|
|
RFE/RL Newsline, 08-03-28
CONTENTS
[01] PUTIN, BUSH WILL DISCUSS MISSILE DEFENSE
[02] EXPERTS PREPARE GROUND WORK FOR PRESIDENTIAL MEETING
[03] REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE STRESSES TOUGH APPROACH TOWARD RUSSIA
[04] MILITARY DENIES REPORTS OF 'REVOLT' OVER CUTS
[05] BOOK WRITTEN ABOUT RUSSIA'S PRESIDENT-ELECT...
[06] ...IN WHICH MEDVEDEV DISCUSSES ROLE OF SILOVIKI...
[07] ...HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH VLADIMIR PUTIN...
[08] ...AND RUSSIAN DEMOCRACY
[09] LAW EXTENDING PRESIDENTIAL TERM MAY BE READY BY AUTUMN
[10] TOP AUDITOR CALLS FOR PROGRESSIVE INCOME TAX
[11] MOSCOW POLICE TRACE KILLERS OF DAGHESTANI JOURNALIST
[12] RUSSIA BLAMES GEORGIA FOR SOUTH OSSETIA BLASTS
[13] SECURITY FORCES KILL THREE MILITANTS IN SOUTHERN DAGHESTAN
[14] UNION HEAD APOLOGIZES TO CHECHEN JOURNALISTS
[15] ARMENIAN POLICE STEP UP EFFORTS TO DETAIN PROTESTERS
[16] ARMENIAN DEPUTY CALLS FOR PARLIAMENTARY INVESTIGATION OF
POSTELECTION VIOLENCE
[17] ARMENIAN PROSECUTORS CONFIRM THAT DETAINED OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS
WERE EXTRADITED FROM GEORGIA
[18] OVER 60 PARTIES PLAN TO PARTICIPATE IN GEORGIAN PARLIAMENTARY
BALLOT
[19] PROMINENT GEORGIAN TELEVISION STATION TO RESUME BROADCASTING
WITHIN WEEKS
[20] SENIOR GEORGIAN OFFICIALS ATTEND NATO MEETING IN BRUSSELS
[21] MILITARY COURT SENTENCES FUGITIVE FORMER SON-IN-LAW OF KAZAKH
PRESIDENT
[22] KAZAKH POLICE EXPAND PROBE OF ARMS-TRAFFICKING RING
[23] KAZAKH DEFENSE MINISTER MEETS WITH VISITING CSTO HEAD
[24] U.S. AMBASSADOR URGES KYRGYZ AUTHORITIES TO EASE RESTRICTIONS ON
DEMONSTRATIONS
[25] BELARUSIAN ACTIVISTS, EU COMMISSIONER CONDEMN CRACKDOWN ON
DEMONSTRATORS
[26] BELARUSIAN AUTHORITIES JAIL, FINE PARTICIPANTS OF OPPOSITION
DEMONSTRATION
[27] BELARUSIAN KGB RAIDS MINSK OFFICE OF POLISH-BASED RADIO RACJA...
[28] ...CONFIRMS ARREST OF U.S. LAWYER
[29] PRESIDENT SAYS UKRAINE STRIVES FOR NATO MEMBERSHIP TO SECURE
SOVEREIGNTY
[30] UKRAINIAN PREMIER PRAISES GOVERNMENT FOR 100 DAYS IN POWER
[31] FORMER RUSSIAN PREMIER CALLS FOR PARTITION, POPULATION TRANSFERS
IN KOSOVA
[32] WHO ASKED RUSSIA FOR 'HUMANITARIAN AID' FOR KOSOVA'S SERBS?
[33] NATO TELLS SERBS 'DON'T EXPECT FLOWERS'
[34] KOSOVA GIVES TOP TREATMENT TO WIFE OF U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
[35] BOMB KILLS EIGHT AT AFGHAN MARKET
[36] MINISTER CALLS ON WEST TO LET AFGHANS DEAL WITH TALIBAN
[37] KIDNAPPED AFGHANS RELEASED IN PAKISTAN
[38] TALIBAN AGAIN THREATENS SPRING AFGHAN OFFENSIVE
[39] IRAN SAYS IT WILL NOT COMPLY WITH UN RESOLUTION
[40] SYRIA WELCOMES IRAN'S PRESENCE AT ARAB SUMMIT
[41] IRANIAN CABINET MEETS AFTER NEW-YEAR BREAK
[42] IRANIAN MINISTRY URGES PILGRIMS TO AVOID IRAQ FOR NOW
[43] CLASHES CONTINUE BETWEEN SHI'ITE MILITIA AND IRAQI FORCES...
[44] ...AS IRAQI PREMIER GIVES MILITIAS DEADLINE TO DISARM...
[45] ...WHILE AL-SADR CALLS FOR DIALOGUE TO END VIOLENCE
[46] U.S. BLAMES IRAN FOR INCREASE IN VIOLENCE IN IRAQ
[47] IRAQI FORCES ARREST SENIOR AL-QAEDA LEADER IN NORTHERN IRAQ
[48] DUBAI COMPANY TO INVEST IN IRAQ
[49] THERE IS NO END NOTE TODAY.
Thursday, March 27, 2008 Volume 12 Number 58
Russia
[01] PUTIN, BUSH WILL DISCUSS MISSILE DEFENSE
U.S. President George W. Bush announced in Washington on March 26 that
he has accepted an invitation from President Vladimir Putin to go to
"Sochi to discuss the [proposed U.S.-Russian] strategic agreement, a
crucial part of which is missile defense," news agencies reported (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," March 17, 18, 19, and 20, 2008). Bush added that
"we're optimistic we can reach an accord on some very important
matters." He noted that "a lot of people in Europe would heave a deep
sigh of relief if we're able to reach an accord on missile defense."
Bush said that he has been careful "to maintain good relations [with
Putin] so he'll listen to what I say." The visit will take place after
NATO's April 2-4 Bucharest summit, which Putin plans to attend for a
meeting of the NATO-Russia Council. "The Washington Post" commented on
March 27 that "Bush's decision to go [to Sochi] was unusually
spontaneous by presidential standards. A president's overseas trips are
booked weeks, even months in advance." The daily noted that "Putin
raised the idea of going to Sochi several weeks ago and brought it up
again in a March 7 telephone conversation with Bush. But it was not
until [March 26] that Bush decided to take him up on the offer. 'This
is a big deal,' said one surprised administration official. 'This is a
leap.'" Observers in both countries suggested recently that Bush and
Putin might like to reach an agreement on missile defense and some
other strategic issues before they both leave office. PM
[02] EXPERTS PREPARE GROUND WORK FOR PRESIDENTIAL MEETING
The daily "Vremya novostei" reported on March 27 that a "Russian
delegation headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak began the
second round of consultations" on missile defense and other strategic
issues in Washington on March 26. The U.S. side was an expert group
headed by Undersecretary of State for International Security and
Nonproliferation John Rood. Assistant Secretary of State for European
and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried also took part. The newspaper
suggested that Washington and Moscow might be preparing a major
trade-off on missile defense. The daily quoted Aleksandr Konovalov, who
heads Russia's Institute of Strategic Estimates, as saying that such a
deal is possible. He suggested that "a compromise may come down to the
following. The Americans do not bring their killer missiles to Poland,
and agree to joint control over the U.S.-Russian integrated radar
framework. Russia in return agrees to joint design, development, and
use of strategic and tactical missile-defense systems and integrates
its southern radars into them." Konovalov added that a "merger of all
elements of Russian and U.S. missile-defense systems into a single
complex will solve all problems and allay all suspicions." PM
[03] REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE STRESSES TOUGH APPROACH TOWARD RUSSIA
The presumed U.S. Republican presidential candidate, Senator John
McCain of Arizona, said on March 26 in Los Angeles that "we have to
strengthen our global alliances as the core of a new global compact, a
league of democracies, that can harvest the vast influence of the more
than 100 democratic nations around the world to advance our values and
defend our shared interests," news agencies reported. He added that "we
should start by ensuring that the G8, the group of eight highly
industrialized states, becomes again a club of leading market
democracies. It should include Brazil and India, but exclude Russia."
McCain stressed that "rather than tolerate Russia's nuclear blackmail
or cyber attacks, Western nations should make clear that the solidarity
of NATO from the Baltic to the Black Sea is indivisible, and that the
organization's doors remain open to all democracies committed to the
defense of freedom." In a radio broadcast, McCain said on March 3 that
the recent Russian presidential election "would not pass the smell test
in any functioning democracy. The people of Russia are going back to
the days...where they don't have the right of free elections or even a
free society." In recent weeks, several Russian commentators have
sharply criticized McCain (see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 6 and 27,
and March 4, 13, and 18, 2008). PM
[04] MILITARY DENIES REPORTS OF 'REVOLT' OVER CUTS
In a statement issued on March 26, the Defense Ministry denied recent
media reports that General Yury Baluyevsky, who heads the General
Staff, resigned over a dispute with Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov
involving proposed staff cuts, newsru.com reported (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," March 25, 2008). The ministry called the reports
"irresponsible [and] not true." On March 27, Colonel General Vasily
Smirnov, the deputy chief of the General Staff, denied that cuts are
planned in the armed forces or the ministry's central departments,
newsru.com reported. He noted that the armed forces currently number
1,134,800 people and that the Defense Ministry central apparatus
consists of 10,523 people. Smirnov said that any "restructuring" will
not affect the size of the armed forces or the ministry. On March 27,
however, the daily "Kommersant" argued that there are deep differences
between Baluyevsky and Serdyukov, who is a former tax official with no
military background. The newspaper recalled long-standing speculation
that Baluyevsky hoped to become defense minister when Sergei Ivanov
left the post about a year ago. It noted that many professional
military men are, in any event, angry over several changes proposed by
the ministry's civilian leadership, "who view the ministry as just
another business venture." PM
[05] BOOK WRITTEN ABOUT RUSSIA'S PRESIDENT-ELECT...
Nikolai Svanidze, the veteran television journalist and historian, and
his wife Marina Svanidze, who is also a historian, have written a book
about President-elect Dmitry Medvedev. The book includes interviews
with friends and longtime acquaintances of Medvedev, and with Medvedev
himself. Excerpts of the Svanidzes' interviews with Medvedev were
posted on the president-elect's official website, rost.ru/medvedev, on
March 27. The Svanidzes' book is reminiscent of "In the First Person:
Conversations with Vladimir Putin," a book based on interviews that
Putin gave to a group of journalists that was published at the start of
his presidency in 2000. JB
[06] ...IN WHICH MEDVEDEV DISCUSSES ROLE OF SILOVIKI...
In his interviews with the Svanidzes, Medvedev was asked to comment on
"the role of the siloviki" in Russia today, meaning the influence of
the special services and veterans of the special services. Medvedev
said that people from the special services bring both "positive" and
"negative" experience and, like anybody else, should be neither
demonized nor glorified. There is "nothing unusual" in leaders with
experience in the special services inviting those with the same
experience, "people with whom they have worked," to take up "political
posts," Medvedev said. "Such people tend to be well-versed in
decision-making" and "have experience working in a regime of secrecy,
and that's good," he said, but often lack the "necessary" experience in
"public work." Medvedev added that even though he is a "veteran lawyer"
who never worked in the special services, "publicity also doesn't come
easy for me." There is "a mass of examples," he said, of a person with
a "splendid classical education" who never worked in "the organs"
turning into an "out-and-out scoundrel" while working either in
government or in business, and cases in which a person who had been
involved in "special work" all their lives found their true calling in
politics or business, "or even became a priest." Medvedev said he sees
no problem in the fact that today more "public positions" are held by
"people who have experience working in the special services" than was
the case previously. Special-services veterans hold top positions in
other countries, he said, although he added that Russia's history in
this regard has been "very complicated," with attitudes toward the
special services varying widely. "And this, of course, strains people,"
he said. "But that is already history." JB
[07] ...HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH VLADIMIR PUTIN...
The excerpts of the Svanidzes' interviews with Medvedev also include
his thoughts about his relationship with President Putin. The
president-elect told the authors that the guarantee of success in his
relations with his former boss and future prime minister -- which he
conceded will be a "new situation for us" - will be their "personal
comradely relations." In Russian history, "the head of state, whatever
he was called, did not leave office for another position," said
Medvedev. "He either went into retirement or fell into disgrace. And so
it is in all countries -- all European countries, at any rate. It is
usually different in America. American presidents can afterwards get
involved in foundations, even business, but do not appear again in
government service. But we are a European country, and here there is
extensive practice of people moving from position to position and not
seeing it as the end of the world. And this, it seems to me, is a very
important tradition -- when a person can be in a top position and
return to active politics in another leading position, being an
effective person and, as in the case of Vladimir Putin, also a
super-popular leader." Medvedev said he views the model in which he is
president and Putin is prime minister as "a model that is capable of
working," although he conceded that it will be tested "for durability"
and probed for "defects." He concluded: "But we are sufficiently
grown-up guys for this. We'll manage." JB
[08] ...AND RUSSIAN DEMOCRACY
In his conversations with the Svanidzes, Medvedev said it is too early
to make an assessment of Russian democracy. "Russian democracy is still
quite young," he said. "It will be only possible to assess the results
in 30-50 years, as usually happens in history." The development of
democracy in Russia is proceeding "according to its own laws," said
Medvedev. "Most complicated is the interplay between the universal
character of the democratic form and one's own national historical
component," he said. "The priority of one or the other is, in my view,
dangerous." Medvedev said he disagrees with the claim that "the degree
of specificity of Russia, its history, is such that no universal
values, no universal forms of state governance [or] forms of organizing
a civilized society will work in Russia." Such a claim, he said, is
"trickery" that has certain "objectives" -- either "geopolitical
objectives, when representatives of foreign states talk about this," or
"domestic objectives, when our home-bred politicians say that Russia is
not ready for democracy." Medvedev also said he does not think it
appropriate to attach additional definitions to the word "democracy."
"I think this simply impoverishes the situation," he said. "Even with
the full understanding that democracy is possible only in an absolutely
sovereign state that has its own constitution, supreme power inside the
country and an independent course outside." JB
[09] LAW EXTENDING PRESIDENTIAL TERM MAY BE READY BY AUTUMN
The head of the A Just Russia faction in the State Duma, Nikolai
Levichev, said that a law lengthening the term of the Russian president
may be ready by this autumn, "Rossiiskaya gazeta" reported on March 26.
The state-run newspaper said that it is not yet clear by how much the
current four-year presidential term will be increased, but quoted
Levichev as saying that the "optimal" term would be five years, as long
as a president is able to serve two terms. However, according to
Levichev, the possibility of limiting a president to a single
seven-year term is also being considered. Levichev said that the law
extending the presidential term, if passed, will apply to the president
elected in 2012 and not affect the impending term of President-elect
Medvedev. Meanwhile, Interfax on March 26 quoted Kostroma Oblast
Governor Igor Slyunyayev as saying that the optimal term for Russia's
president would be 12-15 years or, alternatively, that the president
should have the right to run for three terms. First Deputy Prime
Minister Sergei Ivanov recently called for lengthening the presidential
term, while Federation Council Chairman Sergei Mironov reiterated his
previous calls for such a step (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 25, 2008).
JB
[10] TOP AUDITOR CALLS FOR PROGRESSIVE INCOME TAX
Audit Chamber chief Sergei Stepashin on March 26 called for
re-instituting a progressive income tax, newsru.com reported. "For a
country like Russia, it would be socially just," Stepashin told the
Vesti-24 television channel. Russia currently has a flat personal
income-tax rate of 13 percent, which was instituted in 2001. Stepashin
said he was struck by the experience of the Baltic states and
"countries that are close to us in economic and social terms -- Sweden,
Denmark, Finland, Canada," all of which have progressive income-tax
systems. He also justified his call for a progressive income tax by
stating that there are too many billionaires in Russia today. "In terms
of their number Russia is solidly in second place in the world after
the United States, which does not correspond to the size of the economy
or level of development of our country," he said. A record 87 Russians
made the "Forbes" magazine list of global billionaires this year, with
Russians accounting for 19 of the top 100 richest people in the world,
second only to the United States (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 7,
2008). Stepashin also called for reducing the value-added tax.
President-elect Medvedev has called for a single, reduced
value-added-tax rate and said replacing the value-added tax with a
sales tax should also be considered (see "RFE/RL Newsline," February
15, 2008). Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin said on March 25 that the
Finance Ministry is proposing a cut of $4.2 billion in annual taxes for
oil companies next year, "The Moscow Times" reported on March 26. JB
[11] MOSCOW POLICE TRACE KILLERS OF DAGHESTANI JOURNALIST
Moscow investigators have established the identity of the men who
killed Ilyas Shurpayev, a journalist from Daghestan who worked for
Channel One television, at his Moscow apartment during the night of
March 20-21, kavkaz-uzel.ru reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 25,
2008). The men reportedly tortured Shurpayev before killing him and
stole some 100,000 rubles ($4,260). LF
[12] RUSSIA BLAMES GEORGIA FOR SOUTH OSSETIA BLASTS
In a press statement released on March 26, the Russian Foreign Ministry
accused "professionals" from Georgia of masterminding two blasts in the
unrecognized republic of South Ossetia on February 28 and March 23 that
killed two people and injured 19, Russian media reported (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," February 29 and March 25, 2008). The statement called on the
conflicting sides to exercise "maximum restraint," and advocated the
urgent resumption of talks within the framework of the Joint Control
Commission, which Georgia has declared ineffective and defunct (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," March 4 and 7, 2008). The statement further
expressed support for de facto South Ossetian President Eduard
Kokoity's renewed call last month for a meeting between himself and
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, civil.ge reported. It said that
direct top-level dialogue between Tbilisi and Tskhinvali would
contribute to the ongoing search for effective approaches to resolving
the conflict. LF
[13] SECURITY FORCES KILL THREE MILITANTS IN SOUTHERN DAGHESTAN
FSB and Interior Ministry personnel armed with mortars and grenade
launchers opened a counterterrorism operation late on March 26 against
four members of an illegal armed formation holed up in a five-story
apartment building in the town of Dagestanskiye Ogni, just north of
Derbent on the Caspian coast and some 50 kilometers from the frontier
between Daghestan and Azerbaijan, killing three of them, Russian media
reported on March 27. Interfax quoted Daghestan Interior Ministry
officials as saying the militants belong to a group that since the
death of Rappani Khalilov in September 2007 has been led by Elgar
Malachiyev, a citizen of Azerbaijan (see "RFE/RL Newsline," September
18, 2007). Khalilov was named commander of the Daghestan Front in the
summer of 2006. Also on March 27, kavkaz-uzel.ru reported that the
special operation launched in mid-December in the mountain village of
Gimri is continuing, and residents have been given no indication how
much longer the restrictions on leaving the village will last (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," December 17, 18, and 28, 2007, and January 7, 17,
and 18, 2008). LF
[14] UNION HEAD APOLOGIZES TO CHECHEN JOURNALISTS
Union of Journalists of Russia (SZhR) Chairman Vsevolod Bogdanov flew
on March 25 to Grozny where he offered personal apologies to Chechen
Republic head Ramzan Kadyrov for the embarrassment he caused by
approving a request by the Chechen subsidiary of the SZhR to enroll
Kadyrov into its ranks, kavkaz-uzel.ru reported. Several Russian
journalists threatened to quit the union in outrage, and its
secretariat annulled the Chechen move on March 6 on the grounds that it
contravenes the statutes of the union, which stipulate that only
professional journalists may become members. Members of the Chechen
Union then threatened to quit the SZhR en masse (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
March 6, 7, and 10, 2008), but have retracted that threat in the wake
of Bogdanov's public apology, kavkaz-uzel.ru reported on March 26. LF
Transcaucasia And Central Asia
[15] ARMENIAN POLICE STEP UP EFFORTS TO DETAIN PROTESTERS
In the wake of the expiration of a 20-day state of emergency in
Armenia, police units stepped up on March 26 efforts to deter and
detain daily public gatherings of demonstrators and opposition
supporters in central Yerevan, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported. The
municipal police force adopted obvious measures of heightened security
and reasserted control over public places with aim of preventing
spontaneous gatherings and nearly daily silent walks by groups of
people. A number of people were subject to an almost random series of
arrests, with many people detained for hours before being released
after simply walking through public areas and main thoroughfares.
Defending the new police tactics, Artyom Babayan, the head of the
Yerevan police force's criminal investigations unit, told reporters
that such measures were necessary "to clear things up" and claimed that
the detainees were all opposition supporters who "may commit crimes,"
adding that the police believed that there could be "wanted criminals"
among them. Nearly 50 people were arrested on March 26 in the latest
police roundup of people walking in public, Arminfo reported.
Opposition legislator and former human rights ombudsman Larisa
Alaverdian warned that "with such steps, the authorities further
escalate the situation." RG
[16] ARMENIAN DEPUTY CALLS FOR PARLIAMENTARY INVESTIGATION OF
POSTELECTION VIOLENCE
Prominent independent deputy Viktor Dallakian called on March 26 for a
parliamentary investigation into the violent postelection violence in
Yerevan, adding that it is crucial to defuse the Armenian political
crisis, according to RFE/RL's Armenian Service. Dallakian proposed that
the parliament form a special "ad hoc commission" to investigate the
circumstances of the March 1 clashes between riot police and thousands
of opposition supporters, adding that the commission should consist of
members of all parliament factions, two deputies not affiliated with
any party as well as former President Levon Ter-Petrossian or one of
his representatives. He explained that such an investigation is the
best way for the parliament to "take on a serious role in our country's
political life." As he did on March 18, Dallakian also proposed a
broader set of recommendations aimed at stabilizing the crisis,
including the holding of snap parliamentary elections next year, the
release of all arrested opposition activists who were not involved in
violent acts and the reopening of two independent television stations
taken off the air in 2002 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 19, 2008). Also
on March 26, deputy parliament speaker Galust Sahakian told a press
conference in Yerevan that it is time to "turn the bad page" in
Armenian history that former President Ter-Petrossian's attempted
political comeback represented, Noyan Tapan reported. He stressed the
need to implement political reforms swiftly in order to defuse the
tensions resulting from the disputed February 19 presidential ballot
and subsequent violence. Sahakian said no decisions have yet been made
on the allocation of portfolios within the four-party coalition sealed
on March 21 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 25, 2008), but that
President-elect Serzh Sarkisian's Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), to
which Sahakian belongs, wants one of its members to serve as prime
minister. RG/LF
[17] ARMENIAN PROSECUTORS CONFIRM THAT DETAINED OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS
WERE EXTRADITED FROM GEORGIA
A spokeswoman for Armenia's Prosecutor-General's Office, Sona Truzian,
confirmed on March 26 that two opposition activists currently held in
police custody were actually first arrested and extradited to Armenia
by Georgian police, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported. The two
opposition activists, Samvel Abovian and Suren Sirunian, admitted to
having fled Armenia to seek refuge in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, in
the wake of the deadly postelection March 1 clashes between riot police
and demonstrators in Yerevan. Armenian prosecutors also confirmed that
the two men face lengthy prison sentences if convicted for involvement
in those clashes. Anzhela Hobosian, the defense attorney for the two
men, reported that Abovian and Sirunian were detained in Georgia in the
early hours of March 9 and, two days later, were formally charged with
organizing "mass riots." Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman Tigran
Balayan confirmed the extradition, which he said was carried out on the
basis of a bilateral agreement on extradition first reached in 2000. A
local leader of the Armenian community in Tbilisi, Arnold Stepanian,
was also quoted by RFE/RL's Armenian Service as revealing that dozens
of opposition supporters of former Armenian President Ter-Petrosian
have fled to Georgia since the launch of the unprecedented government
crackdown. RG
[18] OVER 60 PARTIES PLAN TO PARTICIPATE IN GEORGIAN PARLIAMENTARY
BALLOT
A total of 69 political parties have informed Georgia's Central
Election Commission of their intention to participate in the May 21
parliamentary elections, Caucasus Press and civil.ge reported following
the expiry at 6 p.m. local time on March 26 of the deadline for doing
so. They include the ruling National Movement, which has been renamed
the National Movement for a Victorious Georgia; the Republican Party;
the New Rightists; Tavisupleba (Freedom, led by Konstantine
Gamsakhurdia); the People's Party (Mamuka Giorgadze); the Radical
National Party; Our Georgia; Kartuli Dasi (Georgian Group, headed by
Jondi Bagaturia); For a United Georgia (headed by former Defense
Minister Irakli Okruashvili); and the Union of Traditionalists (Akaki
Asatiani). Those parties not represented in the current parliament must
collect and submit to the commission by April 1 a minimum of 30,000
signatures in their support. The opposition Labor Party, which on March
13 called on other opposition parties to join it in boycotting the
ballot, submitted an application at the last minute after that appeal
went unheeded, Caucasus Press reported. LF
[19] PROMINENT GEORGIAN TELEVISION STATION TO RESUME BROADCASTING
WITHIN WEEKS
Speaking to reporters in Tbilisi, Bidzina Baratashvili, the executive
director of the Imedi Television station, announced on March 26 that he
expects the station to resume at least partial broadcasts by the
beginning of next month, Caucasus Press reported. Baratashvili admitted
that the resumption of broadcasts has been delayed due to "many
problems, including financial, technical and problems related with
staff" and added that "it will take some time to resolve these
problems," but stressed that Imedi TV should be able to resume partial
broadcasts by April 1, with a full schedule planned for April 10,
following the selection of "new anchors for primetime news programs, as
well as new anchors for political talks-shows and their formats."
Baratashvili met earlier in Tbilisi with Joseph Kay (also known as
Joseph Kakalashvili), an adopted cousin of the late co-owner of Imedi,
oligarch and opposition presidential candidate Badri Patarkatsishvili,
who died in the United Kingdom last month (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March
20, 2008). But Patarkatsishvili's widow, Inna Gudavadze, was quoted as
saying that Kay is "an imposter" and nothing more than "a front man for
the authorities, who are using him to gain control of the station." For
his part, Kay, who asserted his claim to be new owner of Imedi, told
reporters that he effectively canceled an agreement under which
Patarkatsishvili reportedly transferred over management rights of the
Imedi media holding group to the News Corporation owned by media mogul
Rupert Murdoch. Earlier on March 26, the Georgian National
Communications Commission said that it has no plans to consider
suspending Imedi TV's broadcast license. Former Defense Minister Irakli
Okruashvili recently accused the Georgian authorities of engaging in
what he termed "clandestine behind-the-scenes deals" to gain control of
Imedi (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 25, 2008). RG
[20] SENIOR GEORGIAN OFFICIALS ATTEND NATO MEETING IN BRUSSELS
A senior Georgian delegation led by Foreign Minister David Bakradze and
Giorgi Baramidze, the state minister for Euro-Atlantic integration, met
on March 26 in Brussels with NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop
Scheffer, Caucasus Press reported. They also attended a meeting of the
North Atlantic Council and discussed the implementation of Georgia's
Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) with NATO. The visit is timed
to strengthen the Georgian bid to elevate its status as a NATO aspirant
prior to the NATO summit set to open on April 2 in Bucharest. Georgia
seeks to graduate from its IPAP to the next stage of candidacy for NATO
membership by formalizing a new Individual Membership Action Plan. The
country's NATO aspiration was also a central theme in Georgian
President Mikheil Saakashvili's recent visit to Washington (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," March 20, 2008). In comments to reporters following the
meeting, Bakradze warned that NATO leaders risk increasing regional
tensions if they give in to Russian pressure and block the membership
aspirations of Ukraine and Georgia, and he urged NATO leaders to base
their policy toward Russia "on principles, not appeasement," AP
reported. RG
[21] MILITARY COURT SENTENCES FUGITIVE FORMER SON-IN-LAW OF KAZAKH
PRESIDENT
After a closed trial in Astana, a Kazakh military court on March 26
sentenced Rakhat Aliev, the former son-in-law of President Nursultan
Nazarbaev, to a 20-year prison sentence in absentia after finding him
guilty of plotting to overthrow the Kazakh government, RFE/RL's Kazakh
Service and Interfax-Kazakhstan reported. A co-defendant, former
National Security Committee (KNB) chief Alnur Musaev, was also
sentenced to 20 years in prison following his conviction on the same
charge. Musaev was also sentenced in absentia. In a separate trial in
January, a district court in Almaty sentenced Aliev and Musaev to 20
and 15 years in prison, respectively, after their conviction for
corruption, money laundering, and extortion charges (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," January 16, 2008). The two men were also convicted in that
trial of forming an organized criminal group and abducting two
employees of a leading Kazakh bank in an attempt to coerce them to turn
over sizable property holdings (see "RFE/RL Newsline," November 13,
2007). The 45-year-old Aliev, a former ambassador to Austria, remains
in self-imposed exile there after an Austrian court rejected a Kazakh
extradition request (see "RFE/RL Newsline," June 4, 6, and 13, and
August 9, 2007). Aliev was divorced from the president's oldest
daughter, Darigha, in June 2007 after over 20 years of marriage. RG
[22] KAZAKH POLICE EXPAND PROBE OF ARMS-TRAFFICKING RING
After a joint Kazakh-Russian operation on March 25 uncovered an
arms-trafficking network in the West Kazakhstan Oblast (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," March 26, 2008), Kazakh Interior Ministry official Beket
Aymaganbetov announced on March 26 that the police have expanded the
investigation to focus on the involvement of a large state-affiliated
arms producer, according to Interfax-Kazakhstan. Aymaganbetov said that
the ministry is investigating "the illegal production and sale of
firearms" and the "possible involvement of the management" of the
Metallist armory, the sole arms producer in Uralsk, the administrative
center of West Kazakhstan Oblast. RG
[23] KAZAKH DEFENSE MINISTER MEETS WITH VISITING CSTO HEAD
Defense Minister Daniyal Akhmetov met on March 26 in Astana with the
visiting secretary-general of the CIS Collective Security Treaty
Organization (CSTO), Nikolai Bordyuzha, ITAR-TASS reported. Bordyuzha
succeeded in persuading Akhmetov of the merit of Kazakhstan joining the
CSTO, which Akhmetov confirmed in a statement to reporters asserting
that "Kazakhstan is oriented toward deep integration not only in the
economic sphere, but also in the sphere of maintaining security,
primarily within the CSTO." In response, Bordyuzha unveiled new "plans
to enhance military cooperation" within the CSTO, and hailed
"Kazakhstan's particular contribution to strengthening the collective
security system." In a later meeting on March 26, Foreign Minister
Marat Tazhin also met with Bordyuzha to discuss "issues of political
cooperation," Kazakhstan Today reported. During his visit, Bordyuzha
also briefed Kazakh officials on plans to expand efforts to combat drug
trafficking in the region, with a particular focus on drugs coming from
Afghanistan, according to Interfax-Kazakhstan. RG
[24] U.S. AMBASSADOR URGES KYRGYZ AUTHORITIES TO EASE RESTRICTIONS ON
DEMONSTRATIONS
Speaking at a conference in Bishkek, U.S. Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan
Marie Yovanovitch stated on March 26 that the United States has urged
the Kyrgyz authorities to ease restrictions on demonstrations and
public rallies, AKIpress and the 24.kg website reported. Yovanovitch
added that "these restrictions do not take into account the scope of a
possible rally or other gatherings," and stressed that "the requirement
that a notification should be sent 10 days in advance and the event
itself should be held in designated places are too restrictive, or
simply freedom of speech will be of no importance if you are allowed to
shout only in a wasteland of several hectares." She also noted that
public demonstrations do not pose a "threat to public order" and that
"long-term stability can be achieved only through ensuring freedom of
speech and opportunities for all the citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic to
enjoy their constitutional rights." The Bishkek city council imposed
new restrictions on public gatherings and rallies in late November
2007, with measures specifying that public gatherings be held at only
three main locations in Bishkek (see "RFE/RL Newsline," December 3,
2007). Those restrictions followed other measures, including a
requirement calling for the traffic police to monitor and approve the
use of loudspeakers in vehicles. RG
Eastern Europe
[25] BELARUSIAN ACTIVISTS, EU COMMISSIONER CONDEMN CRACKDOWN ON
DEMONSTRATORS
Belarusian opposition politician Alyaksandr Milinkevich condemned the
police crackdown on demonstrators who gathered on March 25 in central
Minsk to mark the 90th anniversary of the proclamation of the
Belarusian People's Republic (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 26, 2008),
Belapan reported. "Absolutely peaceful people with flowers took to the
streets.... But they were beaten up, hauled into dark corners so that
the press could not see abuses," Milinkevich said. According to Ales
Bylyatski, head of the Vyasna Human Rights Center, police detained
around 100 demonstrators. Belarusian Interior Minister Uladzimir
Navumau has confirmed that 88 protesters were detained and that during
their arrest some of them were injured. "They [the authorities] only
played democracy in hope to get money from the West, but they remained
the same under the surface," Milinkevich said. Belarusian Popular Front
leader Lyavon Barshcheuski, one of the demonstration's organizers, said
that there was no reason for its violent dispersal by riot police. "The
demonstrators' actions were absolutely peaceful," he said. EU External
Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said that "it is
unacceptable that peaceful demonstrators, including journalists, were
reportedly arrested and some subjected to violent treatment." She
continued: "I am all the more dismayed by these events, since we had
recently seen some more positive actions by the Belarusian authorities:
the release of five out of six of the internationally recognized
political prisoners, suspension of the court case against the Belarus
Helsinki Committee, and the final steps paving the way for the opening
of an [European Commission] delegation in Minsk." "The Belarusian
authorities must understand that the positive momentum created by these
acts needs to be confirmed if we are to engage in a full partnership.
The final release of all political prisoners, including Alyaksandr
Kazulin, and the end of harassment of civil society are concrete steps
that could progressively open the way for a normalization of our
relations," Ferrero-Waldner added. AM
[26] BELARUSIAN AUTHORITIES JAIL, FINE PARTICIPANTS OF OPPOSITION
DEMONSTRATION
Five district courts in Minsk on March 26 heard the cases of detained
participants of the opposition demonstration marking the 90th
anniversary of the proclamation of Belarusian People's Republic,
RFE/RL's Belarus Service and Belapan reported. Twenty-eight
demonstrators were sentenced to terms from three to 15 days in jail and
42 demonstrators were fined from $81 to $489 for participating in an
unsanctioned rally. Among those arrested or sentenced are youth
activists Zmitser Dashkevich, Artur Finkevich, Ivan Shyla, Krystsina
Shatsikava, and Katsyaryna Salauyova. Dashkevich, leader of the
unregistered organization Youth Front, received a 15-day jail term.
Riot police also detained two journalists from the Minsk-based
independent "Nasha Niva" newspaper, staff writer Syamyon Pechanko and
photographer Andrey Lyankevich. Both had press cards and were working
on the newspaper's online coverage of the demonstration. Pechanko was
sentenced to 15 days in jail, while Lyankevich's trial was postponed
until March 27. Police also briefly detained Lithuanian reporter Ruta
Ribaciauskiene and her cameraman Jonas Griskonis, who had accreditation
from the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, and seized a videotape containing
footage of the demonstration and its violent dispersal. The Lithuanian
Foreign Ministry on March 26 handed Belarusian Ambassador Uladzimir
Drazhyn a note demanding an explanation of the detention and the return
of the seized tape. AM
[27] BELARUSIAN KGB RAIDS MINSK OFFICE OF POLISH-BASED RADIO RACJA...
Belarusian Committee for State Security (KGB) officers in Minsk on
March 27 set a trap for correspondents of the Polish-based Radio Racja,
RFE/RL's Belarus Service reported. In the morning, officers waited near
the apartment rented as the Minsk office of the broadcaster and
detained everyone headed toward it. They later searched the apartment.
Eugeniusz Wappa, head of the Belarusian Union in Poland, which founded
Radio Racja, told "RFE/RL Newsline" that the KGB detained three of the
station's correspondents: one in Minsk, one in Brest Oblast, and one in
Hrodna Oblast. The correspondent in Vitsebsk notified the broadcaster's
office in Bialystok, Poland, that his apartment was broken into.
Similar searches were also made of the offices and private apartments
of independent journalists in Brest, Hrodna, Vitsebsk, and Homel,
including the office of the European Radio For Belarus and the
apartments of correspondents of independent Belsat television. The KGB
accused the journalists of slandering President Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
AM
[28] ...CONFIRMS ARREST OF U.S. LAWYER
The Belarusian KGB has officially confirmed that U.S. lawyer Emanuel
Zeltser and his secretary, Russian national Vladlena Funk, were
arrested on March 12, Belapan reported on March 26, citing KGB
spokesman Valery Nadtachayeu. Nadtachayeu told Belapan that both were
charged under the article of Belarus's Criminal Code that penalizes the
deliberate use of counterfeit documents by a group of people.
Russian-born Zeltser, who heads the Russian-American Law Institute NGO,
was arrested after he arrived in Minsk for meetings with clients and
has been held in the KGB detention center. The KGB has previously
refused to provide any explanation for the arrest. AM
[29] PRESIDENT SAYS UKRAINE STRIVES FOR NATO MEMBERSHIP TO SECURE
SOVEREIGNTY
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has told reporters of prominent
European newspapers that the issue of Ukraine's possible NATO
membership should be regarded in the context of the country's
sovereignty, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reported on March 26. "I have
no doubts that we will receive a positive signal," Yushchenko said. He
said that Ukraine's intention to join NATO is a desire to join the most
effective system of collective security and the readiness to share
responsibility for Europe's security with all its states. Asked by the
"Financial Times" whether Ukraine's move toward NATO is, as described
by Russian President-elect Dmitry Medvedev, "extremely troublesome for
the existing structure of European security," Yushchenko said that
Ukraine's possible NATO membership does not pose any threat to its
neighbors, including Russia. "These are attempts to leave Ukraine in a
position in which it would be unable to protect its security against
threats. This is not acceptable. We are a sovereign nation," he added.
AM
[30] UKRAINIAN PREMIER PRAISES GOVERNMENT FOR 100 DAYS IN POWER
Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said on March 26 that she is satisfied
with the achievements of her government during its first 100 days in
power, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reported. "This is a government whose
priorities undoubtedly are the national interest and the interest of
each individual," Tymoshenko said. Among the main achievements of the
government, Tymoshenko mentioned Ukraine's accession to the World Trade
Organization, the initiating of talks on a free-trade zone between
Ukraine and European Union, and the signing of the extended agreement
with the EU. Tymoshenko said that anti-inflation steps taken by the
government should yield results within six months. "It is necessary for
at least half a year to curb inflation processes," she said. Tymoshenko
criticized the Verkhovna Rada for failing to approve the government's
program submitted for parliament's consideration two months ago. The
Presidential Secretariat also assessed the government's first 100 days
in power positively, although its deputy head, Oleksandr Shlapak,
suggested the government be more modest when setting its achievements
and more objective as regards its predecessor's actions. AM
Southeastern Europe
[31] FORMER RUSSIAN PREMIER CALLS FOR PARTITION, POPULATION TRANSFERS
IN KOSOVA
Former Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, who was one of the
Soviet Union's top Middle East experts and the first director of
Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), said in a recent interview
with the Belgrade daily "Vecernje novosti" that the only practical
solution for Kosova is a partition along ethnic lines, which would
entail population transfers, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian
Languages Service and Reuters reported on March 26. Primakov, who was
Russia's peace envoy to Belgrade in the run-up to the 1999 NATO bombing
campaign, said that "the best solution would be now for [Kosovar] Serbs
to move out of southern parts to northern parts, which are closer to
Serbia, and then to join Serbia." He stressed that "partition is the
only solution. If not, there will be constant conflicts, and innocent
people will suffer." Kosova, the European Union, United Nations, and
the United States oppose the partition of Kosova, which Belgrade
nonetheless seeks (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 25 and 26, 2008).
Possible population transfers, in conjunction with a partition, have
long been discussed among diplomats and Balkan experts in private (see
"RFE/RL Balkan Report," April 24, 2007, and February 13, 2008). It is
not clear whether he cleared his remarks with the Kremlin or the
Russian Foreign Ministry before he gave his interview, but RFE/RL
reported from Belgrade on March 26 that he probably cleared his
statement with the Serbian government. If that is the case, then it
seems likely that Belgrade has come to favor population transfers, but
prefers to let a Russian statesman launch the first trial balloon. Some
of the most important Serbian cultural and religious monuments in
Kosova are located outside the north. Echoing views often made by
Serbian leaders, Primakov said in his interview that Kosova's
independence could lead to the breakup of some other Balkan states, and
that "one thing should be kept in mind, that giving independence to
Kosovo means the start of creating a Muslim state in the middle of
Europe." PM
[32] WHO ASKED RUSSIA FOR 'HUMANITARIAN AID' FOR KOSOVA'S SERBS?
Serbian Trade and Services Minister Predrag Bubalo, who belongs to
Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS),
said in Belgrade on March 26 that Serbia "did not ask for any special
humanitarian aid for Kosovo" from Russia, RFE/RL's South Slavic and
Albanian Languages Service reported. On March 24, the Russian cabinet
discussed what Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said was a Serbian
request for humanitarian aid for Serbian-populated enclaves in Kosova.
On March 26, however, Bubalo said that the Russians must have come to
realize themselves that Kosova's Serbs "are living in especially
difficult circumstances, particularly in the enclaves" outside of the
Serbian-dominated north (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 25, 2008). PM
[33] NATO TELLS SERBS 'DON'T EXPECT FLOWERS'
French Colonel Jean-Luc Cotard, a spokesman for NATO's KFOR
peacekeepers, said in Prishtina on March 26 that NATO will use "all
appropriate means" if mobs attack it with lethal weapons, Reuters
reported. He stressed that "we are not a police force. We don't have
the same rules. Don't expect KFOR to send flowers when we are being
shot at." He noted that he makes "a strict distinction between citizens
and murderers." Cotard said that KFOR has examined an unexploded hand
grenade of the kind recently used against UN police and NATO troops in
Mitrovica during Serbian riots, in which one Ukrainian policeman was
killed, and that the grenade proved to be a Yugoslav-made M75, which
contains 3,000 "marbles", or prefragmented steel balls. He added that
"it is used to kill people during an assault." In an interview with the
Belgrade daily "Vecernje novosti" of March 23, Serbian Prime Minister
Kostunica accused NATO peacekeepers and UN police of using "snipers and
banned ammunition" to put down the riot in which the Ukrainian
policeman died (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 17, 18, 19, 20, and 25,
2008). PM
[34] KOSOVA GIVES TOP TREATMENT TO WIFE OF U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
On March 26 in Prishtina, Kosova's President Fatmir Sejdiu and Prime
Minister Hashim Thaci met with Cindy McCain, the wife of presumed
Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain of Arizona, AP
reported. She is on the board of the mine-clearing organization HALO
trust and recently visited Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Mozambique, and Angola
to discuss its work in former conflict zones, including Kosova. The
top-level reception accorded to her reflects the importance Kosova
attaches to relations with the United States. PM
Southwestern Asia And The Middle East
[35] BOMB KILLS EIGHT AT AFGHAN MARKET
A car bomb exploded in a market in the Girishk district of Helmand
Province on March 26, killing at least eight people and wounding 17,
Reuters reported, citing local police. Provincial police chief Hussain
Andiwal told the news agency that "the explosives were inside a car
parked at the weekly market, where a sizable number of people were
buying and selling goods." Andiwal said the explosion apparently
targeted civilians; there were no foreign or Afghan forces in the area,
and children were among the victims. A Taliban spokesman denied
responsibility for the attack, which is common Taliban policy when many
civilians or children are among the dead. AT
[36] MINISTER CALLS ON WEST TO LET AFGHANS DEAL WITH TALIBAN
Afghan Education Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar has called on Western
countries to allow Afghan communities to fight the Taliban on their
own, the BBC reported on March 26. Atmar said higher numbers of NATO
troops won't solve the conflict, and called instead for the greater
"Afghanisation" of security efforts. The BBC referred to
"Afghanisation" as a popular concept among Western countries eager to
start withdrawing troops from the country. Atmar noted that NATO spends
10 times more on its foreign troops than it does on supporting Afghan
forces, and said the same money would be better spent on arming and
training local troops. He told the BBC that Afghan forces could defeat
the Taliban in five years, but that NATO would require at least 15
years to do the job. AT
[37] KIDNAPPED AFGHANS RELEASED IN PAKISTAN
A group of Afghans who were kidnapped in a tribal region of
northwestern Pakistan were released on March 26, Xinhua news agency
reported. Negotiators sent by the local authorities managed to secure
the prisoners' release. The 40 Afghans were traveling on the so-called
Pakistan-Afghan Friendship Bus, heading toward the eastern Afghan city
of Jalalabad, when they were stopped and abducted by armed tribesmen.
It was unclear from the news reports when the kidnapping took place.
The kidnappers were reportedly seeking the release of three of their
relatives who were arrested in Afghanistan earlier this month. AT
[38] TALIBAN AGAIN THREATENS SPRING AFGHAN OFFENSIVE
The Taliban has threatened to use new techniques and increase its
attacks in Afghanistan during its spring offensive. A statement
delivered to news agencies and credited to Taliban senior commander
Mullah Brother warns Afghans to quit their government jobs or risk
being targeted. The U.S. military and NATO, however, have dismissed the
threat of a Taliban spring offensive, saying the only offensive that
will take place this year is one by Western and allied Afghan troops.
AP quoted Mark Laity, the NATO spokesman in Kabul, as saying on March
26 that the Taliban is threatening "more destruction, more unhappiness,
more misery. What is there that will present any hope for the Afghan
people?" General Mohammad Zahir Azimi, a spokesman for the Afghan
Defense Ministry, said the Taliban announcement is nothing but
propaganda. Azimi said that "thousands of Taliban were killed last
year," while "the Afghan National Army has increased its numbers.
Important Taliban leaders have been killed." AT
[39] IRAN SAYS IT WILL NOT COMPLY WITH UN RESOLUTION
Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki has written to UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon to say that UN Security Council Resolution 1803 passed on
March 3 against Iran contravenes the UN Charter, and Iran has no
obligation to abide by its stipulations, Radio Farda reported on March
26, citing Iranian news agencies. The resolution was intended to
pressure Tehran to curb its contested nuclear program and especially
nuclear fuel-making activities that could be used in making weapons
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 3 and 4, 2008). The letter was given to
Ban on March 25 by Iran's ambassador to the UN, Mohammad Khazai.
Mottaki stated in his letter why Iran considers certain sections of the
resolution were illegal and he claimed that certain Security Council
members "politicized" Iran's case. It observed that Iran worked with
the International Atomic Energy Agency in the months preceding the
resolution to help clarify its activities. Mottaki said Iran reserves
the right to take unspecified legal measures against states that voted
for the resolution, and he urged them to compensate Iran for financial
or economic losses incurred and "apologize to the Iranian people." VS
[40] SYRIA WELCOMES IRAN'S PRESENCE AT ARAB SUMMIT
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallim said in Damascus on March 26
that Iranian Foreign Minister Mottaki could attend the Arab League
summit to be held in Damascus on March 29 as a participating guest, the
same way Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad attended a recent Gulf
Cooperation Council summit, IRNA reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
December 11 and 12, 2007). The summit will discuss issues including the
political crisis in Lebanon, although Lebanon is not attending in
protest at Syrian interference in its politics, while Egypt, Jordan,
and Saudi Arabia are sending low-level envoys, not their foreign
ministers or monarchs, showing their unease at Syrian involvement in
Lebanese politics. Iran and Syria are believed to back the
Hizballah-led opposition to the government of Fuad Siniora; the two
blocs have failed to agree since November 2007 on a choice of
president. Iran and Syria have denied meddling in Lebanese politics.
Al-Muallim dismissed the idea that Iran's presence at the summit would
mean it would dominate or influence the agenda. He added that ties
between the Arabs and Iran are important, though the summit will remain
principally an Arab affair, IRNA reported. VS
[41] IRANIAN CABINET MEETS AFTER NEW-YEAR BREAK
President Ahmadinejad said on March 26 at the first cabinet meeting in
the new Iranian year -- the year 1387 that began on March 21 -- that
the next 12 months will be a time of economic change and the brisk
implementation of state policies, the state broadcaster reported.
Ahmadinejad said the year will see "structural changes" in Iran, the
implementation of "great works including economic changes," updated
projects and the reduction of state-sector costs, and an "orderly"
program of provincial trips, iribnews.ir reported. Ahmadinejad has
favored visits to the provinces as a means for cabinet members to come
into direct contact with people outside Tehran. The cabinet also
approved on March 26 the creation of a new district called Rostam, in
the southern Fars Province. VS
[42] IRANIAN MINISTRY URGES PILGRIMS TO AVOID IRAQ FOR NOW
The Interior Ministry has urged Iranian pilgrims not to travel
individually to Iraq due to "numerous security problems," IRNA reported
on March 26. The report did not indicate if groups or caravans of
pilgrims should also postpone trips to Iraq, which has most recently
been the scene of resurgent violence and gun battles between troops and
insurgents in several areas. Iran's Shi'ite Muslims visit shrines or
mausoleums in Iraq belonging to some of the Prophet Muhammad's
descendents or relatives, whom the Shi'a revere as saints or as
Muhammad's rightful successors as rulers of the Islamic community. Most
were killed in the seventh to 10th centuries by the caliphs in Damascus
or Baghdad who did not recognize their dynastic claims. The Iranian
state pilgrimage body also advised pilgrims to postpone trips to Iraq
in light of the "special conditions" in Iraq, IRNA reported. VS
[43] CLASHES CONTINUE BETWEEN SHI'ITE MILITIA AND IRAQI FORCES...
Fighters belonging to radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia,
the Imam Al-Mahdi Army, on March 26 clashed with Iraqi forces for a
second day in several cities, Iraqi and international media reported.
In the southern port city of Al-Basrah, AFP reported that at least
seven people died in fierce clashes in the Al-Mahdi Army stronghold
neighborhoods of Al-Quzayzah, Al-Hayaniyah, Al-Qarmah, Khamsah Mil, and
Al-Ma'qal. Al-Sharqiyah television reported that a massive explosion on
the outskirts of Al-Basrah damaged an Iraqi military convoy traveling
from the holy city of Karbala to support government forces in the
south. In an interview with Al-Arabiyah satellite television, Interior
Ministry spokesman Major General Abd al-Karim al-Khalaf said the city
is returning to normal and the Iraqi military is in control. The Iraqi
Army launched a major military operation on March 25 in Al-Basrah in an
attempt to regain control of the city (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 26,
2008). In Al-Hillah, Iraqi police fought with militiamen in two
neighborhoods near the city center. Police sources said that Al-Mahdi
Army fighters seized control of five neighborhoods in the southern town
of Al-Kut after clashing with Iraqi police. And in the Shi'ite
neighborhood of Al-Sadr City in Baghdad, fighting left at least 14
people dead and 140 wounded, according to local hospital officials. SS
[44] ...AS IRAQI PREMIER GIVES MILITIAS DEADLINE TO DISARM...
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on March 26 issued a warning to all
Shi'ite militias in Al-Basrah to disarm within 72 hours or face serious
consequences, international media reported. Al-Maliki made the
announcement during a visit Al-Basrah, where he was personally
overseeing the massive military operation. "Those who were deceived
into carrying weapons must present themselves within 72 hours and make
a written pledge not to repeat such action," al-Maliki said.
"Otherwise, they will face the most severe penalties." Reacting to
al-Maliki's warning, Interior Ministry spokesman Major General
al-Khalaf told Al-Arabiyah satellite television that "the operations
will continue whether they surrender or not. Anyone who surrenders
within 72 hours will not be held accountable.... As for those who do
not turn in their weapons, our troops will proceed with their mission,
and those who are arrested will be referred to the judiciary."
According to media reports, at least 50 people have been killed and
more than 300 wounded in two days of clashes in Al-Basrah and Baghdad.
SS
[45] ...WHILE AL-SADR CALLS FOR DIALOGUE TO END VIOLENCE
Hazim al-Araji, a senior aide to Shi'ite leader al-Sadr, told the BBC
on March 26 that the cleric has sent local representatives to ask Prime
Minister al-Maliki to leave Al-Basrah and resolve the current conflict
peacefully. Several other al-Sadr aides were quoted by AP as saying
that no negotiations can take place until Iraqi forces withdraw from
the city. On March 25, al-Sadr called on all of his followers to embark
on a nationwide campaign of civil disobedience to protest what he
called the government's targeting of Imam Al-Mahdi Army fighters (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," March 26, 2008). Meanwhile, the leader of the
Sadrist bloc in the Iraqi Parliament, Nasr al-Rubay'i, said that the
bloc will suspend all participation in parliament until government
forces stop targeting members of the Sadrist movement, "Al-Azzam"
reported on March 26. The bloc has 30 seats in parliament. SS
[46] U.S. BLAMES IRAN FOR INCREASE IN VIOLENCE IN IRAQ
U.S. military spokesman Major General Kevin Bergner said on March 26
that Iran is to blame for the recent upswing in violence in Iraq,
international media reported. Bergner said Iran is providing training
for militants in Baghdad and is not doing enough to rein in fighters in
Al-Basrah. "There is no question that the government of Iran has
significant influence in Al-Basrah, in the governorate and in
southeastern Iraq in general," Bergner said. "We would love to see the
government of Iran fulfill its commitments to help improve security and
stability [in Al-Basrah]...and reduce the activities of those operating
outside the law." Bergner blamed the recent series of rocket attacks on
the Green Zone in Baghdad on Iranian-backed "special groups," which are
rogue elements of the Imam Al-Mahdi Army. The U.S. military says these
special groups have refused to observe al-Sadr's cease-fire, first
imposed in August 2007 and later extended by six months on February 22
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 22, 2008). Bergner also stressed that
the ongoing military operation in Al-Basrah is not aimed specifically
at reining in the Imam Al-Mahdi Army, but at dealing with lawless gangs
and criminals. SS
[47] IRAQI FORCES ARREST SENIOR AL-QAEDA LEADER IN NORTHERN IRAQ
The U.S. military on March 26 announced that Iraqi security forces,
assisted by local civilians, have arrested a senior Al-Qaeda in Iraq
leader and five other suspected terrorists near the northern city of
Kirkuk. The suspected leader is believed to be linked to militant
operations in the Al-Ta'mim (Kirkuk) Governorate, while the five others
are suspected "to have conducted numerous acts of intimidation against
innocent Iraqi citizens," the military statement said. U.S. commander
Colonel David Paschal praised the cooperation between Iraqi security
forces and the civilian population. "You can run but you cannot hide
from us: the Iraqi police force, the Iraqi Army, or the citizens of
this province. We are committed to hunt down those who want to disrupt
the reconciliation and rebuilding efforts here, and bring them to
justice," Paschal said. SS
[48] DUBAI COMPANY TO INVEST IN IRAQ
Muhammad al-Mualim, the CEO of Dubai Ports International, on March 25
announced that his company is considering several investment
opportunities in Iraq, "Voices of Iraq" reported on March 26. "Iraq is
listed among the developing countries that have good investment
opportunities, and we have future plans to take advantage of these
opportunities," al-Mualim said. "We are waiting for the appropriate
time to carry out any plans," he added. He declined to reveal details
of the company's investment plans. SS
End Note
[49] THERE IS NO END NOTE TODAY.
|