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RFE/RL Newsline, 08-03-12
CONTENTS
[01] ECONOMIST PREDICTS 'FINANCIAL CRISIS' FOR GAZPROM, ROSNEFT
[02] AUTHORITIES REPORTEDLY MULL NEED FOR POLITICAL COMPETITION
[03] NEW LEADERS NAMED IN TWO REGIONS; IS MOSCOW NEXT?
[04] RUSSIA CRITICIZES U.S. NAVAL PRESENCE OFF LEBANON
[05] PUTIN TAKES SWIPE AT NEW EU MEMBER STATES
[06] NATIONALIST SAYS SERBIA'S FATE MARKS 'AMERICAN ADVANCE ON RUSSIA'
[07] U.S. STUDY SEES RUSSIA AS VULNERABLE STATE
[08] INDIA, RUSSIA SIGN MIG UPGRADE CONTRACT
[09] MASS MEETING IN INGUSHETIA AGAIN POSTPONED
[10] TWO CIVILIANS INJURED IN MILITANT ATTACK IN KABARDINO-BALKARIA
[11] MORE OPPOSITIONISTS ARRESTED IN ARMENIA
[12] RUSSIA, U.S. CALL FOR DIALOGUE, LIFTING ARMENIAN STATE OF
EMERGENCY
[13] MORE GEORGIANS JOIN OPPOSITION HUNGER STRIKE
[14] KYRGYZSTAN RATIONS ELECTRICITY
[15] TREASON TRIAL OPENS IN KYRGYZSTAN
[16] TURKMEN PRESIDENT ON STATE VISIT TO UZBEKISTAN
[17] U.S. PRESIDENT HONORS WIFE OF IMPRISONED BELARUSIAN POLITICIAN
[18] PRESIDENT SAYS BELARUS HAS NEVER DISAPPOINTED EUROPE
[19] BELARUSIAN PHYSICISTS OBJECT TO PLANNED NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
[20] U.S. SUPPORTS UKRAINE'S EURO-ATLANTIC ASPIRATIONS
[21] UKRAINIAN PREMIER ATTRACTS EUROPEAN INVESTORS
[22] EU WARNS SERBIA AGAINST 'ROAD TO NOWHERE'
[23] TRIAL OF CROATIAN GENERALS OPENS IN THE HAGUE
[24] UN TO ACCELERATE WORK IN AFGHANISTAN UNDER NEW ENVOY
[25] AFGHAN GOVERNMENT OPENS COMPLAINTS BUREAU
[26] NATO CLASHES IN AFGHANISTAN RISE IN 2008
[27] AFGHAN PEACE EFFORTS SUFFER FROM LACK OF INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT
[28] IRANIAN SECURITY CHIEF MEETS PROMINENT PALESTINIAN
[29] QATARI PREMIER SUPPORTS TALKS WITH IRAN
[30] IRANIAN REFORMISTS CRITICIZE POLICIES AHEAD OF POLLS
[31] CLERIC ACCUSES REFORMISTS OF ABUSES
[32] CAR BOMB EXPLODES OUTSIDE HOTEL IN IRAQ'S KURDISH REGION
[33] ARAB PARLIAMENTARY UNION CONFERENCE UNDERWAY IN IRBIL
[34] SUNNI MEDIA SAYS PREMIER APPOINTED MILITANTS TO SECURITY AGENCIES
[35] IRAQI ARMY FINDS BOOBY-TRAPPED GAS CYLINDERS AT ABANDONED HOMES
[36] THERE IS NO END NOTE TODAY.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008 Volume 12 Number 48
Russia
[01] ECONOMIST PREDICTS 'FINANCIAL CRISIS' FOR GAZPROM, ROSNEFT
Vladimir Milov, president of the Institute of Energy Policy, wrote on
gazeta.ru on March 11 that the state energy companies Gazprom and
Rosneft may be on the verge of default, forcing the government to bail
them out from the country's hard-currency reserves. The issue of
corporate indebtedness has been worrying economists for some time now
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 5, 2008, and "Russia: The Pot Of Gold At
The End Of The Stabilization Fund," rferl.org, January 30, 2008). Milov
wrote that as the global credit crisis continues, there is a
"considerable chance that, at a minimum, there will be a crisis of
liquidity in the banking system and, in the worst case, massive
corporate default." According to Milov, Gazprom and Rosneft are the
"champions of debt accumulation," with total debts of more than $85
billion as of the third quarter of last year. That accounts for some 20
percent of Russia's total corporate debt. The chairman of Gazprom's
board of directors is President-elect Dmitry Medvedev and Rosneft's
board chairman is deputy presidential-administration head Igor Sechin.
Milov writes that Gazprom's debt-to-earnings ratio has reached 70
percent, while Rosneft's is already 106 percent, which leads him to
conclude the two companies "are in a deep financial crisis that has so
far been covered up only by high world oil prices." Milov says the most
likely outcome will be additional loans to the companies from state
banks at the order of the government. Milov concludes that "it is
important to understand that the reckless policy of restoring the
government's influence in the oil-and-gas sector in recent years has
not been free for the country. It has a concrete price and a very high
one." RC
[02] AUTHORITIES REPORTEDLY MULL NEED FOR POLITICAL COMPETITION
President Vladimir Putin and President-elect Dmitry Medvedev plan to
hold talks with leading lawmakers about creating a legal framework for
the formation of a constructive political opposition, "Kommersant"
reported on March 11. The paper cites leading Unified Russia figures,
including Duma Constitutional Law Committee Chairman Vladimir Pligin,
as saying in recent weeks that the party needs political competition.
Pligin said Russia needs to act more rapidly to develop a genuine party
system. "Kommersant" quoted Union of Rightist Forces Political Council
member Boris Nadezhdin as saying no new legislation is needed for an
opposition to thrive. He said all that is necessary is for the
government to observe the current laws on elections, parties, and the
mass media. "When we needed a real opposition, when we were holding
elections, [the authorities] scattered and discredited it," Nadezhdin
said. "But now that they have been elected for four years, now they can
discuss how useful it would be to have an opposition." There were
reports in the Russian media recently that, following Medvedev's
election on March 2, the Federal Registration Service had been ordered
to review all of the 14 currently registered parties with the object of
reducing the number of parties to seven or eight. The service has
denied receiving such an order. RC
[03] NEW LEADERS NAMED IN TWO REGIONS; IS MOSCOW NEXT?
President Putin has nominated Unified Russia Duma Deputy Oleg Kovalyov
to be the next governor of Ryazan Oblast, Russian media reported on
March 11, citing the Kremlin press service. If confirmed by the local
legislature as all of Putin's previous nominees have been, Kovalyov
will replace Georgy Shpak, whose term expires this month. Kovalyov's
appointment was reportedly agreed to by President-elect Medvedev. On
March 9, Putin nominated former Yakutsk Mayor Ilya Mikhalchuk, the
Unified Russia coordinator for the Far East, to become governor of
Arkhangelsk Oblast, "Vremya novostei" reported on March 11. Mikhalchuk
unexpectedly resigned as Yakutsk mayor in September 2007, possibly in
connection with the fact that several officials in his administration
were facing a total of 20 criminal cases on charges of bribe-taking and
abuse of office. If confirmed, Mikhalchuk will replace Nikolai
Kiselyov, one of the last regional leaders to have been directly
elected rather than appointed by Putin after the abolition of
gubernatorial elections in 2005. Gazeta.ru reported on March 11 that
Medvedev plans to replace long-time Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov. Unnamed
sources close to Medvedev told the website that Regional Development
Minister Dmitry Kozak and presidential administration head Sergei
Sobyanin are among the people being considered to replace Luzhkov. A
source within the Moscow city government told the website that "all the
bureaucrats...are preparing for major resignations." RC
[04] RUSSIA CRITICIZES U.S. NAVAL PRESENCE OFF LEBANON
Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin on March 10 told the UN
Security Council, of which he is chairman this month, that the presence
of U.S. warships off Lebanon's coast does not help resolve the
political crisis in that country, news agencies reported. Churkin added
that "we pointed out the fact that basically all Lebanese political
forces expressed their concern about [the U.S. naval presence],
including the government of Prime Minister [Fuad] Siniora. We have said
that such acts bring up some unwanted historical analogies, so we do
not see it as a constructive contribution to the situation in Lebanon."
U.S. Ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad argued that "we had forces
in the Mediterranean, in the region for some time. Those forces are
there to protect our interests and to be able to deal with any
contingency that might develop." In Moscow on March 11, Foreign
Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin announced that Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov will travel to Syria, Israel, and the Palestinian
territories from March 19-21 to promote Russia's long-standing call for
a regional summit. Kamynin said Lavrov's initiative is a response to
the growing tensions between Israel and the Palestinians (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," November 27, 28, and 30, 2007, and January 7, 2008). PM
[05] PUTIN TAKES SWIPE AT NEW EU MEMBER STATES
President Putin attended a performance of the 19th-century Russian
comedy "Woe From Wit" in Moscow on March 9, AP reported. At a reception
afterward, he noted that the play remains relevant because some of the
characters go to extremes to adopt Western customs. He earned a laugh
by adding "this is a particular lesson for the new members of the
European Union. I'm joking, I'm joking." PM
[06] NATIONALIST SAYS SERBIA'S FATE MARKS 'AMERICAN ADVANCE ON RUSSIA'
Aleksandr Dugin, a leader of the Eurasian Movement who reportedly has
close Kremlin ties, wrote in the weekly "Profil" that "Europe is on the
brink of another war" over Kosova. He argued that the recent
"declaration of independence by Kosovo is the moment of truth for
Russia. Either Russia confirms its faithfulness to international
standards and practices, or acknowledges its own incapacity." He
believes that "the Kosovo situation is a textbook example of NATO's
strategy. It orchestrated the break-up of [the former] Yugoslavia and
proceeded to carve up the new Yugoslavia consisting of Serbia and
Montenegro. Once that was accomplished, it dissected Serbia." Dugin
stressed that NATO "is out to demonstrate its might and punish that
Christian state in the Balkans for the temerity of trying to retain its
social, cultural, and geopolitical identity in defiance of the West."
He argued that "this geopolitical demonstration is actually a lesson to
the Russian Federation concerning its own geopolitical future. It is a
signal to Russia indicating what might earn from the West for its
continued efforts to defend its territorial integrity and state
sovereignty." Dugin warned that "Russia should be fast, firm, and
decisive. Serbia is the last fortress on the route of the American
advance on Russia. There is no place to retreat to anymore because
Russia itself is the next target." PM
[07] U.S. STUDY SEES RUSSIA AS VULNERABLE STATE
Newsru.com on March 11 drew attention to a recent report entitled
"Index of State Weakness in the Developing World," published by the
Washington-based Brookings Institution, which places Russia 65th out of
141 countries in terms of what it defines as weakness. Somalia heads
the list, followed by Afghanistan. Bolivia holds place 64, while Iran
is number 66. Those two states, Russia, China, India, Venezuela, and
several others are classified as vulnerable "states to watch." The
report says that Russia's weakness is the result of "low scores in the
areas of security and political governance, mainly due to the ongoing
civil conflict in Chechnya, human rights abuses, and lacks of political
accountability and freedom of expression." PM
[08] INDIA, RUSSIA SIGN MIG UPGRADE CONTRACT
Aviationweek.com and newsru.com reported on March 10 that India has
signed a $964 million contract with the MiG corporation to upgrade at
least 64 MiG-29 fighter jets for the Indian Air Force. The deal
involves fitting the MiGs with improved weapons as well as new radio
equipment and radar, which will extend their expected lives by 15
years. Pakistan's "Daily Times" on March 11 quoted an unnamed Indian
Air Force official as saying that India insisted that all but six of
the planes be refitted in India as a "precaution" against the delays
that India previously encountered when it upgraded its fleet of MiG-21s
in Russia (see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 28, 2008). Russia is the
traditional supplier of 70 percent of India's arms, but now faces
competition from the United States and Europe for a new $10.2 billion
contract to supply India with 126 new multi-role fighters. PM
[09] MASS MEETING IN INGUSHETIA AGAIN POSTPONED
The organizers of the mass anticorruption protest originally scheduled
for February 19, then postponed until March 4 and then March 12 (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," February 19, 22, and 27, 2008), announced on March
10 that it has been postponed yet again, until an unspecified date in
April, the independent website ingushetiya.ru reported. That decision
was prompted by the public denial by republican prosecutor's office
staffer Gelani Merzhuyev that the organizers had applied to the
government for permission to convene the protest. Magomed Khazbiyev,
one of the organizers, stressed that they have tried repeatedly to
submit such applications but that government officials refuse to accept
them. Meanwhile, police are pressuring a second protest organizer,
Gilani Imagozhev, to agree to be sentenced to 15 days' detention "for
resisting the police," ingushetiya.ru reported. LF
[10] TWO CIVILIANS INJURED IN MILITANT ATTACK IN KABARDINO-BALKARIA
Two villagers were injured late on March 9 when militants opened fire
from two directions on a police patrol post in the village of Khasanya
on the southern outskirts of Nazran, regnum.ru and kavkaz-uzel.ru
reported on March 10. It was at least the third such attack on police
personnel so far this year; two police officers were shot dead in
January and one slightly injured in a shoot-out in Nazran last month.
LF
Transcaucasia And Central Asia
[11] MORE OPPOSITIONISTS ARRESTED IN ARMENIA
Former Armenian Foreign Minister Aleksander Arzumanian and Ararat
Zurabian, the former chairman of former President Levon
Ter-Petrossian's now defunct Armenian Pan-National Movement, were
arrested on March 10 and taken to the headquarters of the National
Security Service, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported. Their lawyer,
Hovik Arsenian, said they are likely to be charged with seeking to
seize power in the wake of the disputed February 19 presidential ballot
in which Ter-Petrossian claims to have polled 65 percent of the vote;
official returns gave him 21.51 percent, compared to 52.8 percent for
Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian. Also on March 10, police launched a
search for parliamentarians Sasun Mikaelian and Khachatur Sukiasian and
for Nikol Pashinian, editor of the pro-Ter-Petrossian paper "Haykakan
zhamanak," all of whom are reportedly in hiding. LF
[12] RUSSIA, U.S. CALL FOR DIALOGUE, LIFTING ARMENIAN STATE OF
EMERGENCY
Russian President Vladimir Putin telephoned Armenian Prime Minister
Sarkisian on March 10 to congratulate him on his election as president,
RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported quoting Sarkisian's press service.
Putin also stressed the need to resolve the postelection standoff
between the Armenian authorities and opposition through "dialogue."
Also on March 10, U.S. charge d'affaires in Yerevan Joseph Pennington
told RFE/RL that while Washington recognizes that there came a point
during the standoff between police and Ter-Petrossian supporters on
March 1 when "order needed to be restored," the state of emergency
outgoing President Robert Kocharian imposed in response should now be
lifted, as should restrictions on the media. Pennington also said the
United States has warned the Armenian leadership against "political
arrests" of persons "who may have expressed views that were bothersome
to the authorities." LF
[13] MORE GEORGIANS JOIN OPPOSITION HUNGER STRIKE
Over 40 more people have joined the five Georgian oppositionists who
launched a hunger strike outside the parliament building on March 9,
Caucasus Press reported on March 10. The hunger strikers demand that
repeat presidential elections be held; that the parliamentary election
in May be truly free and fair; and that all people detained for their
participation in the clashes between police and protesters in Tbilisi
in November 2007 be released. Six lawmakers from the opposition New
Rightists party began a hunger strike on March 10 outside the office of
parliament speaker Nino Burjanadze to protest her refusal to meet with
them, civil.ge reported. Burjanadze, for her part, dismissed the hunger
strike as "a stage show." She appealed to the opposition to demonstrate
solidarity with the Georgian leadership and join in the parliament
debate on drafting a formal response to what she termed the "dangerous"
Russian decision to withdraw unilaterally from the economic sanctions
imposed at a CIS summit in January 1996 on the breakaway republic of
Abkhazia, civil.ge reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 7, 2008).
Konstantine Gabashvili, chairman of the parliamentary committee on
foreign relations, said on March 11 that the legislature will wait to
adopt that resolution until March 14, one day after the Russian State
Duma is scheduled to hold a hearing on Abkhazia and the unrecognized
republic of South Ossetia, Caucasus Press reported. LF
[14] KYRGYZSTAN RATIONS ELECTRICITY
In response to the energy crisis triggered by record cold weather and
low rates of hydroelectric energy production, Kyrgyzstan on March 10
began rationing electricity, AKIpress reported. According to
unidentified officials of the Ministry of Industry, Energy, and Fuel
Resources, the new rationing regime will reduce the daily supply of
electricity to consumers, and cut off all electricity to consumers who
have incurred debts for power supplies, as well as to saunas and some
other businesses. The rationing is intended to offset a dramatic
decrease in the water level of the Toktogul reservoir, which provides
40 percent of Kyrgyzstan's hydroelectric energy. The Toktogul reservoir
was classified as being in a critical state after the water level
dropped by some 30 meters over the past four months. Meanwhile, the
government intends to supplement hydroelectric power with coal and oil
to meet domestic energy needs. RG
[15] TREASON TRIAL OPENS IN KYRGYZSTAN
Several senior officers of the Kyrgyz National Security Committee and
the Ministry of Defense went on trial for high treason on March 10 at
the Bishkek army garrison, according to the 24.kg website. Defendants
Valeriy Patsula, Vladimir Berzhnoy, Maksat Mamyrkanov, and Dmitriy Grib
face up to 20 years in prison if convicted at the closed trial,
presided over by Judge Abdurazak Borombaev. The men are charged with
allegedly "passing on confidential information" to an unidentified
foreign intelligence service. They were arrested in June 2007 after an
internal investigation by the National Security Committee reportedly
uncovered evidence of espionage. In another treason trial that ended
last month, treason charges against Kyrgyz parliamentary staff member
Jypargul Arykova were dismissed for lack of evidence, although she was
convicted on a lesser charge (see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 25,
2008). Arykova was arrested in Bishkek in June 2007 along with a
Chinese national, allegedly "in the act of passing classified
information" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," June 22 and 25, 2007). RG
[16] TURKMEN PRESIDENT ON STATE VISIT TO UZBEKISTAN
A delegation of Turkmen officials led by President Gurbanguly
Berdymukhammedov arrived in Tashkent on March 10 at the start of an
official visit to Uzbekistan, Uzbek Television reported.
Berdymukhammedov met with Uzbek President Islam Karimov, and said that
he is seeking to deepen bilateral relations during his visit, noting
the "common roots and historic ties" between the two countries. The two
presidents signed a set of bilateral agreements, including new accords
on transportation, agriculture, cross-border trade, and water
resources. A separate protocol was also signed calling for a political
dialogue between the Turkmen and Uzbek ministries of foreign affairs.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Karimov said that they
discussed the situation in Afghanistan, and also agreed to implement a
bilateral agreement on trade and political relations for 2008-12. RG
Eastern Europe
[17] U.S. PRESIDENT HONORS WIFE OF IMPRISONED BELARUSIAN POLITICIAN
In a statement on March 10 marking Women's History Month and
International Women's Day, U.S. President George W. Bush honored Iryna
Kazulina, the deceased wife of imprisoned Belarusian former
presidential candidate Alyaksandr Kazulin, the White House website
reported. "America honors women like Iryna Kazulina," Bush said.
"Iryna's husband, Alyaksandr Kazulin, is serving a five year prison
sentence for protesting Belarus's fraudulent 2006 elections. Iryna
worked relentlessly for her husband's freedom. In doing so, she became
a leading voice for all political prisoners held captive by [Belarusian
President Alyaksandr] Lukashenka's regime," he said. Kazulina died on
February 23 after a long fight with breast cancer. "The Lukashenka
regime refused to release her husband to be with his wife in her final
days. That's the definition of brutality. And the United States calls
upon that government to release Alyaksandr Kazulin immediately, just
like they ought to release every other political prisoner in Belarus,"
Bush said. AM
[18] PRESIDENT SAYS BELARUS HAS NEVER DISAPPOINTED EUROPE
President Lukashenka on March 10 told a group of British legislators
and businesspeople that "Belarus has never let Europe down, and we
would like to be treated appropriately," Belapan and RFE/RL's Belarus
Service reported. "Prospects for relations between Belarus and the EU
will depend on whether the European Union's foreign policy is
independent of the United States," Lukashenka said. He noted that 20
percent of the natural gas and 40 percent of the crude oil Europe
receives from Russia are delivered through Belarus. "I believe the
European Union has the right idea of Belarus's role in Europe.
Unfortunately, the prospects for relations between Belarus and the
European Union do not lie exclusively in the Europe-Belarus sphere,"
Lukashenka said. "I want to assure you that all agreements that we will
reach will be kept inviolate.... You will get full support for work in
the Belarusian market," he added. AM
[19] BELARUSIAN PHYSICISTS OBJECT TO PLANNED NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
Several prominent Belarusian nuclear physicists have urged the
authorities to abandon their plans for the construction of a nuclear
power plant, Belapan and RFE/RL's Belarus Service reported on March 10.
The physicists said at a March 9 meeting that the construction of a
nuclear power plant is not an "unavoidable necessity" for Belarus, and
that the country does not meet the economic and technical conditions
for its construction. Yahor Fyadzyushkin, the head of the Institute of
Humanitarian and Environmental Technologies of the Minsk-based
International Academy of Information Technology, said that "the idea of
building a nuclear power plant in Belarus could bring about a lot of
trouble and difficult ordeals, which the authorities seem to be ready
to put on the shoulders of the people." "Under no circumstances would
we agree that it is feasible to build the plant in Belarus," he said.
"Since the dispute about whether or not a nuclear power plant should be
built began, nobody has ever offered any distinct data in favor of the
nuclear power industry," Fyadzyushkin said. The Belarusian Security
Council in mid-January made "an ultimate political decision" regarding
the construction of a nuclear power plant. The government intends to
put the first unit of the 2,000-megawatt plant into operation in 2016,
and launch the second one in 2018. AM
[20] U.S. SUPPORTS UKRAINE'S EURO-ATLANTIC ASPIRATIONS
Acting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian
Affairs Kurt Volker on March 10 told RFE/RL that the United States
supports the aspirations of Ukraine and Georgia to move closer to NATO.
"There's got to be a 'yes' from our side, saying, 'We welcome the
aspirations of Georgia and Ukraine.' That is the directional aspect of
this," said Volker, who is also the U.S. ambassador-designate to NATO.
"Do we offer them a Membership Action Plan? That's a decision that NATO
needs to take by consensus. If it's not at [the planned NATO summit in
April in] Bucharest, the directional aspect remains the same: they have
indicated their desire to come closer and we want to help them," Volker
said. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, Prime Minister Yulia
Tymoshenko, and parliamentary speaker Arseniy Yatsenyuk in mid-January
sent a letter to NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer asking
him to offer Ukraine a NATO Membership Action Plan at the Bucharest
summit. However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel on March 10 said that
"a country should become a NATO member not only when its temporary
political leadership is in favor but when a significant percentage of
the population supports membership," in a reference to Ukraine.
According to public opinion surveys, slightly more than half of the
Ukrainian population opposes possible membership in NATO. AM
[21] UKRAINIAN PREMIER ATTRACTS EUROPEAN INVESTORS
Prime Minister Tymoshenko said on March 10 in Brussels that her
government will ensure the transparency of privatization processes in
Ukraine, as well as equal conditions for foreign investors' access to
the Ukrainian market, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reported. "We have
pretty good macro-economic indexes [allowing us to] become a
trustworthy partner of the European Union," Tymoshenko said. "Within
three or four months, we will privatize Ukrtelekom [Ukraine's largest
telecommunications company], chemical plants, and power industry
enterprises," she said. The government on February 6 approved a
detailed plan for the allocation of Ukrtelekom's shares: 25 percent
plus one share will remain state property, while 67.79 percent will be
sold at auction. AM
Southeastern Europe
[22] EU WARNS SERBIA AGAINST 'ROAD TO NOWHERE'
Referring to the general elections in Serbia scheduled for May 11, EU
Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said in Brussels on March 10 that
"now Serbia has a crucial choice to make," news agencies reported. He
added that Serbia "can either turn to the European future or risk
isolation. The first option will take Serbia forward toward stability,
stronger freedoms, and increasing prosperity along with the other
countries of the region. The other option...is a road to nowhere" (see
End Note, "RFE/RL Newsline," March 10, 2008, and "RFE/RL Balkan
Report," February 13 and 25 and March 5, 2008). Slovenian Foreign
Minister Dimitrij Rupel, whose country holds the rotating EU
presidency, argued that "Serbia faces a challenge. It faces a choice of
either going toward Europe or staying nationalistic." Dutch Foreign
Minister Maxime Verhagen said that his country remains opposed to
signing a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with any
government in Belgrade that does not fully cooperate with the
Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
(ICTY). "EU integration and cooperation are also based on values -- and
one of those values is the position where impunity is not accepted," he
stressed. Rupel pointed out that it will be necessary for the UN
civilian administration in Kosova (UNMIK) to "keep up its work" because
there have been organized Serbian attacks on the Serbian-Kosovar
border. Verhagen noted that "what we want to avoid is a soft partition"
of Kosova. The Belgrade daily "Danas" wrote on March 11 that Serbian
President Boris Tadic and his Democratic Party believe that they have
few challengers for the pro-European vote in the May 11 elections. The
anti-EU nationalist vote will be split among at least four parties, but
they could easily form a broad coalition after the elections and form a
government, the paper added. Several Serbian participants at a
roundtable held by RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service
said on March 10 that Serbia could face political and economic
instability in the run-up to the elections and possibly for several
weeks afterward. PM
[23] TRIAL OF CROATIAN GENERALS OPENS IN THE HAGUE
Croatian Generals Ante Gotovina, Ivan Cermak, and Mladen Markac on
March 11 went on trial at the ICTY in The Hague on charges of war
crimes allegedly committed during the Croatian Army's Operation Storm
in August 1995, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service
reported. Operation Storm, together with Operation Flash shortly before
it, ended a rebellion by members of Croatia's Serbian minority, which
was supported by Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, and established
the authority of President Franjo Tudjman's government throughout
Croatia. Prosecutor Alan Tieger told a three-judge panel at the opening
of the trial that the charges arise "from the forcible elimination of
Krajina's Serbs from Croatia and the destruction of their
community...and the roles and responsibilities of three men, generals
in the Croatian Army, in that process." He added that Operation Storm
sought not only to retake land but also "to drive out the Serb civilian
population and ensure their permanent removal." The charges against the
three generals include the murder, expulsion, or persecution of Serbian
civilians and the destruction or looting of their property. Many
observers expect the trial to shed some light on historical
controversies stemming from Operation Storm, such as the possibility of
clandestine deals between Tudjman and Milosevic, and how many of tens
of thousands of Serbs were driven from their homes by Croatian forces,
rather than told to leave by local Serbian authorities. Tudjman and
Gojko Susak, who was his defense minister, are mentioned in the
indictment as having helped plan Operation Storm. The two died before
the ICTY could formally indict them. Some Croatian commentators charge
that the trial constitutes an attack on the overall legacy of Operation
Storm, a charge that the ICTY denies. PM
Southwestern Asia And The Middle East
[24] UN TO ACCELERATE WORK IN AFGHANISTAN UNDER NEW ENVOY
The United Nations is expected to step up its reconstruction and aid
activities in Afghanistan under the leadership of its new special
envoy, Norwegian diplomat Kai Eide, AFP reported on March 10 from
Kabul. Under his leadership, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan
(UNAMA) will reinforce its assistance mission and support government
institutions through cooperation with President Hamid Karzai, according
to Christopher Alexander, the UN's deputy special representative for
Afghanistan. "We need to accelerate our work, we need to coordinate an
effort that is larger than ever and more complex than ever before, and
we need to focus on implementation," Alexander told reporters in Kabul.
AT
[25] AFGHAN GOVERNMENT OPENS COMPLAINTS BUREAU
BBC News on March 10 reported that the Afghan government has opened a
new office dedicated to dealing with complaints from the Afghan public.
The office, with a staff of 23, will pass the complaints on to the
office of President Hamid Karzai. The body is headed by Asadullah Wafa,
the former governor of Afghanistan's southern Helmand Province. Though
the office is currently located in Kabul, other branches are due to be
set up in the provinces. Among the problems plaguing Afghanistan is
widespread corruption, which stymies the public's influence and ability
to seek change. AT
[26] NATO CLASHES IN AFGHANISTAN RISE IN 2008
NATO forces in Afghanistan have clashed more often with Taliban
insurgents in 2008 than in the same period last year, although fighting
has occurred in fewer places, NATO said on March 10, Reuters reported.
"ISAF has been more active than we were last year; we are going out to
get them...rather than them coming to us," Captain Mike Finney said.
Data collected by the Afghanistan NGO Security Office indicate that
there has been a 39 percent increase in Taliban attacks in the first
two months of this year over the same period in 2007. Although NATO
says it is making progress against the Taliban, observers say there is
an impasse on the ground that is undermining Western public support for
troops deployments there. AT
[27] AFGHAN PEACE EFFORTS SUFFER FROM LACK OF INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT
A new study says peace efforts in Afghanistan are disconnected from one
another and lack support from the international community, the Canadian
Press reported on March 10. The report by the Canadian Council for
International Cooperation is based on 58 interviews carried out in
Afghanistan in January and February. It calls on the Canadian
government to encourage the international community and Afghan
government to help boost existing peace initiatives. In the longer
term, it says peace requires a sustained commitment by the
international community, including Canada, to work with the Afghan
government, civil society, women's groups, and opposition and
antigovernment groups. The council interviewed diplomats,
non-governmental organizations, Afghan government officials, and
community leaders in preparing the report. AT
[28] IRANIAN SECURITY CHIEF MEETS PROMINENT PALESTINIAN
Ramadan Abdullah Shallah, the head of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, met on
March 10 with Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Said
Jalili in Tehran to discuss the recent events in Gaza, IRNA reported.
Jalili told Shallah that 60 years of Palestinian resistance have shown
that "terrorism cannot overcome the will of the people, even in the
form of a regime." He said Israel's recent strikes targeting Hamas
sites in Gaza "revealed to the world the fake proponents of human
rights." He was referring to Western powers, which Iran claims are
indifferent to the plight of the Palestinians. Shallah thanked Jalili
for Iran's support for "the Islamic resistance" and called for
continued assistance. The former head of Iran's Islamic Revolution
Guards Corps (IRGC), Yahya Rahim-Safavi, said separately in Tehran on
March 10 that Israel should take seriously the stance of Hizballah in
Lebanon, IRNA reported. He was apparently referring to Hizballah's
effective declaration of war on Israel following a car bombing in
Damascus in February that killed veteran Hizballah operative Imad
Mugniyah. Israel has denied it was involved. Rahim-Safavi, who is
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's chief adviser on military
affairs, was speaking at an event marking the release of a
commemorative stamp for Mugniyah. He said he hopes "certain Arab
states" will sever their diplomatic ties with Israel's "fake regime,"
IRNA reported. VS
[29] QATARI PREMIER SUPPORTS TALKS WITH IRAN
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jasim bin Jabr al-Thani told a
conference in Doha on March 10 that the best way to avoid a regional
conflict is for Arab states of the Persian Gulf to talk to Iran, and
called this dialogue "vital" for the region, Radio Farda and agencies
reported. He said Persian Gulf states could benefit from Iran's nuclear
program if it is peaceful, but that if it has military goals, they must
find out if it is directed at them or at states further away. Western
states suspect Iran may use its nuclear program to develop weapons,
though Iran denies it has anything but a civilian nuclear program.
Iran's cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
has failed to convince the UN body of the peaceful nature of Iran's
program. Sheikh Hamad said Iran's recent clarifications to the IAEA
were not enough to remove all doubts about its program; he warned,
however, that "it is important...that no one shoves the region toward a
new crisis and that as [Iran's neighbors] we have an understanding of
this issue," Reuters reported. Sheikh Hamad said recent wars in the
Middle East have been based on "unsound studies," and that regional
states have not benefited in any way. "The most important thing is that
we do not enter into an international game in which we will be
exploited," Reuters quoted him as saying. VS
[30] IRANIAN REFORMISTS CRITICIZE POLICIES AHEAD OF POLLS
Iranian reformists' criticisms of government policies have apparently
grown stronger in recent days as the March 14 parliamentary polls
approach, Radio Farda reported on March 10. The broadcaster quoted
former parliament speaker and head of the reformist National Trust
Party Mehdi Karrubi as saying on March 9 that provocative public
statements by unnamed politicians have harmed Iran's position in the
international dispute over its nuclear program. The report indicated he
was referring to President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, who has frequently
denounced Western powers and Israel, a state Iran does not recognize.
Karrubi said his party, which is taking part in the coming polls,
favors a policy of interaction with foreign powers on the basis of
"revolutionary principles," but without provocation. "Our policy is
based on detente, and we want interaction with the whole world, except
Israel," Karrubi said. He added that there is no reason why Iran should
not have ties with the United States, provided Washington "respects our
rights and does not seek dominance." "The issue of talks with America
will also be pursued" if the party wins enough seats to influence the
future parliament's agenda, he said. Mohammad Reza Khatami, a former
deputy speaker of parliament and a member of the reformist
Participation Front, separately criticized the government's economic
policies in a March 9 debate with the current deputy speaker, Mohammad
Reza Bahonar, Radio Farda reported. What is the result of the ruling
conservatives' "economic slogans," Khatami asked, or their promises to
improve the lot of Iranians over the past three or four years? He said
the Ahmadinejad government has opened many factories since it took
power in 2005 "thanks to the investments of previous years," and asked
if "this government has left anything for future governments to
inaugurate." VS
[31] CLERIC ACCUSES REFORMISTS OF ABUSES
Ruhollah Hosseinian, a right-wing cleric and parliamentary candidate
for Tehran in the March 14 polls, told students on March 10 that he
wrote 70 letters to the authorities when he worked with the
Intelligence Ministry in the 1980s to complain of prisoners'
mistreatment by officials who later became reformists, the conservative
Fars agency reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," April 26, 2007).
Hosseinian was referring to the 1984-89 period when Hojjatoleslam
Mohammad Mohammadi-Reyshahri was intelligence minister and Hosseinian
represented the revolutionary prosecutor's office at the ministry.
Hosseinian is on the candidate list being fielded by the United Front
of Fundamentalists, the leading right-wing coalition in the upcoming
polls. He told students at a question-and-answer session at Shahid
Beheshti University that he resigned in the 1980s because of the
"radicalism of this same faction that later became known as"
reformists. Many present-day reformists were zealous revolutionaries in
the 1980s; some participated in the 1979 assault on the U.S. Embassy in
Tehran, while many failed to distance themselves from -- or even
participated in -- the executions of prominent officials after the 1979
revolution. He said separately that the main culprit in the murders of
dissidents and writers in the late 1990s -- which have been blamed on
rogue intelligence ministry agents -- "was a man called Musavi who was
among [reformist] forces at the Intelligence Ministry. That is what we
said, though they never answered." Hosseinian has in the past accused
reformists of complicity in the murders of a number of state critics
and liberals. Those killings led to an apparent purge of ministry staff
by the reformist government of then-President Mohammad Khatami in 1998.
The intelligence minister at the time, Qorbanali Dorri-Najafabadi,
resigned under pressure. VS
[32] CAR BOMB EXPLODES OUTSIDE HOTEL IN IRAQ'S KURDISH REGION
A suicide car bomber blew himself up outside a popular hotel frequented
by foreigners and government officials in Al-Sulaymaniyah on March 10,
RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq reported. At least two other people were
killed in the blast and more than 30 injured. State-run Al-Iraqiyah
television reported that 10 people were killed. Footage of the blast,
aired on Al-Sharqiyah television on March 10, showed broken windows,
demolished cars, and damage to an outer wall surrounding the
Al-Sulaymaniyah Palace Hotel. The hotel is reportedly frequented by
officials from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the party of Iraqi
President Jalal Talabani. Al-Sulaymaniyah has been largely free of
violence, although two suicide bomb attacks there left 13 dead in 2005.
The bombing came on the eve of a meeting of the Arab Parliamentary
Union in nearby Irbil. KR
[33] ARAB PARLIAMENTARY UNION CONFERENCE UNDERWAY IN IRBIL
Representatives of 19 Arab and Islamic states are attending the 50th
Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union (AIPU) conference in Irbil, Iraqi media
reported on March 11. Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mahmud al-Mashhadani is
hosting the meeting, along with his deputies Arif Tayfur and Khalid
al-Atiyah. The delegates attended a welcoming ceremony at the Kurdistan
National Assembly, the Kurdish region's parliament, on March 10.
Kurdish regional President Mas'ud Barzani welcomed the delegates,
calling their attendance at the Iraqi conference a "historic event."
AIPU Secretary-General Nur al-Din Boushkoug told reporters on March 10
that the willingness of Arab states to meet in Iraq sends a signal to
the Iraqi government that failing to consult with other Arab countries
would be a grave mistake. He called the conference a major turning
point in other Arab states' relations with Iraq. States in the region
have been hesitant to engage with Iraq since the fall of the Hussein
regime. Boushkoug said all but three of the 22 Arab League member
states are attending the conference. Representatives from Libya,
Somalia, and Comoros could not attend. KR
[34] SUNNI MEDIA SAYS PREMIER APPOINTED MILITANTS TO SECURITY AGENCIES
Al-Sharqiyah television on March 10 cited sources in the defense and
interior ministries as saying Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has issued
a decree appointing 18,000 "militants" to security positions. The
sources "revealed that thousands of those included in the decree, a
copy of which media outlets have received, come from non-Iraqi origins
and do not have the military qualifications that make them eligible to
hold the rank of an officer or the position of a commissioner," the
news channel alleged. Al-Sharqiyah contended that the appointments were
politically motivated "to serve the interests of certain parties and
militia leaders." It reported that al-Maliki's decree, issued in
October, appointed 5,700 people to the position of lieutenant colonel
and 6,000 to the post of commissioners. The report has not been
independently verified. KR
[35] IRAQI ARMY FINDS BOOBY-TRAPPED GAS CYLINDERS AT ABANDONED HOMES
Iraqi soldiers on March 10 found cooking-gas cylinders rigged with
explosives at several homes in Wasit Governorate in southern Iraq,
Voices of Iraq reported on March 11. The cylinders were left at several
homes left empty by families displaced from the governorate. The report
did not say how many homes or identify the displaced people. The
governorate is predominantly Shi'ite, which would indicate that the
displaced were probably Sunni Arabs. An army source told the news
agency that the cylinders were found in two neighborhoods north of
Sawayrah city, about 100 kilometers north of Wasit, the capital of the
governorate. Several houses were also booby-trapped. The troops were
apparently checking security in the neighborhoods in anticipation of
the return of displaced families, the news agency reported. KR
End Note
[36] THERE IS NO END NOTE TODAY.
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