-priority border areas, while
also seeking mechanisms to ease delays in border crossing points and
boost cross-border trade. RG
[16] KAZAKH NATIONAL SECURITY COMMITTEE CONVENES HIGH-LEVEL
COUNTERTERRORISM MEETING
A spokesman of the Kazakh National Security Committee (KNB) confirmed
to reporters on March 19 that senior security officials convened on
March 18 a meeting of a high-level interagency counterterrorism body
within the KNB to assess security plans, Kazinform reported.
Participants in the meeting reviewed and assessed the ministry's
performance in several security-related areas before discussing future
operations plans, including a decision to offer assistance to China to
help with security for the Olympic Games. The spokesman also announced
that the interagency body adopted several plans to enhance and expand
"measures on preventing spread of ideas of terrorism and religious
extremism in the country's penal institutions." RG
[17] KAZAKH RIGHTS GROUP ACCUSES SECURITY FORCES OF HUMAN RIGHTS
VIOLATIONS
Speaking at a press conference in Almaty on March 19, the chairwoman of
the Almaty Helsinki Committee, Ninel Fokina, and Yevgeny Zhovtis, the
director of the Kazakh International Bureau for Human Rights and
Observance of the Law, accused Kazakh security forces of committing
human rights violations, according to Interfax-Kazakhstan. The two
prominent activists added that they are "worried about a rising trend
in violations of human rights" by the security services under the guise
of "fighting terrorism and extremism." Fokina, whose group is
affiliated with the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights,
also expressed "anxiety about the fact that the constitutional
principle of the supremacy of human rights in our country is
increasingly giving way to the principle of the supremacy of national
security interests." She attributed this trend to the 2005 adoption of
measures endowing the security forces with greater powers to combat
extremism and terrorism, and specifically identified the KNB, the
Interior Ministry, and the Prosecutor-General's Office as the most
serious violators and accused them of wielding their "extremely wide
authority to control civil-society institutions under an excuse of
fighting extremism and terrorism." RG
[18] POLL SAYS KAZAKH PRESIDENT HOLDS SIGNIFICANT DEGREE OF 'PUBLIC
TRUST'
According to the findings of a recent public-opinion survey released in
Almaty, the Kazakh National Association of Sociologists and Political
Scientists announced on March 19 that President Nursultan Nazarbaev is
"the most trusted" figure in the country, according to
Interfax-Kazakhstan. The poll, which was conducted last month using a
survey sample of almost 3,000 respondents in 17 of the largest towns in
Kazakhstan, indicated that "over half of surveyed citizens said they
trusted the president," while no other leader, official, or institution
was trusted by a majority of respondents. According to a press release
issued by the association to accompany the report, the survey results
also indicated that "people most probably trust, rather than do not
trust" the ruling party Nur Otan (Light of the Fatherland) party and
the KNB, although respondents indicated a serious mistrust of the
National Bank, the government as a whole, the Supreme Court, and the
Prosecutor-General's Office. The survey further found that the Interior
Ministry, regional governors' offices and local authorities, and the
Central Election Commission posted the most serious negative ratings
among those surveyed. A similar survey released last week by the same
group also revealed significant "discontent among the Kazakh population
with the government and the local authorities," driven largely by sharp
increases in prices for consumer goods, including fuel and food (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," March 13, 2008). RG
[19] KYRGYZ PRESIDENT ORDERS HEIGHTENED SECURITY MEASURES
While on vacation in Germany, President Kurmanbek Bakiev on March 19
issued orders for the imposition of heightened security measures to
ensure "public order" through the approaching holiday period, Kabar
reported. The orders, issued in telephone conversations with the heads
of all Kyrgyz law enforcement agencies, including Interior Minister
Moldomusa Kongantiev, National Security Committee Chairman Murat
Sutalinov, and Prosecutor-General Elmurza Satybaldiev, include
restrictions on public gatherings, enhanced security in the regions,
and a "security alert" in effect from March 20-25, covering the holiday
period of Norouz and the recently adopted Popular Revolution Day,
marking the third anniversary of the ouster of former President Askar
Akiev (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 14, 2008). In addition, the Kyrgyz
Interior Ministry and police were also instructed to step up the
monitoring of opposition and radical groups, according to the 24.kg
website. Recently, a number of other security restrictions have been
introduced, including limits on demonstrations and greater powers for
the traffic police to monitor and approve the use of loudspeakers in
vehicles (see "RFE/RL Newsline," December 3, 2007). RG
Eastern Europe
[20] U.S. EMBASSY SUSPENDS ISSUING VISAS FOR BELARUSIANS
The U.S. Embassy in Minsk said in a March 19 statement that it has
temporarily stopped the issuance of visas because of the government's
urgent request for staff cuts. "The U.S. government is in the process
of reviewing the request made by the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs on March 17 that the U.S. Embassy in Minsk reduce its
staffing," the embassy said. "Therefore, visa processing has been
temporarily suspended while our resources are engaged addressing other
priorities. Some visa appointments have been postponed. Further
information will be provided once the extent of the U.S. Embassy's
ability to provide visa services in Belarus has been determined."
Diplomatic relations between Minsk and Washington have deteriorated due
to the economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department
against Belarus's largest petrochemical company, Belnaftakhim (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," March 17, 18, and 19, 2008). In November 2007, the
department froze all assets under U.S. jurisdiction belonging to
Belnaftakhim and its representatives, and barred Americans from doing
business with the company, which it says is controlled by President
Alyaksandr Lukashenka. On March 7, Minsk recalled its ambassador to the
United States, Mikhail Khvastou, for consultations and urged U.S.
Ambassador Karen Stewart to temporarily leave Belarus, which she did on
March 12. AM
[21] BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT SLAMS CUSTOMS SERVICE, LAW ENFORCEMENT SYSTEM
President Lukashenka on March 18 called for a crackdown on widespread
corruption in Belarus's customs service, Belapan reported on March 19.
Lukashenka described the extent of corruption in the customs service as
unacceptable. "This testifies to failures in the work of the State
Customs Committee. Corruption has turned from a chronic disease into a
cancerous tumor," Lukashenka said. He suggested that the main goals of
the customs and border-control services are the creation of a strong
barrier to international organized crime and the protection of
Belarus's economic interests. "We must not close ourselves off from the
rest of the world, but rather secure necessary conditions for Belarus's
painless accession to the world economy," Lukashenka said. He also
instructed the State Secretariat of the Security Council to "give a
shake" to the security and law enforcement system, arguing that it is
not doing enough to curb economic crimes. "Economic offenses still
cause serious damage. Moreover, ill-considered, inconsistent actions
during the detection and investigation of such crimes sometimes cause
as much damage as the crime itself," Lukashenka said. "Law enforcement
agencies are not working to prevent negative phenomena in this sphere,
in particular to protect large-scale national projects and promising
investment programs. The Interior Ministry, the KGB [Committee for
State Security], the Department of Financial Investigations, the
Department of Financial Supervision of the State Control Committee take
a passive stance on the matter," he added. AM
[22] CANADA, NEW NATO MEMBERS SUPPORT UKRAINE'S BID TO JOIN ALLIANCE
Canada and nine of the newest NATO members from Central and Eastern
Europe have signed an unofficial note asking NATO Secretary-General
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer to offer Ukraine and Georgia a Membership Action
Plan at the alliance's summit in Bucharest on April 2-4, RFE/RL's
Ukrainian Service reported, citing dpa. The countries -- Bulgaria,
Canada, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland,
Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia -- said that such a move would both
reinforce stability and security in Europe, and become the logical
continuation of current policies of cooperation toward Ukraine and
Georgia, given the efforts these countries have already made in
reforming their military and political institutions. Ukrainian
President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko
recently sent de Hoop Scheffer their second request for Ukraine to be
given a Membership Action Plan, and also asked Germany and France to
support Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
March 11, 14, and 18, 2008). Germany and France are the main European
opponents of Ukraine's integration into NATO, claiming that there is
insufficient support in the country for NATO membership. The first
formal request for granting Ukraine a Membership Action Plan was sent
in mid-January and triggered a crisis in the Ukrainian parliament that
has lasted for over a month (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 5 and 6,
2008). AM
[23] POLICE BREAK UP CRIMEAN TATAR PROTEST
On March 19 court officials supported by special police removed the
"tent camp" set up by some 30 Crimean Tatars on March 11 outside the
Crimean parliament building, lenta.ru and RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir
Service reported. No one was injured during the police action. The
Crimean Tatars were demanding, as they have done for over a decade,
that the republic's authorities allocate them land to build homes; they
have threatened to disrupt the tourist season in Crimea this summer if
that demand is not met. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Yushchenko has
cancelled a visit to Crimea scheduled for March 20 to inspect the
ongoing efforts to clear the oil spilled in the Kerch Strait during a
major storm in November 2007, regnum.ru reported. LF
Southeastern Europe
[24] SERBIA'S NEIGHBORS RECOGNIZE KOSOVA
Kosova's Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said in Prishtina on March 19 that
"on behalf of the Kosova government and the citizens of Kosova, I want
to express my gratitude to the [neighboring] countries of Croatia,
Hungary, and Bulgaria, which today decided to recognize the state of
Kosova," RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 27 and March 6, 2008). He added that
"this is the best proof and the most positive message to all other
countries that have not yet recognized Kosova's independence....
Countries in the region are confident that the Republic of Kosova will
be a factor of stability in the Balkans, and that it will contribute to
peace, stability, and to increasing cooperation between countries in
the region." In Zagreb on March 19, Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader
said at a news conference that he fully understands "this is a problem
for Serbia, and a difficult one [at that].... This is one of the
reasons why...we have waited until now [to recognize Kosova] and why we
have consulted and discussed the issue with a number of international
actors and with the Serbian government as well." Standing next to
Sanader, the Hungarian Foreign Ministry's Senior State Secretary Marta
Fekszi Horvath said that Hungary's "foreign-policy makers and the
Foreign Ministry worked very hard to make sure this recognition would
take place together with Serbia's neighbors. So we made a joint
political statement together with our EU partner Bulgaria, and with
Croatia." She warned Serbia against taking unspecified measures against
its own Hungarian minority in response. In Athens on March 19, Serbian
Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said at a news conference with Greek
Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyianni that "any country that decides to
recognize the illegal declaration of independence by Kosovo...thereby
violates the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia. And no
country that unilaterally violates our country's sovereignty can expect
to have the same good relations with us as before." He added that he
wanted "to use this opportunity and appeal to countries in the region:
do not violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of your good
neighbor by any unilateral action. Help us find a solution that allows
us to live in peace and stability. Do not recognize Kosovo." According
to kosovothanksyou.com, 32 countries officially recognize Kosova, with
three more expected to do so soon. PM
[25] UN REASSERTS AUTHORITY IN NORTHERN KOSOVA
UN Mission in Kosova (UNMIK) police returned on March 19 to mainly
Serb-inhabited northern Mitrovica, from which they withdrew recently as
a result of orchestrated violence against the UN and NATO,
international media reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 17, 18, and
19, 2008). About 40 UNMIK police are expected soon to take up duties
together with 80 local Kosova police, most of whom are ethnic Serbs.
Bridge traffic between the two halves of the ethnically divided city
resumed on March 19. A UN spokesman said that UNMIK received assurances
from local Serbian authorities that UN personnel will not be attacked.
PM
[26] U.S. AUTHORIZES MILITARY ASSISTANCE TO KOSOVA
President George W. Bush signed a Presidential Determination on March
19 authorizing military aid to Kosova, which the United States was one
of the first countries to recognize in February, international media
reported. Kosova is now eligible to receive defense articles and
services under the Foreign Assistance Act and the Arms Export Control
Act, which require that the president determine that the aid "will
strengthen the security of the United States and promote world peace."
Each request by Kosova for assistance will be considered on a
case-by-case basis. In an article entitled "The Serb Problem," "The
Wall Street Journal" argued on March 20 that Kosova's emergence as an
independent state "went off peacefully, except for the Serb outbursts
[in the north].Outside military, diplomatic, and economic support will
be crucial to Kosovo's future. Serb thugs in the streets, and Serb
thuggery in international diplomatic salons, have succeeded in giving
certain countries pause." The paper stressed that "Serbia did too much
harm in the 1990s to get a free pass on its destructive behavior over
Kosovo today. Fortunately, with every other country in its immediate
vicinity opting for a future in the West, Serbia isn't strategically
important. With NATO on the case -- and it will need to stay -- Serbia
isn't a threat to Kosovo's sovereignty. The 16,000 NATO troops in
Kosovo, as well as in a still unsettled Bosnia, are the first line of
defense against Serb recidivism." PM
[27] MOLDOVAN PRIME MINISTER SUBMITS RESIGNATION
Vasile Tarlev, who has served as Moldova's prime minister since 2001,
submitted his resignation on March 19 at a cabinet session attended by
President Vladimir Voronin, saying it is time to give "new people a
chance to work for the good of the country," gazeta.ru reported. In the
event that parliament approves, the entire cabinet must also resign.
Serafim Urecheanu, who heads the Our Moldova alliance, the country's
largest opposition party, hailed Tarlev's move, noting that he deferred
consistently to Voronin and that his cabinet "has brought Moldova to
the verge of economic collapse." Possible successors identified by
gazeta.ru include First Deputy Prime Minister Zinaida Greciani, Deputy
Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Andrei Stratan, and Economy
Minister Igor Dodon. The website further suggested that Voronin himself
pressured Tarlev to step down as part of his long-term preparations for
the parliamentary elections due next year. Voronin's Communist Party
controls 56 of the 101 seats in the current parliament. LF
Southwestern Asia And The Middle East
[28] CZECH RECONSTRUCTION TEAM BEGINS WORK IN CENTRAL AFGHAN PROVINCE
The Czech Republic has officially opened its own provincial
reconstruction team (PRT) in the Afghan province of Logar, Czech Chief
of Staff Lieutenant General Vlastimil Picek said on March 19, the CTK
news agency reported. Picek and Deputy Defense Minister Martin Bartak
attended the ceremony in Logar, as well as the provincial governor.
Approximately 200 Czech soldiers, plus civilian agricultural,
construction, and hydrology experts will operate in Logar. The Czech
team is expected to complete some schools and hospitals begun by U.S.
personnel. Picek said the security situation in the province is
generally stable, but there are some districts where security is not
good. The Czech PRT is to be in place for at least three years. After
Lithuania and Hungary, the Czech Republic is the third new NATO member
to have its own PRT. AT
[29] MILITANTS DESTROY ANOTHER MOBILE-PHONE TOWER IN SOUTHERN
AFGHANISTAN
Taliban militants have destroyed another mobile-phone antenna in the
southern Kandahar Province, according to local official Mohammad Ahsan
on March 19, Xinhua news agency reported the same day. "The enemies in
their subversive activities attacked an antenna of a mobile [phone]
company in the Loya Wala area, 5 kilometers north of Kandahar city, and
destroyed it," Ahsan said. There were no casualties, he added. Nearly a
dozen towers owned by telephone companies have been destroyed by
Taliban insurgents since the insurgents warned the companies recently
to shut down from dusk to dawn in the areas Taliban militants are
active (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 3 and 5, 2008). AT
[30] THREE SUSPECTED TERRORISTS ARRESTED BY AFGHAN POLICE
According to an Interior Ministry statement on March 19, police have
arrested three suspected terrorists in Afghanistan's western Herat
Province, Xinhua reported. "These rebels who were involved in
disrupting peace and stability were captured from Gazara district and a
number of arms and ammunition, including four assault rifles, have been
seized," the statement added, without providing further details. Police
in the province killed two suspected insurgents and arrested another
five on March 17, reportedly after they sabotaged a mobile-phone
antenna, AFP reported on March 19. AT
[31] NATO ASKS FOR AFGHAN SUPPORT ON ANTI-KORAN FILM
NATO is concerned about the possible repercussions over a film by a
right-wing Dutch member of parliament criticizing the Koran and has
asked Afghan leaders for support, Reuters reported on March 19. Supreme
Allied Commander Europe John Craddock said that insurgents could use
the film to whip up anger against NATO troops in Afghanistan (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," March 6, 10, and 18, 2008). "Yes, I think it is a
concern...that they will take out their ire on all of those people such
as the Dutch in Oruzgan Province," Craddock said. He told a news
briefing at NATO headquarters in Kabul that "the problem is the
extremists. They want to use this as a rallying point to their
advantage." AT
[32] SWITZERLAND DEFENDS GAS DEAL WITH IRAN
Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey defended on March 18 the
natural-gas deal Switzerland and Iran signed on March 17, and said
Switzerland does not need permission from any state to ensure its
energy independence, Television Suisse Romande reported (see "RFE/RL
Newsline, March 17, 18 and 19, 2008). She said that there is a "good
working relationship" between Switzerland's diplomacy and economy, and
Switzerland is not giving Iran the wrong signal in its standoff with
the United Nations over its nuclear program. The United States in
particular has criticized the deal, which it says goes against the
spirit of UN Security Council sanctions imposed on Iran to force it to
curb sensitive nuclear activities. Calmy-Rey said the deal violates
neither UN sanctions nor the United States' own Iran Sanctions Act. The
deal is for Iran to export gas to Switzerland from 2011, through a
520-kilometer trans-Adriatic pipeline to be built by the Swiss firm
buying the gas, Electricite de Laufenbourg (EGL), tsr.ch reported.
Calmy-Rey was also criticized in Switzerland for donning a head scarf
while in Tehran in line with Iranian laws. Swiss legislators called her
a "submissive Madonna" and "antifeminist" on March 17 for covering her
hair in a meeting with President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, Switzerland's "Le
Matin" reported on March 18. Legislator Martine Brunschwig Graf said,
"she did not have to wear that head scarf. She was not in any holy
place, but doing politics," lematin.ch reported. Calmy-Rey has said she
was merely respecting local customs and "it was not a sign of
submission...I did not want to provoke an incident around a question
that was not essential" during the trip, "Le Matin" reported. VS
[33] U.S. VICE PRESIDENT WARY OF NUCLEAR PROGRAM IN IRAN
Vice President Richard Cheney said in Muscat, Oman, on March 19 that
the United States is not sure now whether or not Iran has restarted a
suspected nuclear weapons program that it suspected Tehran may have
stopped in 2003, AP reported. In the National Intelligence Estimate
(NIE) report issued in December 2007, U.S. intelligence agencies
concluded that Iran stopped its program to access or develop nuclear
weapons in 2003. Cheney told ABC News in Muscat that the United States
and its regional allies have to keep in mind that a "nuclear-armed Iran
would be very destabilizing" for the region. Cheney said the NIE report
confirmed that Iran has sought to acquire nuclear weapons, and "it
would appear that they stopped that weaponization process in 2003. We
don't know whether or not they've restarted." Cheney is on a 10-day
Middle East tour. Oman allows the United States to use four air bases
on its territory. VS
[34] IRAN'S REFORMISTS WANT RECOUNT IN TEHRAN
Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami and former parliament speaker
Mehdi Karrubi have called for a recount of votes cast in Tehran in the
March 14 parliamentary elections, Radio Farda reported on March 19,
citing Iranian media. Tehran has 30 seats, and authorities say at least
19 have already gone to conservative candidates (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
March 17, 18, and 19, 2008). The two leading reformists have written to
Guardians Council Secretary Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati -- effectively
Iran's top election supervisor -- and asked for a random recount at
some polling stations, citing concerns already raised by other
reformists about the vote count. Disputes between the factions over
counting and results are not uncommon at the close of Iranian
elections; reformists have this time said they were not allowed to
attend voting or counting in many polling stations, in spite of
previous agreements. Majid Ansari, a reformist candidate who reportedly
has just missed the 30th position in terms of votes, which would have
given him a seat for Tehran, has said that "right from the start, they
obstructed the presence of candidates' representatives at ballot boxes,
and effectively we had representatives at less than 400-500 ballot
boxes out of 4,000." He said state officials "illegally" expelled many
reformist candidates' representatives from polling stations. Khatami
and Karrubi observed in their letter that lingering doubts about the
results announced in Tehran would -- if not resolved -- "harm the
system and society," Radio Farda reported. VS
[35] IRANIAN PRESIDENT SAYS ELECTIONS THWARTED ENEMIES
President Ahmadinejad said in Tehran on March 18 that the March 14
elections "disrupted the enemies' political lineup" and Iran will with
God's help have more such "victories" in coming months, IRNA reported
on March 19. He told security staff at the presidential office that all
"summits" could be attained "if we all work for God." The leaders of
the United States and Israel, he said in contrast, "will have a
humiliating end like Saddam's fate," referring to executed Iraqi
dictator Saddam Hussein. Ahmadinejad reminded his audience that God did
not create humans for "senseless activity" in life or to focus on
"marginal affairs," but to discover an innate vocation to worship God,
IRNA reported. VS
[36] IRAQI GOVERNORATES LAW APPROVED
The Iraqi Presidential Council on March 19 approved a law allowing
provincial elections to take place, international media reported the
same day. On March 17, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney made a surprise
visit to Baghdad to urge Iraqi leaders to make greater political
progress. A press release by the council said, "there would be no
changes to the law" and "[the Presidential] Council has exercised its
right to review the law, delaying its implementation, and that it would
now take effect." On February 27, the council's three members,
President Jalal Talabani and Vice Presidents Tariq al-Hashimi and Adil
Abd al-Mahdi, vetoed the law after failing to reach a unanimous
decision on whether to approve it (see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 28,
2008). The main sticking points were provisions in the legislation that
allow the prime minister to remove regional governors from office. Abd
al-Mahdi, who heads the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI),
vociferously objected to giving the prime minister more authority,
instead demanding more power be placed in the hands of the governorate
councils. The approval of the law paves the way for provincial
elections, which the UN announced will take place on October 1 (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," February 15, 2008). SS
[37] RECONCILIATION CONFERENCE ENDS IN IRAQ CAPITAL WITH CALL FOR UNITY
The two-day reconciliation conference in Baghdad ended on March 19 with
a final communique that "condemned terrorism and extremist ideologies,
and urged the promotion of national unity," Iraqi media reported (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," March 17 and 18, 2008). Tashin al-Shaykly, a
spokesman for the conference, told "Voices of Iraq" that "The
conference's preparatory committee, through the state's Ministry for
National Dialogue, will table the recommendations reached by the
conference participants to the council of ministers and parliament."
Despite the positive statements emanating from the conference, several
high-profile leaders and political blocs refused to attend. Muqtada
al-Sadr's political bloc, Iyad Allawi's Iraqi National List, and the
Iraqi Accordance Front, the largest Sunni political bloc in parliament,
all boycotted the conference. SS
[38] IRAQI PREMIER PROMISES JOBS FOR SUNNIS FIGHTING AL-QAEDA
During a March 19 visit to the Sunni-dominated Baghdad neighborhood of
Al-Amadiyah, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki promised jobs for those
Sunnis who are fighting Al-Qaeda in Iraq, international media reported.
Al-Maliki said the government will "open the doors of all the
establishments to welcome" the men who are fighting Al-Qaeda.
Al-Amadiyah is known as an Al-Qaeda in Iraq stronghold and its
residents have expressed loyalty and support for former President
Saddam Hussein. "I am proud of the efforts of the sons of this
neighborhood. We will welcome our sons who are challenging terrorism
and injustice. They will have suitable jobs. What they have done is
amazing," al-Maliki said. Thousands of Sunnis have allied themselves
with U.S. and Iraqi forces as part of the awakening movement in an
effort to root out Al-Qaeda in Iraq. SS
[39] FRANCE TO TAKE IN 500 IRAQI CHALDEAN CHRISTIANS
Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner announced on French television on
March 19 that France will take in approximately 500 Chaldean Christian
refugees from Iraq, Kuwait's KUNA news agency reported. Kouchner also
said that France will not refuse asylum to Iraqi Muslims, but stressed
that nobody is taking in Iraqi Christians. Paris has a significant
Chaldean Christian population and there have been growing calls to
assist the Chaldeans in northern Iraq, who have been increasingly
targeted. On February 29, Mosul Archbishop Bulus Faraj Rahhu was
kidnapped outside the Holy Spirit Church in Mosul and his body was
discovered two weeks later (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 3 and 13,
2008). Kouchner expressed hope that the Chaldean refugees will be in
France within a week. The Chaldean church is an Eastern-rite
denomination aligned with the Roman Catholic Church and it recognizes
the authority of the pope. SS
[40] BOMB ATTACK NEAR SHI'ITE SHRINE KILLS 52 IN CENTRAL IRAQ
An attack near the revered Imam Husayn Shrine in the holy city of
Karbala on March 17 killed 52 people and wounded more than 75, Iraqi
and international media reported on March 18. Karbala police chief
Brigadier General Ra'yd Shakir said the bomb was planted by insurgents.
However, several other local security and hospital officials said the
attack was carried out by a female suicide bomber. Soon after the
attack, officials imposed an indefinite curfew in the city. Karbala has
been the scene of several high-profile violent incidents. In August
2007, bloody clashes between members of Muqtada al-Sadr's Imam Al-Mahdi
Army and Iraqi policemen during a Shi'ite religious festival left 52
people dead (see "RFE/RL Newsline," August 29, 2007). In April 2007, a
suicide car bomb near the Imam Abbas Shrine killed more than 70 people
and wounded nearly 160. SS
[41] U.S. FORCES ARREST 17 SUSPECTED TERRORISTS THROUGHOUT IRAQ
The U.S. military announced in a statement on March 19 that 17
suspected terrorists have been arrested in operations in the Tigris
River Valley. The arrests were made during a March 18 operation
targeting a suspected Al-Qaeda in Iraq weapons facilitator. In
Ba'qubah, U.S. forces also arrested three suspected Al-Qaeda in Iraq
fighters and discovered "a building containing homemade explosives,
wires, markings, and other indications it was being made into a
house-borne improvised explosive device." U.S. military spokesman Major
Winfield Danielson said the arrests were another blow to Al-Qaeda in
Iraq's operations. "Iraqi and coalition operations are systematically
dismantling Al-Qaeda in Iraq's terrorist networks. Iraqi citizens have
rejected Al-Qaeda's indiscriminate violence and corrupt ideology, and
these terrorists have no place in Iraq's future," Danielson said. SS
End Note
[42] THERE IS NO END NOTE TODAY.
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