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RFE/RL Newsline, 08-04-22
CONTENTS
[01] PUTIN DISMISSES ARTICLE LINKING HIM TO FORMER OLYMPIC GYMNAST...
[02] ...WHILE NEWSPAPER THAT RAN IT SUSPENDS PUBLICATION
[03] MIRONOV SHUNS COALITION WITH PUTIN'S PARTY
[04] POLL: RUSSIANS WANT TO KEEP THE CURRENT CABINET
[05] ADAMOV RESUMES SCIENTIFIC CAREER
[06] WILL RUSSIAN POLITICAL DEAL HELP ITALIAN AIRLINES?
[07] PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT BACKS RUSSIAN-SPONSORED CONFERENCE
[08] FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN NAMED AMBASSADOR TO CUBA
[09] EMBATTLED CHECHEN COMMANDER AFFIRMS LOYALTY TO PUTIN
[10] ARMENIAN OPPOSITION STAGES PROTEST
[11] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT DEMANDS CRACKDOWN ON 'CORRUPT' CUSTOMS
COMMITTEE
[12] KARABAKH PRESIDENT MEETS WITH NEW ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER
[13] AZERBAIJANI POLITICAL SCIENTIST SENTENCED
[14] ABKHAZIA CLAIMS TO HAVE SHOT DOWN ANOTHER GEORGIAN SPY PLANE
[15] KAZAKH COURT OVERTURNS JOURNALIST'S CONVICTION
[16] KAZAKH POLICE ARREST NINE SUSPECTED MEMBERS OF BANNED ISLAMIST
GROUP
[17] KAZAKH MINISTRY REGISTERS RENAMED OPPOSITION PARTY
[18] KAZAKH GOVERNMENT SAYS FOOD RESERVES ADEQUATE, DESPITE PRICE RISES
[19] KYRGYZ PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES EXEMPTION TO KAZAKH BAN ON WHEAT
EXPORTS
[20] KYRGYZ PARLIAMENT ADOPTS PLAN TO EXPAND NATIONAL TELEVISION
COVERAGE...
[21] ...AND PASSES CONTROVERSIAL PRIVATIZATION LAW
[22] IAEA EXPERTS EXAMINE RADIOACTIVE WASTE IN KYRGYZSTAN
[23] KYRGYZ POLICE LAUNCH INVESTIGATION OF SHOOTING DEATH OF RUSSIAN
SOLDIER
[24] UN AGENCIES LAUNCH APPEAL FOR AID TO TAJIKISTAN
[25] TAJIKISTAN TO IMPORT 700,000 TONS OF WHEAT AND FLOUR
[26] TURKMEN PRESIDENT CREATES COMMISSION TO MODIFY CONSTITUTION
[27] BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION PARTY REELECTS CHAIRMAN
[28] BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT APPOINTS NEW AGRICULTURE MINISTER
[29] UKRAINIAN PREMIER PLEDGES TO MOVE TOWARD PARLIAMENTARY REPUBLIC
[30] UKRAINIAN OPPOSITION PARTY REELECTS ITS LEADER
[31] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT WARNS UKRAINE AGAINST TERRITORIAL CLAIMS ON
MOLDOVA
[32] RUSSIA CALLS ON SERBIA TO RATIFY ENERGY DEAL
[33] AFGHAN ARMY DETAINS LARGE GROUP OF PAKISTANIS ON BORDER
[34] AFGHAN POLICE CLASH WITH IRANIAN FORCES ON BORDER
[35] KIDNAPPED PAKISTANI AMBASSADOR TO AFGHANISTAN SHOWN ALIVE IN VIDEO
[36] SPANISH DEFENSE MINISTER VISITS AFGHANISTAN
[37] IRAN SAYS IAEA OFFICIAL NOT IN TEHRAN TO DISCUSS NUCLEAR WEAPONS
[38] BRITISH PRIME MINISTER URGES TIGHTENED SANCTIONS ON IRAN
[39] IRAN'S POLICE COMMANDER CHARGES FOR FORMER TEHRAN POLICE CHIEF
[40] IRAN BLAMES TERRORISTS FOR IRAQ UNREST
[41] SHI'ITE CLERIC THREATENS 'OPEN WAR' IF IRAQI GOVERNMENT CONTINUES
TO TARGET MILITIA...
[42] ...AS VIOLENCE FLARES IN BAGHDAD AND POINTS SOUTH
[43] U.S. MILITARY SAYS 'SPECIAL GROUP CRIMINALS' FIGHTING IN AL-SADR
CITY
[44] U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE SAYS IRAQI POLITICIANS UNITED
[45] U.K. MILITARY SOURCES CALL AL-BASRAH OPERATION 'UNMITIGATED
DISASTER'
[46] THERE IS NO END NOTE TODAY.
Monday, April 21, 2008 Volume 12 Number 75
Russia
[01] PUTIN DISMISSES ARTICLE LINKING HIM TO FORMER OLYMPIC GYMNAST...
President Vladimir Putin on April 18 denied rumors first reported in
the newspaper "Moskovsky korrespondent" that he has divorced his wife
and intends to marry Alina Kabayeva, a former the Olympic gold
medal-winning gymnast who is now a State Duma deputy. Asked about the
report during a news conference in Sardinia with incoming Italian Prime
Minister Silvio Berlusconi on April 18, Putin said there was not "a
single world of truth" in it, AP reported. "In other publications of
the same type, the names of other successful, beautiful young women
from Russia are mentioned," he said. "I think it won't be unexpected if
I say that I like them all -- just as I like all Russian women."
Russian women are "the most talented and beautiful" in the world, Putin
said, adding: "If anyone can compete, it may be only Italian women." He
also said: "I have always had a negative opinion of those who, with
their snotty noses and their erotic fantasies, meddle in other people's
lives." According to AP, the "Moskovsky korrespondent" article, which
the tabloid published on April 11, reported that Putin divorced his
wife two months earlier and planned to marry Kabayeva in St.
Petersburg. The article cited the close friend of the head of a company
bidding to hold the wedding. "Moskovsky korrespondent" Editor in Chief
Grigory Nekhoroshev defended publishing the story: "I am 100 percent
convinced that people should know this information about [their]
leaders," RFE/RL's Russian Service on April 18 quoted him as saying.
"They should be aware even of rumors so that a public discussion can
take place." JB
[02] ...WHILE NEWSPAPER THAT RAN IT SUSPENDS PUBLICATION
Interfax on April 18 quoted Artyom Artyomov, general director of the
National Media Company, which publishes "Moskovsky korrespondent," as
saying he has decided to stop financing and publishing the newspaper
both because of its "large costs" and "differences with the editorial
staff over its concept." Artyomov said there will soon be "a new
concept for the newspaper and a business plan for its development." He
also reported that "Moskovsky korrespondent" Editor in Chief
Nekhoroshev has resigned but denied "any hidden political motive for
the suspension of the publication of the newspaper," saying it was
"purely" a business decision. However, RIA Novosti on April 18 quoted a
"reliable source" as calling claims that "Moskovsky korrespondent" was
experiencing financial problems "grossly exaggerated." The Other Russia
opposition group's website, theotherrussia.org, reported on April 20
that Federal Security Service (FSB) agents have visited the offices of
"Moskovsky korrespondent" several times since the Putin-Kabayeva story
was published and that the paper's "billionaire owner" -- former State
Duma Deputy Aleksandr Lebedev -- "was warned to beef up his personal
security." However, "Kommersant" on April 21 quoted Lebedev as calling
the claim that he was ordered to close the newspaper "complete
nonsense," saying it happened for "exclusively economic" reasons.
"Kommersant" also quoted deputy presidential press secretary Dmitry
Peskov as saying that the Kremlin had nothing to do with closing
"Moskovsky korrespondent." He described the Putin-Kabayeva article a
"gutter [press] canard" and said "a self-respecting publication" would
have telephoned the presidential press service for comment before
publishing such a piece. Nevertheless, analyst Aleksei Makarkin said he
believes Lebedev in fact suspended publication of "Moskovsky
korrespondent" because of the Putin-Kabayeva article. "The owner has
commercial interests in Russia, and in this situation any
identification with this article would be too big a political risk for
him," "Gazeta" on April 21 quoted Makarkin as saying. "For him, the
newspaper was not a strategic project and following that publication it
became too big an irritant to the authorities." JB
[03] MIRONOV SHUNS COALITION WITH PUTIN'S PARTY
Federation Council Chairman Sergei Mironov, who heads the A Just Russia
party, said he is against the idea of choosing a cabinet on the basis
of political party membership, Interfax reported on April 20. "I am
against a party government in principle: I believe that we have a
presidential republic, [that] all decisions are taken by the president,
and the government should consist of professionals," Mironov told the
news agency. He also said that his party does not plan to enter into a
coalition with Unified Russia for forming a new cabinet. "We are
prepared to cooperate with Unified Russia members and there are
examples of that -- we together supported the candidacy of Dmitry
Medvedev for president of the country," Mironov said. "But
ideologically, we are a socialist party, and in this connection we are
in opposition." Outgoing President Putin was elected leader of Unified
Russia on April 15 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," April 16, 2008). On April
20, Mironov took part in a conference of airborne forces' veterans
belonging to the Union of Russian Paratroopers. Mironov is the chairman
of that union's supervisory board, Interfax reported. JB
[04] POLL: RUSSIANS WANT TO KEEP THE CURRENT CABINET
In a poll conduced by the Levada Center on April 11-14, 47 percent of
the respondents said they believed the current cabinet of ministers
should remain largely unchanged after President-elect Medvedev is
inaugurated and Putin becomes prime minister, while 23 percent said it
should be changed significantly, Interfax reported on April 20. The
most popular minister in the poll was Emergency Situations Minister
Sergei Shoigu, with 44 percent of the respondents saying they would
like to see him remain in the next cabinet. Shoigu was followed by
First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov (35 percent), Prime Minister
Viktor Zubkov (31 percent), Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (18
percent), Health and Social Development Minister Tatyana Golikova (12
percent), Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev (9 percent), Deputy Prime
Minister Aleksandr Zhukov (9 percent), Regional Development Minister
Dmitry Kozak (9 percent), Economic Development and Trade Minister
Elvira Nabiullina (8 percent), and Finance Minister Alksei Kudrin (7
percent). The remaining current cabinet members received the support of
3-5 percent of the respondents, Interfax reported. Asked who among the
current ministers should definitely be fired, 63 percent of the
respondents said it was difficult for them to answer. JB
[05] ADAMOV RESUMES SCIENTIFIC CAREER
Former Atomic Energy Minister Yevgeny Adamov has returned to his post
of scientific adviser at the Dollezhal Institute, one of Russia's
largest nuclear research centers, where he worked for around 20 years,
RIA Novosti reported on April 18. "I came to the institute yesterday
and spent the whole day there today," Adamov told the news agency.
"Science is my life, and this cannot be changed. I intend to continue
my scientific activities." Adamov, who was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in
prison in February on charges of leading a criminal group that
embezzled some $110 million from Russia's state budget and other state
enterprises and organizations, was released from custody on April 17
when the Moscow City Court changed his jail term to a suspended
sentence. "The Moscow Times," citing Interfax, on April 18 quoted a
spokesman for the Prosecutor-General's Office as saying prosecutors
would "definitely" not appeal the suspension of Adamov's sentence.
Adamov, who served as atomic energy minister from 1998 to 2001, was
originally arrested in Switzerland in May 2005 at the request of the
United States, where he was accused of misappropriating $9 million
allocated to Russia for nuclear-safety projects. The charges against
Adamov in the United States are still pending. JB
[06] WILL RUSSIAN POLITICAL DEAL HELP ITALIAN AIRLINES?
President Putin held two days of talks on April 17-18 in Porto Rotondo
on Sardinia with Italian Prime Minister-designate Silvio Berlusconi,
Russian and international media reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," April
18, 2008). Putin said on April 18 that he "spoke with the chairman of
the Aeroflot board of directors today. They are ready to resume
contacts with their Italian partners [at Alitalia]. Of course, we don't
know what the result will be. These are commercial negotiations." After
Putin spoke, there was speculation in international media that
Berlusconi asked him to persuade the Russian airline to help rescue
Alitalia. Some observers suggested that Berlusconi might also want to
bring Aeroflot back into talks, from which it withdrew in 2007, as a
means of exerting pressure on Air France-KLM, which is also negotiating
regarding Alitalia. Aeroflot and some Western airlines pulled out of
talks on Alitalia in 2007 because of what they regarded as unacceptable
conditions attached by the Italian authorities to any privatization
deal. One of Berlusconi's campaign promises prior to his recent
election victory was that he would put together an all-Italian
consortium to bail out Alitalia. Britain's "Financial Times" noted on
April 19 that "no Italian consortium...has materialized" and that
"people close to the situation said they believed Aeroflot was not
considered a serious option" for Alitalia. Putin also said on April 18
that the Italian energy company "ENI has received access to assets on
Russian territory, and Gazprom hopes it can receive adequate assets in
other countries, particularly in Libya. We have a wide range of joint
projects, from the joint extraction of energy resources to the
development of infrastructure and pipeline systems." He did not
elaborate. "The Moscow Times" reported on April 21 that "a gas deal
between Gazprom and Italy's ENI involving Libya could be in the cards."
PM
[07] PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT BACKS RUSSIAN-SPONSORED CONFERENCE
Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas said in Novo-Ogaryovo on
April 18 that he supports Russia's proposal to hold a Middle East
conference in Moscow, mid.ru reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," April 1,
2008). President Putin said recently that Russian officials are
consulting with the United States and several Middle Eastern countries
about hosting the gathering at an unspecified date. Israel is
noticeably cool toward the proposal, which it regards as an attempt to
divert attention from the Israeli-Palestinian dispute by bringing in
issues involving Syria and Lebanon as well. The daily "Kommersant"
observed on April 18 that the Russian leadership feels that Washington
has monopolized diplomatic activity in the Middle East and called Abbas
to Moscow to warn him not to leave Russia out of the process. The paper
argued that "Moscow is under the impression that it is being actively
elbowed out of the Middle East settlement. Preparations are made for
international meetings without Russia, while its own idea of a major
international conference is all but ignored. The Kremlin is convinced
that Abbas could show more zeal in promoting Russian involvement in the
processes under way." The daily also commented that a recent Egyptian
proposal for a conference involving only the "leaders of the United
States, Jordan, Palestine, and Israel" was a U.S.-inspired attempt to
exclude Russia and "ruin the Middle East forum in Moscow." PM
[08] FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN NAMED AMBASSADOR TO CUBA
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin took leave of journalists
and media representatives on April 21 in his final appearance in that
position, which he has held since leaving the post of ambassador to
Spain in 2005, ITAR-TASS reported. The job of spokesman carries with it
ambassadorial rank. Kamynin is a career diplomat who speaks Spanish and
Portuguese as well as English. He previously held posts in the Soviet
Embassy in Mexico and the Russian embassies in Spain and Cuba, as well
as media positions within the ministry. PM
[09] EMBATTLED CHECHEN COMMANDER AFFIRMS LOYALTY TO PUTIN
Sulim Yamadayev, the commander of the Vostok battalion that Chechen
officials want disbanded, told Ekho Moskvy in an interview on April 18
that he reports to the commander in chief of the Russian armed forces,
President Putin, not to Chechen Republic head Ramzan Kadyrov,
kavkaz-uzel.ru reported on April 19. At least two members of Vostok,
which is affiliated with the Russian Defense Ministry's 42nd Motorized
Rifle Division and directly subordinate to Russian military
intelligence, were reported killed in two separate standoffs on April
13 and 14 with members of Kadyrov's bodyguard (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
April 15, 16, 17, and 18, 2008). In the same interview, Yamadayev
accused Kadyrov of deliberately misrepresenting the situation in
Chechnya. He further claimed that 75 percent of the Chechen police are
amnestied former resistance fighters. "Kommersant" reported on April 21
that some 300 members of Vostok (of a total strength of 1,000) have
gone over to Kadyrov's side; Kadyrov was quoted by kavkaz-uzel.ru on
April 19 as promising alternative employment to any who do so. LF
Transcaucasia And Central Asia
[10] ARMENIAN OPPOSITION STAGES PROTEST
Some 7,000 people participated in an opposition rally in Yerevan on
April 19, the first such protest for which the authorities granted
permission since the expiry of the state of emergency imposed in the
wake of the March 1 violence, Noyan Tapan and kavkaz-uzel.ru reported.
Participants defied a demand by police to curtail the rally after two
hours and instead staged a spontaneous march through the city.
Opposition Republican party Chairman Aram Sargsian, who supported the
candidacy of former President Levon Ter-Petrossian in the February 19
presidential ballot, told participants that meeting was the first in a
new wave of protests that will end only when new presidential elections
are scheduled, given that the population has no trust in President
Serzh Sarkisian. LF
[11] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT DEMANDS CRACKDOWN ON 'CORRUPT' CUSTOMS
COMMITTEE
Speaking at a meeting with senior State Customs Committee officials
late on April 17, President Sarkisian deplored what he termed
"thriving" corruption within that agency and threatened to fire members
of its staff who turn a blind eye to smuggling or demand kickbacks from
importers, Noyan Tapan and RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported on April
18. Sarkisian said that "we must live in a country where one can engage
in business without complications," stressing that apart from tax and
customs revenues, Armenia has no alternative sources of financing to
resolve chronic social problems. LF
[12] KARABAKH PRESIDENT MEETS WITH NEW ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER
Eduard Nalbandian, who was named Armenian foreign minister last week
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," April 15, 2008), met in Stepanakert on April 18
with Bako Sahakian, president of the unrecognized republic of
Nagorno-Karabakh, to discuss ongoing efforts to find a political
solution to the Karabakh conflict, armradio.com reported the following
day. They stressed that there is no alternative to resolving the
conflict peacefully, and ruled out unilateral concessions. It was
Nalbandian's first official visit as foreign minister. Sahakian and
Nagorno-Karabakh Prime Minister Ara Harutiunian also met separately
with an Armenian parliament delegation headed by speaker Tigran
Torosian that arrived in Stepanakert on April 17 for a session of the
Commission for Parliamentary Cooperation between Armenia and
Nagorno-Karabakh, regnum.ru reported on April 19. Torosian stressed
during that session the need for European countries to cooperate more
actively with Nagorno-Karabakh, even though it is not recognized as an
independent state. LF
[13] AZERBAIJANI POLITICAL SCIENTIST SENTENCED
After a trial lasting three months, Azerbaijan's Court for Serious
Crimes handed down on April 18 a four-year prison term to Rovsan
Novruzoglu, director of the Center to Combat International Terrorism
and Corruption, zerkalo.az reported on April 19. Novruzoglu was
arrested in July 2007 and charged with forging official documentation
and obtaining $115,000 through blackmail. His lawyer denied at the time
of his arrest that he was suspected of passing sensitive intelligence
information to Iranian intelligence. LF
[14] ABKHAZIA CLAIMS TO HAVE SHOT DOWN ANOTHER GEORGIAN SPY PLANE
Garri Kupalba, a former fighter pilot who is now deputy defense
minister of the unrecognized republic of Abkhazia, announced on April
20 that Abkhaz air defense shot down an unmanned Georgian
reconnaissance aircraft over Abkhazia's southernmost Gali Raion earlier
that day, civil.ge reported. Abkhaz officials claimed one month ago to
have downed a Georgian spy plane of Israeli manufacture (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," March 19, 2008). The Georgian Defense Ministry on April 20
rejected Kupalba's statement as disinformation, while Georgian State
Minister for Reintegration Temur Yakobashvili claimed that Abkhazia
does not have the technical capacity to shoot down such aircraft. On
April 21, Kupalba said the wreckage of the drone has been located, and
it too is of Israeli origin. Also on April 20, de facto Abkhaz Foreign
Minister Sergei Shamba denied Georgian claims that Abkhazia has
violated the cease-fire agreement by deploying over 1,000 troops to
Gali Raion and the lower reaches of the Kodori Gorge, apsny.ru
reported. Each side may maintain no more than 600 Interior Ministry
personnel in the conflict zone. Shamba also said that the UN Observer
Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) announced the previous day that Georgia has
withdrawn from the upper reaches of the Kodori Gorge a contingent
numerically equivalent to that deployed there several days earlier in
what appears to have been a routine rotation, apsny.ru reported (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," April 18, 2008). Meanwhile, the Forum of National
Unity, which frequently criticizes government policy, and the public
organization Aruaa that was established last month released a joint
statement on April 18 calling on citizens to be prepared to repulse an
anticipated Georgian military offensive, apsny.ru reported. The
independent Abkhaz "Nuzhnaya gazeta" on April 8 identified Shamba as a
member of Aruaa, which unites veterans of the 1992-93 war with Georgia.
LF
[15] KAZAKH COURT OVERTURNS JOURNALIST'S CONVICTION
Kazakhstan's Bostandyk district court in Almaty on April 18 overturned
the conviction of opposition journalist Kazis Toguzbaev and revoked his
suspended sentence, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported. In her ruling, Judge
Shinar Yergalieva said that Toguzbaev "did not violate public order or
commit any other offenses" and demonstrated "an improvement in his
behavior" since he was handed a two-year suspended sentence last year
after his conviction for the "infringement on the honor and dignity of
the president" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," January 23, 2007). That sentence
stemmed from Toguzbaev's publication of several critical articles
posted on the kub.kz website in April 2006 that criticized President
Nursultan Nazarbaev in connection with the murder of opposition leader
Altynbek Sarsenbaev and two aides earlier that year (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," February 14, 2006). RG
[16] KAZAKH POLICE ARREST NINE SUSPECTED MEMBERS OF BANNED ISLAMIST
GROUP
Kazakh police in the West Kazakhstan Oblast arrested on April 18 a
group of nine men suspected of belonging to the outlawed Islamist group
Jamaat Takfir, which has been banned as a terrorist organization,
Interfax-Kazakhstan reported. An unidentified police official in the
regional center of Uralsk said that the men were also "suspected of
committing one murder and three robberies," as part of a pattern of
criminal activity intended to finance their extremist activities.
During a subsequent search of the suspects' homes, police also seized
an undisclosed amount of extremist religious material, including
videotapes and literature "aimed at inciting national discord." RG
[17] KAZAKH MINISTRY REGISTERS RENAMED OPPOSITION PARTY
The Kazakh Justice Ministry on April 18 formally registered the
opposition Azat (Free) party and officially recognized the new name of
the party, formerly known as Naghyz Ak Zhol (True Bright Path),
Interfax-Kazakhstan reported. The party formally changed its name
during a party congress last month in Almaty, adopting a new party
symbol and revising the party program (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 3,
2008). Deputy Chairmen Tolegn Zhukeev and Bulat Abilov were elected at
that party congress as secretary-general and chairman of the party,
respectively. Abilov, a former leader of the opposition National Social
Democratic Party, joined Naghyz Ak Zhol following the brief merger of
the two parties in an opposition coalition (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
October 11, 2007). RG
[18] KAZAKH GOVERNMENT SAYS FOOD RESERVES ADEQUATE, DESPITE PRICE RISES
At a press conference in Almaty, Kazakh Emergency Situations Minister
Vladimir Bozhko reported on April 18 on the state of the country's
strategic food reserves, according to Interfax-Kazakhstan. He said that
the government has enough funds on hand to "minimize the negative
effects" from external price hikes. But he refused to reveal any
details on the amount of food in the strategic reserves, saying that
such information is "a state secret." Bozhko said that "in the
conditions of a sharp increase in food prices, which is currently
observed all over the world, the significance of the Emergency
Situations Ministry is increasing." Agriculture Minister Akylbek
Kurishbaev also recently confirmed that Kazakhstan has sufficient
reserves, adding that it could expand its wheat exports to 12 million
tons annually (see "RFE/RL Newsline," April 16, 2008). Separately,
Minister of Industry and Trade Vladimir Shkolnik told a cabinet meeting
on April 18 of the need to "significantly" amend the country's approach
on joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), in light of the volatile
trend in global food markets, arguing that the government needs to
"encourage domestic agricultural-sector development to the maximum
extent" and focus on "protecting our domestic market," Kazakhstan Today
reported. Shkolnik pointed out that such an adjustment would not damage
the course of Kazakhstan's WTO accession process but would allow for
new agreements to be reached on agricultural products with Australia
and completing talks with the European Union and the United States on
"issues of access, unifying tariffs, agriculture, and the financial
market." RG
[19] KYRGYZ PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES EXEMPTION TO KAZAKH BAN ON WHEAT
EXPORTS
President Kurmanbek Bakiev announced on April 18 that Kyrgyzstan will
be exempt from a recent Kazakh decision to ban wheat exports, RFE/RL's
Kyrgyz Service and AKIpress reported. Speaking to reporters en route to
Bishkek following a state visit to Kazakhstan (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
April 18, 2008), Bakiev said that Kazakh officials agreed to honor the
terms of a prior contract to sell Kyrgyzstan 50,000 tons of wheat and
added that Kyrgyzstan will receive a total of 300,000 tons of wheat
from Kazakhstan by the end of the year. Although Kazakhstan is the
world's fifth-largest exporter of grain, it recently imposed a ban on
wheat exports in order to "ensure food security in the country" and to
protect the domestic Kazakh market from expectations that international
prices for wheat, flour, and other agricultural products will continue
to increase (see "RFE/RL Newsline," April 16, 2008). Bakiev also
revealed on April 18 that the two countries agreed during his visit to
a new deal whereby Kazakhstan will supply crude oil to a refinery in
the southern Kyrgyz city of Jalal-Abad, according to AKIpress. He added
that Kazakh President Nazarbaev agreed to harmonize visa regulations by
extending a new 90-day period for Kyrgyz visitors to legally stay in
Kazakhstan without formal registration, Kabar reported. RG
[20] KYRGYZ PARLIAMENT ADOPTS PLAN TO EXPAND NATIONAL TELEVISION
COVERAGE...
The Kyrgyz parliament adopted on April 18 a new plan to expand national
television coverage with a focus on improving access to more remote
rural areas of Kyrgyzstan, according to AKIpress. Backed by deputies
Begaly Nargozuev and Almazbek Karimov, the plan includes measures to
expand broadcasting coverage by installing more powerful transmitters
and sets a goal of achieving nationwide coverage by early December
2008. One of the measures calls for a 23 million-som (about $64,000)
program to install transmitters in 82 villages. Although technicians
from the state-run National Television and Radio Broadcasting
Corporation have long struggled to expand television coverage, several
areas of the country are limited to receiving television programs from
neighboring Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan. RG
[21] ...AND PASSES CONTROVERSIAL PRIVATIZATION LAW
In a later unrelated vote, the Kyrgyz parliament on April 18 adopted a
new controversial law weakening much of the parliament's oversight
authority of the privatization of state assets, AKIpress reported. The
new law also transferred the power to initiate privatizations projects
from the parliament to the government, in the first significant
modification to the March 2002 legal framework on privatization.
Welcoming the vote, the director of the State Committee for the
Management of State Property, Tursun Turdumambetov, told the session
that the move will bolster efforts to carry out the further sell-off of
inefficient state-run facilities and enterprises, and noted that more
than 70 percent of state-owned firms have already been successfully
sold to private investors. Deputies from the opposition Communist and
Social Democratic parties voted against the law, which they criticized
as unconstitutional, and argued that the parliament must retain its
oversight power to more objectively and fairly oversee the
privatization program. RG
[22] IAEA EXPERTS EXAMINE RADIOACTIVE WASTE IN KYRGYZSTAN
Arriving on April 17 in Bishkek after completing an inspection of
neighboring Tajikistan (see "RFE/RL Newsline," April 18, 2008), a
delegation of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) met on April 18 in Bishkek with Kyrgyz Emergency Situations
Minister Turatbek Junushaliev to discuss the situation in several
radioactive waste sites or "tailing ponds," AKIpress reported. The IAEA
experts are in Kyrgyzstan to assess conditions at the 36 tailing ponds
and 25 mining sites that contain radioactive and other harmful waste.
For his part, Junushaliev told the IAEA team that while Kyrgyzstan
appreciates their technical assistance, the country is in need of
financial support to more adequately and effectively manage the toxic
and radioactive waste, some of which is in danger of penetrating nearby
riverbeds and underground water tables. RG
[23] KYRGYZ POLICE LAUNCH INVESTIGATION OF SHOOTING DEATH OF RUSSIAN
SOLDIER
The Kyrgyz Interior Ministry announced that police launched an
investigation on April 20 into the early-morning attack on a group of
Russian servicemen that resulted in the shooting death of a soldier
stationed at the Russian airbase at Kant, outside of Bishkek, ITAR-TASS
reported. According to the ministry, a car carrying the servicemen
failed to stop at a highway checkpoint manned by traffic policemen,
prompting the police to fire a warning shot before then shooting at the
vehicle. A preliminary investigation determined that the Russian was
fatally wounded by the second shot. That account was disputed by the
Russian Embassy in Bishkek, however, which contended that the car
carrying the Russian servicemen was stopped in the town of Kant by
people dressed in police uniform, but who were traveling in a car with
no number plate and produced no official identification. The embassy
added that while detaining the Russian servicemen, the uniformed men
forced the servicemen to the ground and then opened fire without cause.
RG
[24] UN AGENCIES LAUNCH APPEAL FOR AID TO TAJIKISTAN
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA) on April 19 issued an appeal to donor nations seeking some $1.4
million in aid to Tajikistan to prevent flooding and to combat locust
infestation, according to the Avesta website. After several heavy
snowstorms throughout the winter, the UN is concerned that flooding has
already begun as warming temperatures have started to melt the massive
amount of accumulated snow. The appeal seeks aid to fund the purchase
of emergency water, sanitation, and cooking items for up to 1,500
households that are most vulnerable to floods and landslides, Asia-Plus
reported. The OCHA also expressed concern over a continuing locust
infestation that has hit more than 150,000 hectares of land in
Tajikistan. In response, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization
called on April 19 for $500,000 in aid to cover the cost of essential
pesticides and equipment, warning that unless those funds are received
by next week, it may not be able to avert a major outbreak. Tajik
President Emomali Rahmon recently convened an emergency cabinet meeting
to review measures to combat the locust infestation and issued
instructions to use airplanes to spray toxic chemicals and insecticides
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," April 4, 2008). The locust infestation has been
attributed to a disruption of the insects' usual seasonal migration
pattern by the unusually early onset of hot weather after a record cold
winter. RG
[25] TAJIKISTAN TO IMPORT 700,000 TONS OF WHEAT AND FLOUR
At a Dushanbe press conference, Tajik customs chief Gurez Zaripov
announced on April 17 that Tajikistan plans to import some 700,000 tons
of wheat and flour in the coming months to prepare for an expected
crisis over rising food prices, Asia-Plus reported. Zaripov added that
although about 200,000 tons of wheat and flour were imported in the
first quarter of the year, more is still needed, and that even that
amount is still about 26,000 tons less than the same period last year.
He also cited a new dangerous shortfall resulting from a decision by
Kazakhstan, which accounts for 98 percent of Tajik grain imports, to
impose a four-month ban on wheat exports (see "RFE/RL Newsline," April
16, 2008). The issue of food security has become a priority throughout
the region as rising global demand, continuing wheat shortages, and
increasing prices in global markets have sparked record-high price
rises for bread and other food products in Central Asia since 2007 (see
"Central Asia: Soaring Bread Prices Give Rise to Domestic Solutions,"
rferl.org, September 17, 2007). Tajik officials are now seeking to
purchase wheat from new suppliers, and even from China and Australia
via Pakistan and Afghanistan. RG
[26] TURKMEN PRESIDENT CREATES COMMISSION TO MODIFY CONSTITUTION
At a cabinet meeting in Ashgabat, Turkmen President Gurbanguly
Berdymukhammedov signed a decree on April 18 to form a new special
commission empowered to draft a "new edition" of Turkmenistan's
constitution, turkmenistan.ru and Turkmen Television reported.
Berdymukhammedov explained that changes to the constitution are
necessary due to the "great transformations" now under way in
Turkmenistan. Berdymukhammedov recently announced a number of personnel
changes, including the appointment of former Finance Minister Hojamyrat
Geldimyradov as the eighth deputy prime minister, the firing of both
Central Bank Chairman Geldimyrat Abilov and Deputy Prime Minister
Gurbannazar Asyrov, who was in charge of the communications and
transport sectors (see "RFE/RL Newsline," April 16, 2008). Although the
changes, along with a sweeping audit of all state assets, suggest a
degree of internal instability within the Turkmen leadership, the moves
seem to be linked to the president's desire to consolidate and speed up
economic reforms in preparation for plans to re-denominate the national
currency in 2009 (see "Turkmenistan: Finance Officials Sacked Amid Talk
Of Economic Reforms," rferl.org, April 18, 2008). RG
Eastern Europe
[27] BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION PARTY REELECTS CHAIRMAN
At a convention held in Minsk on April 20, the United Civic Party (AHP)
reelected Anatol Lyabedzka as its chairman, Belapan and RFE/RL's
Belarus Service reported. The gathering also elected Yaraslau Ramanchuk
and Leu Marholin as the party's two deputy chairmen. Addressing the
convention prior to his reelection, Lyabedzka said that the "lack of
sufficient organizational and material resources" is the party's main
shortcoming. He also pointed to a lack of AHP ties with the private
business sector. "Private businesses have been either almost ruined or
are close to the government," he said. On the other hand, Lyabedzka
praised the performance of the AHP's youth wing. "I like the trends
observed in the organization. They have created effective chapters in
the provinces recently," he said. Mikalay Haurylenka, who was
Lyabedzka's opponent, called on the AHP's leadership to launch a party
newspaper and for the party's leader to run for president in the 2011
election. AM
[28] BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT APPOINTS NEW AGRICULTURE MINISTER
Alyaksandr Lukashenka on April 18 dismissed Agriculture Minister Leanid
Rusak and appointed Syamyon Shapira to replace him, Belapan reported,
citing the presidential press office. Lukashenka gave no reason for
Rusak's dismissal, but Prime Minister Syarhey Sidorski, while
introducing Shapira, criticized the performance of the Agriculture
Ministry. Sidorski said that "unfortunately, the previous minister and
his deputies paid little attention to the fulfillment of rural
development programs." "There were discussions basically, but no real
work was done to execute it," Sidorski added. Shapira previously served
as director-general of a state-controlled poultry company in Minsk
Oblast. Between 1999 and 2004, Shapira headed the economy department in
the Agriculture Ministry. AM
[29] UKRAINIAN PREMIER PLEDGES TO MOVE TOWARD PARLIAMENTARY REPUBLIC
Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko told ICTV on April 20 that after the
Orthodox Easter holiday, the Verkhovna Rada will adopt in the first
reading constitutional changes with regard to transforming Ukraine into
a parliamentary republic. She said that there are two forms of
government in the world, presidential and parliamentary, and they
cannot be mixed. "I come out against the chaos and against two centers
of power," she said. "I think that the parliamentary form of government
will introduce at last an order similar to that in Germany. There will
be a chancellor and there will be an order," Tymoshenko said. She said
that the presidency will be preserved, as well as nationwide
presidential elections. AM
[30] UKRAINIAN OPPOSITION PARTY REELECTS ITS LEADER
The Party of Regions, Ukraine's largest opposition party, on April 19
unanimously reelected Viktor Yanukovych as its chairman, RFE/RL's
Ukrainian Service reported. According to the party charter approved at
the congress, Yanukovych will also head the political council and its
presidium. The congress approved a program that preserves the party's
goals: transition to a parliamentary-presidential form of government, a
decentralization process ceding as much power as possible to the
regions, granting the Russian language official status, and military
neutrality. In the area of foreign policy, the Party of Regions wants
to preserve Ukraine's course toward full-fledged membership in the
European Union and to develop strategic partnerships with Russia, the
United States, neighboring countries, and CIS member states. AM
[31] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT WARNS UKRAINE AGAINST TERRITORIAL CLAIMS ON
MOLDOVA
Speaking in Bucharest on April 17, Trajan Basescu said he does not
consider "a priority" the signing of a formal treaty delineating the
frontier between Romania and Moldova, regnum.ru reported the following
day. In that context, Basescu observed that "quite a number of people"
in Ukraine are discussing, albeit not at the official level, the
possible return to Ukraine of the unrecognized breakaway republic of
Transdniester. He added that the proponents of such a redrawing of
borders fail to take into account possible Moldovan counterclaims on
territory in southern Ukraine. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Volodymyr
Ohryzko was quoted on April 19 by the weekly "Zerkalo nedeli" as saying
Kyiv has asked Bucharest for an explanation of Basescu's remarks and
will not make any public comment until it receives one. Ohryzko added
that Ukraine regards Moldova as a sovereign and independent state, and
he noted that Ukraine and Moldova have already reached agreement on the
delineation of two-thirds of their common border and hope to finalize
the remaining, Ukraine-Transdniester sector by the end of this year,
regnum.ru reported on April 21. The Moldovan Foreign Ministry responded
on April 18 to Basescu's comments with a statement reaffirming that the
signing of a border treaty would serve as "a constructive precondition
for regulating border relations between the two countries on the basis
of European principles of good-neighborliness." LF
Southeastern Europe
[32] RUSSIA CALLS ON SERBIA TO RATIFY ENERGY DEAL
Russian Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu said in Belgrade on
April 18 that Serbia should complete as soon as possible ratification
of a controversial energy deal with Russia that President Boris Tadic
and Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica signed in Moscow earlier this
year, news agencies reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 27 and April
4, 2008, and "RFE/RL Balkan Report," February 13, 2008). Tadic has said
repeatedly that ratification is not possible before a new parliament is
elected on May 11. He argued on April 19 that "we don't need
questionable agreements with Russia.... We need concrete agreements
which cannot be called into question in the future." Kostunica's
position is that the deal should be finalized quickly, but he is
blocked by a pro-Tadic majority in the cabinet from moving forward on
ratification. Shoigu signed a trade protocol in Belgrade on April 18
with Serbian Trade and Services Minister Predrag Bubalo, who belongs to
Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia. The document calls for
ratifying the energy deal before the May 11 vote. Critics say that the
energy agreement sells off Serbia's state oil monopoly NIS for a
fraction of its market value to pay back a political debt to Russia for
its political support over Kosova. On April 18, Shoigu pledged to
increase Russian "humanitarian aid" to the Serbian minority in Kosova,
a pledge that has been widely construed as a propaganda measure aimed
at drawing attention to Russia's political presence in the Balkans. PM
Southwestern Asia And The Middle East
[33] AFGHAN ARMY DETAINS LARGE GROUP OF PAKISTANIS ON BORDER
The Afghan Defense Ministry announced on April 19 that 68 Pakistani men
were detained for possible ties to the Taliban after they crossed the
border into the southern province of Kandahar, AFP reported the same
day. The ministry said it received information that a group of
Pakistanis with possible links to "terrorists" was entering the region.
"We had intelligence reports that a group of Pakistanis possibly linked
to terrorists were entering the country. When our units encountered
these Pakistanis they detained them to find out if they're linked to
terrorists," ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi said. The
men had no travel documents, he added. Afghan authorities have often
said that the Taliban insurgency is based in Pakistan, and that
militants, some of them Pakistani, are sent across the border to
initiate attacks on Afghan targets. Islamabad denies the allegations.
AT
[34] AFGHAN POLICE CLASH WITH IRANIAN FORCES ON BORDER
Afghan officials said on April 20 that one civilian was killed and two
Iranian servicemen were wounded in a shoot-out between Afghan police
and Iranian forces, AP reported the same day. According to provincial
police chief General Ayub Badkhshi, Afghan police arrived in the
village of Pul-e Abreshum in Nimroz Province to intercept an Iranian
patrol that had crossed the border. In the ensuing gun battle, a
teacher from the village was killed. Clashes are common in the area
because not only smugglers cross the border to traffic drugs into Iran,
but also many local Afghans cross illegally. AT
[35] KIDNAPPED PAKISTANI AMBASSADOR TO AFGHANISTAN SHOWN ALIVE IN VIDEO
Tariq Azizuddin, flanked by his driver and bodyguard, appeared in a
video aired on April 19 by an Arab satellite channel, in which he said
that he was kidnapped by Taliban militants more than two months ago, AP
reported. In a two-minute clip aired on Al-Arabiyah television,
Azizuddin was shown sitting on the ground in front of three masked men
wearing traditional robes and holding automatic weapons, and said he
has been treated well. "We don't have any problems, but I suffer from
health issues such as hypertension and heart pain," he said, and he
urged Pakistan's ambassadors in Iran and China, as well as the
country's Foreign Ministry, to comply with Taliban demands, without
elaborating. A spokesman for a group of Pakistani Taliban militants
denied involvement in Azizuddin's kidnapping. Maulana Mohammad Umer
said the ambassador may have been abducted by Afghan militants based in
Pakistan. "We will try our level best for the safe recovery of the
ambassador, but for sure we had nothing to do with his abduction," Umer
said. AT
[36] SPANISH DEFENSE MINISTER VISITS AFGHANISTAN
Newly appointed Spanish Defense Minister Carmen Chacon, who is seven
months' pregnant, briefly visited Afghanistan on April 19 to meet
Spanish troops, AFP reported the same day. Chacon, Spain's first woman
defense minister, was scheduled to spend a few hours with the soldiers
based in the western city of Herat. She was given a rundown of Spain's
work as the head of the Badghis Province reconstruction team, one of
several military-civilian units set up around the war-torn country. She
also visited a Spanish-run hospital at the Herat base where she met
Spanish patients. Spanish national radio reported that the 37-year-old
Chacon was accompanied by her gynecologist and a medical team. AT
[37] IRAN SAYS IAEA OFFICIAL NOT IN TEHRAN TO DISCUSS NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said on April
20 in Tehran that the deputy head of the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA), Olli Heinonen, is not coming to Iran to discuss any
suspected Iranian nuclear weapons work, but for a routine visit in line
with Iran's cooperation with the IAEA, Radio Farda reported, citing
Iranian news agencies. Agencies have reported that Heinonen may on
April 21 discuss evidence handed to the IAEA about suspected
weaponization activities by Iran; Iran insists its contested nuclear
program is strictly peaceful. Members of the IAEA governing board were
shown some of this evidence in a February 25 presentation at an IAEA
meeting in Vienna. Hosseini said Tehran clarified during 2007 the
IAEA's questions on "alleged studies" into weaponization activities.
Heinonen was expected to meet in Tehran on April 21 with Javad Vaidi, a
deputy secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and Iran's
envoy to the IAEA, Ali Abkar Soltanieh, AFP reported on April 19. VS
[38] BRITISH PRIME MINISTER URGES TIGHTENED SANCTIONS ON IRAN
Gordon Brown said in Washington on April 17 that EU states should
tighten sanctions on Iran to help coerce it to curb its contested
nuclear program, and especially target investments in liquefied natural
gas, AFP reported. He said he has discussed expanding sanctions and
enforcing current sanctions with other EU leaders. Iran is subject to
three rounds of UN Security Council sanctions blocking trade and
investment in areas contributing to the development of its nuclear and
ballistic-missile programs. Brown suggested that sanctions will be
expanded to include investments in liquefied natural gas in coming
weeks. Brown met on April 17 with U.S. President George W. Bush, who
said anyone who believes assertions that Iran's nuclear program is
strictly civilian is "in my judgment naive." Iranian Foreign Ministry
spokesman Hosseini said in Tehran on April 21 that these are baseless
claims that have nothing to do with IAEA reports on Iran, Iran's Fars
news agency reported. He said Iran will pursue its peaceful and lawful
activities in line with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. VS
[39] IRAN'S POLICE COMMANDER CHARGES FOR FORMER TEHRAN POLICE CHIEF
Iranian police chief Ismail Ahmadi-Moqaddam has said that the detained
former Tehran Province police chief, Reza Zarei, faces "private" and
much less serious charges than those reported in the media recently
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," April 16, 2008), Radio Farda reported on April
21. Ahmadi-Moqaddam told state television that Zarei has not "betrayed"
the police corps and "the charge against him is much smaller and
lighter than stated." The conservative Tehran-based website "Tabnak"
has separately quoted Ahmadi-Moqaddam as saying that Zarei might have
committed some "indecency," without elaborating, Radio Farda reported.
Unconfirmed reports from Iran are that Zarei was arrested in a house in
Tehran on March 11 in the company of six women, Radio Farda reported on
April 20. VS
[40] IRAN BLAMES TERRORISTS FOR IRAQ UNREST
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hosseini said in Tehran on April 20
that Iraq's "main problem is the occupation, terrorism, and terrorist
groups active in Iraq," and "the Americans know better than anyone" who
is giving them "political and financial" backing, Fars news agency
reported. He said the United States is trying to "blame others" for
"everything there is in Iraq, which is the result of their own mistaken
and unreasonable policies," apparently responding to recent remarks on
Iran by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. She said in Shannon,
Ireland, on April 19 that Iranian activities and "arming militias" do
not square with Iran's stated commitment to support the Iraqi
government, Reuters reported. She is to attend a meeting of Iraq's
neighbors in Kuwait on April 22. Hosseini said Iran believes trips to
the region by U.S. officials yield few results and indicate the failure
of U.S. policies in the region. VS
[41] SHI'ITE CLERIC THREATENS 'OPEN WAR' IF IRAQI GOVERNMENT CONTINUES
TO TARGET MILITIA...
Muqtada al-Sadr issued a statement on April 19 warning the Iraqi
government to call off its military operations targeting his militia,
the Imam Al-Mahdi Army, and that failure to do so will result in an
"open war." Al-Sadr claimed that despite his efforts to encourage peace
through a cease-fire declared in September, the government has been
ungrateful and is now acting as "the third side" to target Sadrists,
following the Sunnis and the Americans. Reminding the government of its
attempts to defeat the militia in May and August 2004, he said, "Do you
want a third uprising?" "Had it not been out of religious principle,
which for me is one of the constants, not to kill a Muslim...we would
have known how to deal with you, particularly after we have temporarily
suspended the Al-Mahdi Army and made initiatives to defuse crises and
end armed manifestations," al-Sadr told the government. He claimed that
the government's targeting of the militia is based on a desire to
eradicate it as a "popular base" ahead of governorate elections slated
for October. Al-Sadr said that his militia has defended all Iraqis,
including minorities such as Christians, Turkomans, and the Shabaks, a
small religious minority. "Our reward, however, was an attack on our
prophet and the pope's visit to the biggest power that occupies our
beloved Iraq." He concluded: "I issue the last warning and statement to
the Iraqi government to desist from error, to walk the path of peace,
and renounce violence against its people. Otherwise, it will be like
the government of the 'destructive' [a reference to the United States]
even if all sides ally themselves with it, for they were our allies
before and they might be [again] in the future.... If [the government]
does not desist and curb its defiance and that of the militias that
have infiltrated it [a reference to Shi'ite militiamen from the rival
Badr Corps that now fill the ranks of army and police] then we will
declare it an open war until liberation." KR
[42] ...AS VIOLENCE FLARES IN BAGHDAD AND POINTS SOUTH
Iraqi and coalition forces continued to battle militants loyal to
al-Sadr on April 19 and 20. Loudspeakers across Baghdad's Al-Sadr City
called on followers to rise up against the "occupation." The U.S.
military reported at least 18 suspected militants were killed in April
20 clashes in Al-Sadr City. Al-Sadr's spokesman told Al-Jazeera
television on April 20 that if al-Sadr "announces the zero-hour to
confront the occupation, whoever defends the occupation will be
targeted by the weapons of the Al-Mahdi Army." Meanwhile, Iraqi and
multinational forces reportedly gained control over the Al-Hayyaniyah
district in Al-Basrah on April 19, the last remaining stronghold of the
Al-Mahdi Army in the southern city, Iraqi media reported on April 20.
The government imposed a curfew in nearby Dhi Qar Governorate on April
19 after Al-Mahdi militiamen took to the streets. Hasan al-Zarkani, the
head of the foreign-relations department at the Martyr Al-Sadr office
in Al-Nasiriyah, told Al-Sharqiyah television on April 20 that U.S.
planes bombed one of al-Sadr's offices in Al-Nasiriyah, after which an
Iraqi military special missions detachment led by a former leader of
the Badr Corps -- the armed wing of a rival Shi'ite political party --
set fire to the office, burning 11 people to death. He said the
detachment also set fire to the homes of militia members. Al-Sharqiyah
reported that 22 people were killed and 19 wounded in Al-Nasiriyah. Dhi
Qar police chief Abd al-Husayn al-Safi said on April 20 that the area
has been purged of militia fighters, but remains under curfew. The U.S.
military said on April 20 that 40 militiamen were killed and another 40
arrested in Al-Nasiriyah. KR
[43] U.S. MILITARY SAYS 'SPECIAL GROUP CRIMINALS' FIGHTING IN AL-SADR
CITY
The U.S. military said in an April 21 statement that "special group"
forces -- a term it uses to describe breakaway elements of the Al-Mahdi
Army it says are supported by Iran -- have been active in the fighting
in Al-Sadr City in Baghdad. The statement said a coalition observation
post in Al-Sadr City was fired upon by three "special group criminals"
on April 20. U.S. soldiers returned fire, killing one and wounding the
other two. A unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) identified five "special
group criminals" as responsible for carrying out a rocket attack
targeting U.S. forces later that day. The UAV fired a missile at two of
them and killed them, while the other three escaped. A second UAV
identified two "special group" fighters loading a car with rockets and
rocket rails; the UAV fired upon the vehicle, killing the two and
destroying six rockets and rails, the statement said. "It is the
Iranian-supported special group criminals who are the primary reason
the people of Baghdad are suffering," said Colonel Allen Batschelet,
chief of staff for the U.S. military in Baghdad. "They are responsible
for the rocket and mortar attacks that led to Iraqi security and
coalition-force soldiers going into the southern neighborhoods of Sadr
City." KR
[44] U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE SAYS IRAQI POLITICIANS UNITED
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad
on April 20 ahead of a meeting of regional foreign ministers on Iraq,
which is slated to begin on April 22 in Kuwait. Rice told reporters en
route to Baghdad that there has been a "coalescing of a center in Iraqi
politics in which the Sunni leadership, the Kurdish leadership, and the
elements of the Shi'a leadership that are not associated with these
[Iranian-backed] special groups have been working together better than
at any time before." Asked how she views operations targeting Muqtada
al-Sadr's militia, she said it is "an internal Iraqi matter to resolve
at this point." Rice added, "But clearly, the prime minister has laid
down some ground rules which any functioning democratic state would
insist upon, having to do with, you know, arms belonging to the
state...not [arms] in private hands." Rice applauded a recent
initiative by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that will provide
reconstruction funds and employment in Al-Basrah. KR
[45] U.K. MILITARY SOURCES CALL AL-BASRAH OPERATION 'UNMITIGATED
DISASTER'
British commanders in Al-Basrah have reportedly said that the Iraqi
Army's operation targeting rogue militiamen in late March in Al-Basrah
was an "unmitigated disaster," London's "Sunday Telegraph" reported on
April 20. Senior sources told the newspaper that the mission was
undermined by incompetent officers and untrained troops who were sent
into battle with inadequate supplies of food, water, and ammunition.
More than 15,000 Iraqi troops took part in the operation, which
ultimately ended in a stalemate. Coalition-backed Iraqi forces
relaunched the operation last week, and claim to have now cleared the
area of militiamen. One British officer told the newspaper that the
Iraqi Army's 14th Division had only 26 percent of the equipment
necessary to take part in combat operations. "There were literally
thousands of troops arriving in Basrah from all over Iraq. But they had
no idea why they were there or what they were supposed to do. It was
madness and to cap it all they had insufficient supplies of food,
water, and ammunition," the officer said. "The Iraqi police were next
to useless," he added. One senior British staff officer called Iraqi
General Muhan al-Furayji, who was until last week commander of military
operations in Al-Basrah (see "RFE/RL Newsline," April 17, 2008), a
"dangerous lunatic" who "ignored" advice. He said a British liaison
team was sent to Iraqi Army headquarters during the battle and "were
greeted by a group of Iraqi generals sitting around a large desk,
shouting into their mobiles [phones] without a map in sight. Chaos
ruled." KR
End Note
[46] THERE IS NO END NOTE TODAY.
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