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RFE/RL Newsline, 07-12-13
CONTENTS
[01] RUSSIA 'SUSPENDS' CFE TREATY
[02] ASSESSMENTS DIFFER REGARDING RUSSIAN WITHDRAWAL FROM CFE
[03] SHOULD FINLAND FEAR RUSSIAN MILITARY PRESSURE?
[04] POLAND MIGHT DISCUSS BALTIC PIPELINE WITH RUSSIA, GERMANY
[05] PUTIN SPEAKS OF 'INTEGRATION' WITH BELARUS
[06] BRITISH COUNCIL ORDERED TO CLOSE REGIONAL OFFICES
[07] RUSSIA REACTS TO IDEA OF PUTIN HEADING CABINET UNDER MEDVEDEV...
[08] ...AS LEGAL EXPERT SAYS SUCH A SCENARIO WOULD NOT REQUIRE
CONSTITUTION CHANGES
[09] MEDVEDEV CAMPAIGN GETS UNDER WAY
[10] PUTIN PLEDGES TO REFORM STATE CORPORATIONS
[11] PUTIN INSIDER TO TAKE CONTROL OF NATIONAL DAILY
[12] KREMLIN SEEKS TO FILL RIGHTIST VOID
[13] UNIFIED RUSSIA MULLS LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE OF NEW DUMA
[14] SUPREME COURT JUDGE SLAIN IN DAGHESTAN
[15] OSSETIAN JAMAAT CLAIMS TO HAVE EXECUTED TWO DRUG DEALERS
[16] ARMENIAN TV STATIONS REJECT CRITICISM OF ELECTION COVERAGE
[17] OUTGOING PRESIDENT WOOS GEORGIA'S AZERBAIJANI MINORITY
[18] GEORGIAN PREMIER SEEKS BACKING FOR 'CHEAP CREDIT' BANK
[19] GEORGIAN OPPOSITION FEARS VOTER LISTS INFLATED
[20] SEVEN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES REGISTERED IN GEORGIA
[21] KAZAKHSTAN TO RECEIVE U.S. BORDER-SECURITY ASSISTANCE
[22] CHINESE COMPANY COMPLETES CONSTRUCTION OF FIRST STAGE OF KAZAKH
GAS PLANT
[23] KYRGYZ OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS ASSAULTED
[24] 500 INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS SET TO OBSERVE KYRGYZ ELECTION
[25] TAJIK BORDER GUARDS SEIZE ARMED AFGHANS
[26] TAJIK-UZBEK TALKS ON GAS PRICES BREAK DOWN
[27] VISITING OSCE OFFICIAL PRAISES TIES WITH TURKMENISTAN
[28] BELARUSIAN AUTHORITIES SENTENCE ORGANIZERS, PARTICIPANTS OF
VENDORS PROTEST
[29] BELARUSIAN VENDORS REJECT TALKS UNTIL RELEASE OF JAILED ACTIVISTS
[30] U.S. AMBASSADOR TO BELARUS RECEIVES DIPLOMACY FOR FREEDOM AWARD
[31] UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT NOMINATES PREMIER, DEFENSE AND FOREIGN
MINISTERS...
[32] ... BUT TYMOSHENKO CONFIRMATION FAILS BY ONE VOTE
[33] SERBIA TO TURN TO UN COURT OVER KOSOVA...
[34] ...STRIKES COMBATIVE NOTE WITH EU...
[35] ...AND RISKS CLASH WITH UN
[36] ICTY PROSECUTOR PANS SERBIAN HUNT FOR WAR CRIMINALS...
[37] ...SEES LITTLE IMPROVEMENT THIS YEAR...
[38] ...AND URGES EU TO INSIST ON MLADIC'S CAPTURE
[39] BOSNIA SUSPENDS OFFICIALS FOR SUSPECTED WAR CRIMES
[40] MACEDONIA, GREECE TO HOLD DIRECT TALKS ON NAME
[41] NATO AND AFGHAN FORCES CONSOLIDATE POSITIONS IN MUSA QALA...
[42] ...PUSH TO CRUSH TALIBAN POCKETS OF CONTROL IN SOUTHERN
AFGHANISTAN
[43] CANADA STEPS UP TRAINING OF AFGHAN POLICE FORCE
[44] KARZAI ESTABLISHES THE FIRST BAR ASSOCIATION IN AFGHANISTAN
[45] IRANIAN JUDICIARY CONFIRMS STUDENT ARRESTS
[46] IRANIAN COURT REOPENS SLAIN JOURNALIST'S CASE
[47] IRAN RELEASES ACTIVIST, BRINGS ANOTHER TO TRIAL
[48] IRANIAN JAILED IN CONNECTION WITH MURDERS RETURNS TO TEHRAN
[49] IRAN OFFICIAL SAYS GULF STATES PLEASED TO HOST PRESIDENT
[50] THREE CAR BOMBS EXPLODE IN IRAQI SHI'ITE CITY
[51] IRAQI PREMIER FORMS COUNCIL IN SAMARRA, TASKED WITH HELPING
REBUILD MOSQUE
[52] CAR BOMB TARGETS AREA HOUSING IRAQI OFFICIALS
[53] IRAQI POLICE SOURCE SAYS INSURGENTS PLAN TO TARGET MOSUL DAM
[54] 200 TRIBAL LEADERS WANT IRANIAN EMBASSY CLOSED
[55] THERE IS NO END NOTE TODAY.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007 Volume 11 Number 229
Russia
[01] RUSSIA 'SUSPENDS' CFE TREATY
Russia's controversial suspension of the 1990 Conventional Forces in
Europe (CFE) Treaty came into effect on December 12, newsru.com
reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," November 30 and December 7, 10, and
11, 2007). The pact, amended in 1999 and widely considered an important
part of the European arms control structure, limits the deployment of
tanks and other conventional weapons west of the Urals. Russia
considers it outdated and not corresponding to its interests. On April
26, President Vladimir Putin announced a "moratorium" on Russia's
observance of the agreement until the Baltic states and Slovenia sign
it. On July 14, he signed a decree suspending Russia's participation in
the pact, which would take effect 150 days later. The decree was
subsequently endorsed by both houses of parliament. Critics charge that
there is no provision in the CFE for suspension, and that Moscow must
withdraw from the treaty if it refuses to observe it. The Foreign
Ministry said in a statement on December 12 that "during the temporary
suspension of Russia's participation in the CFE Treaty, the country
will not be bound by limitations [specified in it], including by 'flank
limitations' on the number of deployed conventional weapons," mid.ru
reported. The statement added that "at the same time, we do not have
plans to amass and concentrate these weapons on the borders with our
neighbors." PM
[02] ASSESSMENTS DIFFER REGARDING RUSSIAN WITHDRAWAL FROM CFE
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried was quoted by Britain's
"Financial Times" of December 12 as calling the Russian decision
"deeply regrettable." Deutsche Welle argued on December 12 that the
move came in response to U.S. plans to develop a missile-defense system
in Poland and the Czech Republic. Anatoly Antonov, head of the Russian
Foreign Ministry's security and disarmament department, said that
"there is no threat from Moscow. No one in Berlin would think that
Russian tanks could move on Germany," Reuters reported on December 11.
He stressed that Russia acted because "its concerns were not listened
to" and that Moscow "remains open to dialogue." An unnamed Western
diplomat said that the Russian decision will not lead to a new arms
race, but will make verification of existing deployments more
difficult. Interfax on December 12 quoted an unnamed "high-ranking
official from the Russian Defense Ministry" as saying that "the need
for ensuring the country's defense capability, which is the most urgent
in...the North Caucasus, has already prompted us to take measures
that...go beyond the flank limits stipulated by the CFE. This involves
the two recently-formed mountain brigades deployed on our southern
flank in Daghestan and the Karachayevo-Cherkessia Republic." PM
[03] SHOULD FINLAND FEAR RUSSIAN MILITARY PRESSURE?
On December 12, the "Financial Times" reported that a new study by the
Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) warns that Finland
could face possible "military remonstrations in the vicinity of the
Finnish borders...in the short to medium term" by an assertive Russia
if Finland were to join NATO. Polls suggest that about 50 percent of
Finns still reject NATO membership. But the paper noted that there is
also a growing view that NATO membership would help Finland better meet
its EU responsibilities and would act as insurance in the face of
Russian assertiveness (see "RFE/RL Newsline," September 25, October 4,
and December 6, 2007). The Finnish Foreign Ministry will soon issue its
first assessment in four years of possible NATO membership. The FIIA
report noted that the debate involves more than just NATO, and impacts
on "how we see ourselves." PM
[04] POLAND MIGHT DISCUSS BALTIC PIPELINE WITH RUSSIA, GERMANY
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said after talks with German
Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on December 11 that Poland may hold
talks with Germany and Russia about those countries' controversial Nord
Stream gas pipeline, which will bring Russian gas along the floor of
the Baltic Sea to Germany, bypassing Poland and the Baltic states,
Deutsche Welle and the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" reported on
December 12. He added that the three countries might hold joint talks
to address Polish concerns as early as January. The pipeline will
traverse an area of seabed that contains much chemical and military
waste, including poisons and live explosives. Poland, Sweden, Finland,
and the Baltic states all object to Nord Stream on political or
ecological grounds or both (see "RFE/RL Newsline," August 15, November
2 and 7, and December 6, 2007). On November 6, Tusk told reporters
regarding Nord Stream that "this initiative, this project, has not been
prepared well." He added that he hopes Nord Stream will soon undergo
"serious corrections." The "Financial Times" on November 7 quoted
unnamed Gazprom officials as saying that they "do not understand"
Tusk's comments. On December 12 in Moscow, Russian Agriculture Minister
Aleksei Gordeyev announced that Russia and Poland have resolved a
dispute over Polish meat exports that has been holding up broader
Russia-EU negotiations over a new partnership agreement, Interfax
reported. PM
[05] PUTIN SPEAKS OF 'INTEGRATION' WITH BELARUS
Kremlin deputy spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on December 11 that
President Putin and Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka spoke by
telephone about the upcoming meeting of the Supreme State Council of
the Russia-Belarus Union State on the eve of their talks in Minsk on
December 13-14, Russian news agencies reported. Peskov apparently
sought to play down recent speculation on Ekho Moskvy radio and
elsewhere that the meeting could lead to a major announcement (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," December 10, 2007). He said that "it will be a
working meeting to continue to discuss all the aspects of the
continuous integration between our two countries." Peskov warned
against paying any attention to "sensationalist speculation" regarding
the meeting. Newsru.com, however, suggested on December 12 that serious
plans for a more substantial state union could well be afoot. On
December 7, Lukashenka's spokesman Pavel Lyohki denied media reports
that the two presidents will sign the Constitutional Act of the
Belarusian-Russian Union State during the Minsk summit. PM
[06] BRITISH COUNCIL ORDERED TO CLOSE REGIONAL OFFICES
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin announced on December 12
that all regional offices of the British Council in Russia must be
closed by January 1, 2008, newsru.com and mid.ru reported. He said that
"given the lack of a legal basis for regulating the activity of the
British Council in Russia, the British side was notified that the
activity of all regional offices...except its head office in Moscow
will be suspended." But Natalia Minchenko, marketing director for the
British Council's Moscow office, denied Kamynin's assertions and told
AP that "we have no plans to shut down" the regional offices. British
Embassy officials were not immediately available for comment, the news
agency added. The British Council promotes British culture and
exchanges abroad. Timesonline.co.uk reported on December 12 that the
Russian "move is being seen as retaliation for the expulsion of four
Russian diplomats from Britain in July, in the continuing row over the
[2006] murder on British soil of [former Russian security agent
Aleksandr] Litvinenko." The website added that the decision is "another
effort to squeeze British interests, in the row that began over
Litvinenko. It is election season now, and Putin thinks he is
completely invulnerable and [can] do what he likes. Relations between
Britain and Russia are very, very strained, so squeezing out the
British Council is a way of demonstrating how bad those relations have
become. Moscow has never been very happy with the fact that the British
Council gives English lessons and runs exams. They see it as a
contamination with unwelcome ideas" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," November 30
and December 5, 2007). PM
[07] RUSSIA REACTS TO IDEA OF PUTIN HEADING CABINET UNDER MEDVEDEV...
Politicians and analysts on December 12 reacted to a statement the
previous day by First Deputy Prime Minister and presidential heir
apparent Dmitry Medvedev, who asked President Putin to serve as prime
minister if Medvedev is elected president in March 2008, Russian media
reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," December 11, 2007). Federation Council
Chairman Sergei Mironov said the proposal is "a good algorithm and a
workable suggestion from the point of view of the organization of
future work," gazeta.ru reported. Analyst Dmitry Badovsky told the
website that Putin will probably not directly accept or reject the
proposal for some time. Mikhail Vinogradov, head of the Political
Forecasting Center, reminded "Vremya novostei" that Putin has said he
does not want to shift the balance of power between the president and
the prime minister. "In general, I think that the recent events have
moved us away from the realization of the scenario of a parliamentary
republic rather than moving us toward it," Vinogradov said. Analyst
Valery Khomyakov told the daily that the move is a signal to the elites
that Putin will remain in power, in order to avoid the impression that
he is a "lame duck" now that Medvedev has been named the successor.
However, Khomyakov added, the exact role for Putin after the March 2
election remains unclear. RC
[08] ...AS LEGAL EXPERT SAYS SUCH A SCENARIO WOULD NOT REQUIRE
CONSTITUTION CHANGES
Federation Council member Yury Sharandin, who heads the council's
Constitutional Law Committee, told "Vremya novostei" on December 12
that it is not necessary to amend the constitution in order to enhance
the powers of the prime minister. He noted that the constitutional law
on the government contains the provision that the so-called power
structures -- the Interior, Defense, Foreign Affairs, and Emergency
Situations Ministries; the Prosecutor-General's Office; the Federal
Security Service; and others -- are under the direct control of the
president. In order to change that law, three-quarters of the
Federation Council and two-thirds of the State Duma must vote for it.
RC
[09] MEDVEDEV CAMPAIGN GETS UNDER WAY
Unified Russia and A Just Russia are setting up a joint campaign
headquarters to support First Deputy Prime Minister Medvedev in his
presidential bid, gazeta.ru reported on December 11. An unnamed Unified
Russia source said that deputy presidential administration head
Vladislav Surkov will head the campaign. Surkov oversees the Kremlin's
policies regarding political parties, the regions, and civil society.
Federation Council Chairman Mironov, who heads A Just Russia, told the
website his party maintains its opposition to Unified Russia, despite
the fact that both parties will support Medvedev. He said the campaign
headquarters will be a "super-party" structure. Political analyst
Dmitry Gusev summed up the mission of the new campaign: "The main goal
of Medvedev's election campaign will be to present him as a faithful
Putinite, who is capable of continuing the reforms begun by Putin. They
need to convince voters that in electing Medvedev, they are also
electing Putin, who will remain in power and to whom Medvedev will in
many regards be obedient." RC
[10] PUTIN PLEDGES TO REFORM STATE CORPORATIONS
President Putin on December 11 met with the Russian Chamber of Commerce
and Industry in Moscow, Russian media reported on December 12. The
meeting began just moments after First Deputy Prime Minister Medvedev
appeared on national television to ask Putin to serve as premier if he
is elected president in March. Putin did not comment on Medvedev's
statement, "Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported, but discussed the
government's economic policies in detail. He said that the state should
play a smaller role in the economy and pledged that the state
megacorporations now being set up will eventually be altered. "We are
not planning to keep state corporations in their present form," Putin
said. "After these corporations stand on their own two feet, then I
think it will be right for them to work in market conditions." He added
that "state corporations should not monopolize Russia." In recent
years, the government has created state corporations in key sectors
including machine building, aviation construction, shipbuilding, and
nuclear energy. It has also overseen the expansion of Gazprom and
Rosneft. Most of these corporations are headed by key figures from
Putin's inner circle. Putin also said the government will continue to
put windfall revenues from high energy prices into the Stabilization
Fund. However, he also opened the door for spending some of that fund
-- now worth nearly $150 billion -- on "pensions and innovative
projects." He said the government will divide the fun into two subfunds
in 2008. RC
[11] PUTIN INSIDER TO TAKE CONTROL OF NATIONAL DAILY
A company owned by Yury Kovalchuk, co-owner of the Rossia Bank and a
close colleague of President Putin's, is expected soon to purchase from
Gazprom-Media a controlling stake in the national daily "Izvestia" for
some $150 million, "Kommersant" reported on December 12. Kovalchuk, who
is often tagged as Putin's personal banker, already controls the
national television networks REN-TV and Channel 5 (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," November 5, 2007). He also controls the St. Petersburg daily
"Sankt-Peterburgskie vedomosti." Furthermore, he is believed to control
the "Komsomolskaya pravda" publishing group through his close
colleague, Oleg Rudnov, who chairs that company (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
July 3, 2007). RC
[12] KREMLIN SEEKS TO FILL RIGHTIST VOID
In the wake of the collapse of the rightist parties the Union of
Rightist Forces and Yabloko in the December 2 Duma elections, the
Kremlin is developing plans to carve a new Kremlin-friendly rightist
party out of Unified Russia, "Versia," No. 48, reported. Analyst
Yevgeny Minchenko estimates that about 10-12 percent of the electorate
is prepared to vote for a liberal party, although liberal parties
picked up just 5 percent of the vote in the recent elections. The
weekly noted that Dmitry Medvedev, who is now first deputy prime
minister and President Putin's anointed successor as president, first
proposed the creation of a right-leaning faction within Unified Russia
in the spring of 2005. The paper's analysts speculate that leadership
of the new party might be entrusted to Krasnoyarsk Krai Governor
Aleksandr Khloponin, Tver Oblast Governor Dmitry Zelenin, or former
Unified Russia Duma Deputy Pavel Krasheninnikov. RC
[13] UNIFIED RUSSIA MULLS LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE OF NEW DUMA
An unnamed source within Unified Russia told "Vedomosti" on December 12
that the party has begun considering the leadership structure of the
new Duma, which will hold its first session on December 24. The source
said that party leader Boris Gryzlov will remain as speaker and that
the party will have three deputy speakers, instead of the six it had in
the last Duma. The three other parties represented in the Duma -- A
Just Russia, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), and the
Communist Party -- will have one deputy speaker each. He said that
Aleksandr Babakov, who headed the A Just Russia faction in the last
Duma, will likely become a deputy speaker, as will LDPR head Vladimir
Zhirinovsky. In the last Duma, Gryzlov had nine deputies. The source
added that the number of committees in the new legislature will be
reduced from the 29 committees and nine commissions that the last Duma
had. He said that, unlike in the last Duma where Unified Russia
monopolized all the committee chairmanships, the opposition will be
offered some leadership posts. Zhirinovsky told the daily the
opposition can count on heading the committees on relations with the
CIS, on tourism, on sports, and on the environment. RC
[14] SUPREME COURT JUDGE SLAIN IN DAGHESTAN
Supreme Court judge Kurban Pashayev was shot dead in the stairwell of
his apartment building as he returned home from work on December 11,
kavkaz-uzel.ru and the daily "Kommersant" reported on December 12.
Investigators believe the killing was linked to one of the high-profile
criminal cases Pashayev presided over in recent years: he acquitted
four men accused of two attempts, in November 2004 and February 2005,
to kill then Deputy Prime Minister Amuchi Amutinov, and in February
2006 he acquitted Magomed Salikhov, accused of involvement in the
apartment bombing in Buynaksk on September 4, 1999, that killed some 60
people (see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 3, 2006 and May 15, 2007.) LF
[15] OSSETIAN JAMAAT CLAIMS TO HAVE EXECUTED TWO DRUG DEALERS
The Ossetian jamaat Kataib al Khoul claimed responsibility on December
12 in a statement posted on the website kavkazcenter.com for the
shooting in Moscow on December 9 of two Ossetians engaged in drug
dealing and gambling. The statement claimed this was the third such
execution the jamaat has carried out in Moscow. The website
kavkaz-uzel.ru on December 10 reported the shooting in Moscow the
previous day, but identified one of the victims as a native of North
Ossetia and the second as from Abkhazia. LF
Transcaucasia And Central Asia
[16] ARMENIAN TV STATIONS REJECT CRITICISM OF ELECTION COVERAGE
Armenia's two largest privately-owned TV stations, Armenia TV and H2,
rejected on December 11 the conclusions, unveiled the previous day, of
monitoring conducted by the Yerevan Press Club of media coverage of the
ongoing preparations for the presidential election to be held on
February 19, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported. Yerevan Press Club
Chairman Boris Navasardian said that Armenian Public Television and six
privately owned TV stations have given overwhelmingly positive coverage
of Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian, and primarily negative coverage of
former President Levon Ter-Petrossian (see "RFE/RL Newsline," December
11, 2007). Sarkisian is backed by the majority Republican Party of
Armenia and by outgoing President Robert Kocharian; Ter-Petrossian is
regarded as his main challenger. Armenia TV news chief Gagik Mkrtchian
argued that "if the prime minister is going a good job...we must cover
his activities," and denied any bias against Ter-Petrossian. Officials
at Armenian Public Television and Radio declined to comment on the
Yerevan Press Club findings. LF
[17] OUTGOING PRESIDENT WOOS GEORGIA'S AZERBAIJANI MINORITY
Continuing on December 11 his campaign to win reelection, outgoing
President Saakashvili promised the predominantly Azerbaijani population
of Bolnisi, southeast of Tbilisi, that he will transform the eponymous
regional center into a "European city," Caucasus Press reported. He
further assured the Azerbaijani population of neighboring Marneuli
Raion the teaching of Georgian in the district's schools will be
improved to help its residents integrate more easily into Georgian
society, according to zerkalo.az on December 12. Also on December 11,
Saakashvili said he urges the government to repay unpaid debts for gas
and electricity incurred by internally displaced persons. The
Azerbaijani online daily zerkalo.az quoted the Right Wing opposition
Georgian parliament faction as calculating that to date Saakashvili has
made election campaign promises to the tune of 11 billion laris ($6.8
billion). The draft budget for 2008 envisages maximum revenues of 5.8
billion laris, according to Caucasus Press on October 25. On December
10, Caucasus Press quoted Saakashvili's Netherlands-born wife Sandra
Roelofs as having told a Dutch television channel that Georgia will be
"doomed" if voters fail to reelect her husband. LF
[18] GEORGIAN PREMIER SEEKS BACKING FOR 'CHEAP CREDIT' BANK
Lado Gurgenidze met in Tbilisi on December 11 with bankers and
businessmen to solicit voluntary contributions toward the start-up
capital of 300 million laris needed in order to launch by the spring of
2008 a bank that would make available long-term low-interest loans to
people wishing to open their own business, Caucasus Press and civil.ge
reported. Gurgenidze said the loan program would help to kick start the
economy, create jobs, and boost exports. LF
[19] GEORGIAN OPPOSITION FEARS VOTER LISTS INFLATED
Members of Georgia's Central Election Commission from the opposition
Conservative and Tavisupleba (Liberty) parties told journalists on
December 11 they believe the authorities may have deliberately
overstated the number of registered voters in order to rig the outcome
of the January 5 presidential election, civil.ge reported. They pointed
out that the figure of 3.37 million voters cited by the Central
Election Commission is 700,000 higher than the number of registered
voters in 2004. Commission Chairman Levan Tarkhnishvili rejected the
opposition concern as "unserious" and "groundless." On November 24,
Justice Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili assured then President Saakashvili
that the revised voter lists are accurate to a 1 percent margin of
error, civil.ge reported. LF
[20] SEVEN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES REGISTERED IN GEORGIA
The Central Election Commission has registered seven candidates for the
preterm presidential ballot on January 5, Georgian media reported on
December 11. They are outgoing President Mikheil Saakashvili; Levan
Gachechiladze, who is backed by the nine-party opposition National
Council; oligarch Badri Patarkatsishvili; David Gamkrelidze (New
Rightists); Shalva Natelashvili (Labor Party); Gia Maisashvili (Party
of the Future); and Irina Sarishvili-Chanturia (Imedi). Registration
applications by five other would-be candidates -- former Interior
Ministry troops commander Giorgi Shervashidze, lawyer Kartlos
Gharibashvili, former Communist Party of Georgia head Avtandil
Margiani, Archil Ioseliani, and Shalva Kuprashvili -- were rejected on
the grounds that they failed to submit the required minimum 50,000
signatures in their support, civil.ge reported on December 9.
Gharibashvili, Margiani, and Ioseliani have all filed suit against the
Central Election Commission in the Tbilisi City Court challenging their
rejection, according to Caucasus Press on December 11. LF
[21] KAZAKHSTAN TO RECEIVE U.S. BORDER-SECURITY ASSISTANCE
A delegation from the U.S. Department of Energy has visited Kazakhstan
with the task, among others, of inspecting border security in the
western Mangistau region, according to an unnamed official of the
Kazakh state Customs Control Committee, Kazakhstan Today reported on
December 11. The U.S. team inspected the region's border security
system in order to prepare a needs-assessment report before providing
assistance to combat the exchange of "nuclear and other radioactive
materials at specific border checkpoints." The assistance will also
include "the installation of radiation control systems along the Kazakh
border." RG
[22] CHINESE COMPANY COMPLETES CONSTRUCTION OF FIRST STAGE OF KAZAKH
GAS PLANT
Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov on December 11 attended a ceremony
marking the completion of the construction of the first stage of a
natural gas processing plant in the western region of Aktobe, according
to Interfax-Kazakhstan. The Chinese-based CNPC-Aktobemunaygaz oil
company began construction of the Zhanazhol plant in May. The first
stage has an annual capacity of 2.2 billion cubic meters of gas; once
completed, the plant will have an estimated total annual capacity of
processing and producing 6 billion cubic meters of natural gas. The
second stage of the plant is expected to be completed by the end of
2008, with all construction slated to end in 2010. RG
[23] KYRGYZ OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS ASSAULTED
Three activists from the Kyrgyz opposition Ata-Meken (Fatherland) party
were assaulted on December 11 in the southern Osh region at the party's
regional offices, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported. The unknown
assailants injured Abdulnasir Juraev, the deputy head of the office,
and two associates, AKIpress reported. The attackers also damaged the
office and destroyed party literature, leaflets, and banners. RG
[24] 500 INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS SET TO OBSERVE KYRGYZ ELECTION
Officials of the Kyrgyz Central Election Commission reported on
December 11 that 500 international observers are expected to monitor
the December 16 parliamentary election, ITAR-TASS reported. The
commission said that the observers included delegates from the
Commonwealth of Independent States, the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization, the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human
Rights, and other observers from several international groups and local
nongovernmental organizations. The commission also noted that the final
number may be greater than 500, as more observers are still permitted
to register by the December 12 deadline. RG
[25] TAJIK BORDER GUARDS SEIZE ARMED AFGHANS
An unnamed spokesman for the Tajik state border guards announced on
December 11 that 10 armed Afghans were arrested while attempting to
enter Tajikistan, ITAR-TASS reported. The spokesman added that one
Afghan was killed during a confrontation in the Shuroobod sector of the
Tajik-Afghan border late on December 10. In another incident earlier in
December, Tajik border guards seized a group of smugglers trying to
cross into Tajikistan from Afghanistan. The border area is a main
drug-trafficking route, where Tajik border guards have seized a total
of 1.5 tons of drugs since the beginning of the year. RG
[26] TAJIK-UZBEK TALKS ON GAS PRICES BREAK DOWN
Several days of negotiations between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan over the
price of natural gas broke down on December 11 after the two sides
failed to reach an agreement on the price of Tajik gas imports,
Asia-Plus reported. The talks in Tashkent were held by officials from
Tajikistan's state Tojikgaz company and Uzbekistan's state
Uzbektransgaz group. The talks broke down over Uzbekistan's demand to
raise prices for Tajik gas imports from the current level of $100 to
$185 per 1,000 cubic meters. Tajikistan is planning to import about 1
billion cubic meters of natural gas from Uzbekistan in 2008. RG
[27] VISITING OSCE OFFICIAL PRAISES TIES WITH TURKMENISTAN
In comments to reporters in Ashgabat, OSCE Secretary-General Marc
Perrin de Brichambaut on December 10 praised the organization's ties
with Turkmenistan, and stressed that the OSCE is interested in a
constructive dialogue with the country, ITAR-TASS reported. In a
meeting with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, Perrin de
Brichambaut stated that the OSCE "expects fruitful cooperation with
Turkmenistan" and welcomes Turkmenistan's openness to "constructive
cooperation." RG
Eastern Europe
[28] BELARUSIAN AUTHORITIES SENTENCE ORGANIZERS, PARTICIPANTS OF
VENDORS PROTEST
A Minsk district court on December 11 sentenced several activists for
organizing or participating in an unsanctioned rally on December 10
against the presidential decree restricting the activities of small
businesses (see "RFE/RL Newsline," December 11, 2007), Belapan
reported. The court sentenced activists Viktar Harbachou and Viktar
Kryval to 15 days in jail for organizing the rally, and Viktar Kaley
and Alyaksandr Tsatsura received 10 days -- the former for organizing
the rally and the latter for alleged foul language in a public place.
Alyaksandr Makayeu was sentenced to seven days in jail for obscenities
in a public place. Kryval, Kaley, Tsatsura, and Makayeu were among
those who earlier applied to Minsk city authorities for permission to
hold the rally. The same day, a court also sentenced Viktar
Ivashkevich, deputy head of the Belarusian Popular Front (BNF), to 15
days in jail for obscene language, and young opposition activists Barys
Haretski and Krystsina Shatsikava for participating in an unsanctioned
rally to seven days in jail and to a 700,000-ruble ($325) fine,
respectively. AM
[29] BELARUSIAN VENDORS REJECT TALKS UNTIL RELEASE OF JAILED ACTIVISTS
Aleh Shabetnik, an associate of the December 10 protest organizers,
told Belapan on December 11 that any talks with the authorities are out
of the question unless the imprisoned activists are released. Lawmaker
Anatol Paulovich, chairman of the Committee on Industry, Fuel and
Energy Complex, Transportation, Communications, and Enterprise in the
Belarusian legislature, met on December 10 with protesters and pledged
that government officials would meet with small-business
representatives on December 19 to discuss their demands. Paulovich said
that neither the Belarusian legislature nor the cabinet has the
authority to abolish the presidential decree that, starting on January
1, bars small-business owners from hiring employees other than three
family members. "The edict has been signed, it is in effect," Paulovich
added. AM
[30] U.S. AMBASSADOR TO BELARUS RECEIVES DIPLOMACY FOR FREEDOM AWARD
The U.S. State Department on December 10 presented U.S. Ambassador to
Belarus Karen Stewart with the 2007 Diplomacy for Freedom Award, it
announced on its website. "Ambassador Stewart inspired her entire
embassy to provide encouragement to embattled defenders of freedom,"
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, adding that the "Belarus
regime has stepped up persecution of the opposition and ordinary
citizens pressing peacefully for change." Stewart "has ensured that
U.S. assistance is targeted to democracy initiatives, and she has found
innovative ways to bring the message of U.S. support for freedom
directly to the people of Belarus," Rice said in presenting the award.
AM
[31] UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT NOMINATES PREMIER, DEFENSE AND FOREIGN
MINISTERS...
President Viktor Yushchenko attended the December 11 session of the
Verkhovna Rada and presented Yulia Tymoshenko as his nominee for prime
minister, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reported. Yushchenko also proposed
Yuriy Yekhanurov for the post of defense minister and Volodymyr Ohryzko
as foreign minister. Yekhanurov was prime minister from September 2005
to August 2006. Ohryzko previously served as first deputy foreign
minister. Yushchenko congratulated lawmakers on overcoming the
political crisis, describing it as "our common victory" obtained in a
"peaceful, fair, and lawful manner." AM
[32] ... BUT TYMOSHENKO CONFIRMATION FAILS BY ONE VOTE
Exactly half of the 450-seat Verkhovna Rada voted on December 11 in
favor of approving Tymoshenko, leader of the bloc bearing her name
(BYuT), as prime minister, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reported. The
voting was attended only by the coalition parliamentarians of the BYuT
and the Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defense bloc (NUNS). According to the
BYuT and NUNS, the voting cards of two coalition lawmakers did not
function properly due to a problem with the parliament's electronic
voting system. During the repeat voting, one card reportedly did not
function and Vladyslav Lukyanov of the Party of Regions prevented
speaker Arseniy Yatsenyuk from casting his vote. The Ukrainian Security
Service intends to investigate the incident and the operation of the
voting system. Yatsenyuk announced that the Verkhovna Rada will
continue its session on December 12. AM
Southeastern Europe
[33] SERBIA TO TURN TO UN COURT OVER KOSOVA...
Serbia wants the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to assess whether
it would be legal for Kosova to become an independent state, Serbian
President Boris Tadic said on December 10. A decision to refer the
issue to the ICJ, the UN's top court, would rest with the UN Security
Council. "If the initiative succeeds, and we have the right to initiate
such a process as a UN member, I believe it would be an important
argument for the UN Security Council not to move toward accepting the
probability of an independent Kosovo, but rather to move toward
positions advocated by the state of Serbia," Tadic told
Radio-Television Serbia. Serbia can probably count on Russian support.
Russia has said a declaration of independence by Kosova would breach
international law, and Russia's mediator at talks on Kosova's future,
Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko, told Russian media on December 11 that
Russia would demand that the UN annul any declaration by Kosova. An
appeal to the ICJ could be just one of a range of legal challenges that
Serbia would make, Tadic indicated. Countries that back Kosova's
independence could face cases in their own domestic courts, he said.
Tadic used the interview both to underscore Serbia's commitment to do
"absolutely everything" to prevent independence for Kosova, and to urge
Serbs to avoid violence. "We should do everything to prevent Kosovo's
independence, we should do everything to gain allies in the process,
because that is the only way for us to defend our interests before
international institutions," Tadic said. "But we must do all of this in
a peaceful, well-planned, and well-considered manner." Serbia believes
negotiations between Belgrade and Prishtina should continue until a
compromise deal is struck. In a new variation on that theme, an adviser
to Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, Srdjan Djuric, called on
December 10 for the talks to continue at locations within Kosova
itself, the Beta news agency reported. AG
[34] ...STRIKES COMBATIVE NOTE WITH EU...
Serbia also indicated on December 11 that it will seek to coerce the
European Union to turn to the UN for permission to establish a mission
in Kosova. "We expect the EU to respect Serbia's position that an EU
mission may not deploy on its territory in Kosovo without a new
resolution by the UN Security Council," Prime Minister Kostunica said
in a statement. Any attempt to bypass the UN would be "unlawful," he
asserted. That message is not new, but it was one of a series of
combative statements addressed to the EU by Serbian politicians the
same day. While President Tadic indicated that recognition of Kosova's
independence could trigger challenges in international and national
courts, Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic underscored Serbia's
rejection of the EU's belief that a decision about Kosova's future now
rests chiefly with EU states. "That process belongs to the UN Security
Council and all member countries of the United Nations, but in no way
the European Union," international media quoted Djelic as saying.
Reuters also quoted him as saying that "the EU is not a state" and
therefore should not be "part of the Kosovo process." Serbian
politicians appeared anxious to leverage the EU's wish to bring Serbia
into its fold. "Whoever wants Serbia as a partner must know that Serbia
accepts the partnership as a whole, and not a divided country,"
Kostunica said. But Djelic made clear that Serbia wants to join the EU.
"We must ask ourselves what is in Serbia's national interest -- and EU
integration certainly is," international media quoted him as saying. He
too, though, fired a shot across the EU's bows when he spoke of the
EU's precondition for closer talks, the capture of the Bosnian Serbs'
wartime commander, Ratko Mladic. "It is possible to imagine a different
government in Serbia, which will not cooperate with the tribunal at
all," he said. That warning plays on EU concerns that a Serbia
humiliated by the loss of Kosova could lurch toward more extreme forms
of nationalism, isolating itself from the EU and reneging on
commitments to cooperate to bring war criminals to justice. AG
[35] ...AND RISKS CLASH WITH UN
In a move designed to demonstrate Serbia's determination to influence
events within Kosova, its ministry for Kosovar affairs on December 10
opened a representative office in the ethnically divided town of
Mitrovica. Minister Slobodan Samardzic told reporters that, by opening
the office, "Serbia is defending her territory, the right of its people
to live within her borders, and international law." Samardzic described
the office as a new center for Serbian institutions in Kosova, an
indication that Belgrade is preparing to establish parallel political
structures within Kosova. According to Kontakt Plus Radio, Samardzic
promised ethnic Serbs that if Kosova declares independence, "there
would be institutional parallelism throughout the province." However,
in keeping with official policy, Samardzic ruled out the notion of
partition. According to the Serbian broadcaster B92, the move was
immediately criticized by the deputy head of the UN Mission in Kosova
(UNMIK), Steven Schook, who said it contravened the terms of UN
Security Council Resolution 1244, which mandated the UN to administer
Kosova following its 1998-99 conflict. It also breached commitments
that Serbia gave to international mediators in talks that formally
ended on December 10, Schook declared. The Kosovar Albanian daily
"Zeri" reported on December 11 that Kosovar President Fatmir Sejdiu has
urged the UNMIK to take concrete action, by closing the office. The
paper also said the UNMIK has asked UN headquarters how it should
respond to Serbia's step. As well as being a politically sensitive
move, the opening of the office also has security implications as
Mitrovica is arguably the largest potential flashpoint for ethnic
violence in Kosova. AG
[36] ICTY PROSECUTOR PANS SERBIAN HUNT FOR WAR CRIMINALS...
In her final speech to the UN in her capacity as the chief prosecutor
at the UN's International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY), Carla Del Ponte assailed Serbia for its failure to cooperate
fully to bring suspected war criminals to justice and called once more
on the EU not to forge closer ties with Serbia until it captures the
Bosnian Serbs' wartime leaders, Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic. In a
speech devoted entirely to the failings in Serbia's cooperation with
the UN court, Del Ponte said she is leaving her post with a "feeling of
disappointment" because of "commitments that were not honored."
Mladic's and Karadzic's continued evasion of justice is, she argued, a
"stain on the international tribunal's work" and "undermines the very
idea of international justice." During her tenure, Serbia has
transferred many indictees to The Hague, but Del Ponte pointed out that
"most of them" surrendered voluntarily. Instead, Serbia should be
judged by its efforts to bring those accused of the most "heinous"
crimes to justice: Mladic and Karadzic. Both Mladic and Karadzic "have
repeatedly been sighted in recent years in Serbia," she said, but the
Serbian government chose to negotiate with Mladic in 2006 rather than
arrest him, another war crimes indictee, Goran Hodzic, "was assisted in
his escape in 2004," and the Serbian authorities had failed to take
action when Karadzic was in Belgrade in 2004. Some Serbian officials
have worked "hard," she said, but the capture of Mladic and Karadzic
requires the "full commitment" of the state -- and Belgrade has shown
"that level of commitment only in words, not in deeds." Despite
Serbia's declared commitment to cooperate with the ICTY, "there is no
clear road map, no clear plan in the search for fugitives, no serious
leads, and no sign that serious efforts have been taken to arrest the
fugitives," Del Ponte said. Serbia's "slow and inefficient" steps
"definitely do not match the urgency of the moment," she declared.
Those comments -- and comments made on previous occasions -- made clear
that Del Ponte believes there is a lack of political will in Serbia,
but she did not attack specific Serbian leaders and she reserved her
most specific criticisms for Serbia's security services. The "serious
deficiencies" of the intelligence services included a lack of
cooperation between agencies, a lack of strategy or "proper analysis,"
a failure to act on, check, and process information, the failure to
provide "full and comprehensive reports," and unsystematic, poorly
prepared and uncoordinated actions. "Important operational decisions
are not implemented or are implemented too slowly or postponed
indefinitely, for reasons which are not always clear," she said. In one
specific example, "the Serbian authorities refused to conduct even the
most basic investigative procedures, such as conducting a search of the
residence of a relative of a fugitive out of concern for political
repercussions." Overall, Serbia's cooperation was undermined by
"serious structural deficiencies" and a "willful obstruction of
cooperation." AG
[37] ...SEES LITTLE IMPROVEMENT THIS YEAR...
Del Ponte acknowledged that communication within Serbian agencies has
improved in the past half-year and that "some of the remaining issues"
relating to access to documents and archives have been resolved.
However, she said that the "cautious optimism" she felt six months ago
-- following the formation of a new government and its "significant
role" in the arrest of two fugitives, Zdravko Tolimir and Vlastimir
Djordjevic -- has "waned considerably" because "there has been too
little progress and commitment on the issue of fugitives and too few
concrete steps have been taken to arrest them." Overall, the net
situation is the same as it was. "Two years ago, I told this council
[the UN Security Council] that the Serbian government had raised
expectations that Ratko Mladic would be arrested soon. However, despite
its declared commitments, I reported that Serbia failed to take action
to arrest and transfer the fugitives and described the shortcomings in
the plans to search for fugitives. Today, the situation remains exactly
the same," she said. AG
[38] ...AND URGES EU TO INSIST ON MLADIC'S CAPTURE
Del Ponte concluded her damning speech to the UN by renewing her call
to EU member states "to maintain their principled position by insisting
on Serbia's full cooperation with the international tribunal as a
condition in the EU preaccession and accession process." She continued,
"Let me be clear: full cooperation with the international tribunal
signifies the arrest and transfer of Ratko Mladic." In November, Serbia
took its first major step towards EU membership by initialing a
Stabilization and Association Agreement, but the agreement still needs
to be formalized (see "RFE/RL Newsline," November 8, 2007). "EU
conditionality has in recent years been the most effective tool to
obtain the transfer of ICTY fugitives," Del Ponte said. "I am convinced
that the arrest of the remaining four fugitives will only be achieved
if this policy is upheld." Asked why she placed greater emphasis on
capturing Mladic, the news service Balkan Insight quoted Del Ponte as
replying: "Because I know where Mladic is, and I know that Serbia can
give me Mladic. But Karadzic -- I don't know in which country of the
region he is hiding. I know he is in the region, but I could not tell
you if it is in a monastery in Montenegro, or in the Republika Srpska,
or in Serbia, or in an apartment in Serbia." Mladic, by contrast, "is
in the immediate reach of Belgrade." AG
[39] BOSNIA SUSPENDS OFFICIALS FOR SUSPECTED WAR CRIMES
The Bosnian authorities on December 7 suspended four serving members of
state agencies suspected of involvement in war crimes. The most senior
official suspended was the deputy head of the border police, Vahid
Alagic, who is facing investigation for the murder of 48 ethnic-Serbian
civilians near the southern town of Konjic. The security service
suspended two of its officers -- Zijo Landzo and Faik Spago -- for the
same crime, and another officer, Milenko Tepavcevic, because he is
being investigated for his suspected role in the slaughter of 37
Bosnian Muslim civilians in Sarajevo. The same day, a former police
commander, Vinko Kondic, was arrested and faces charges of crimes
committed during the war against Bosnian Muslim and Croat civilians in
Kljuc, and a guard at a wartime prison camp at Semizovac, Mladen
Milanovic, was charged with torturing Bosnian Muslim and Croat
civilians. A day earlier, on December 6, Bosnia's new war crimes
prosecutor, David Schwendiman, signaled that new indictments are likely
to be issued soon against men suspected of involvement in the
Srebrenica massacre. Bosnian Muslims who live in the Srebrenica region
have repeatedly complained that they regularly encounter officials who
were involved in the massacre (see "RFE/RL Newsline," April 25, June
20, and July 11, 2007). Shortly after his appointment, Schwendiman
promised to bring more of Bosnia's many suspected war criminals to
justice. His office says that 16,150 people may have committed crimes
during the war (see "RFE/RL Newsline," November 30, 2007). AG
[40] MACEDONIA, GREECE TO HOLD DIRECT TALKS ON NAME
Macedonia is willing to enter direct talks with Greece about its name,
Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said on December 10. "As two
neighboring countries, we should sit and talk through whatever the
problem is," AP quoted Gruevski saying. "It's not good for Macedonia
and Greece to communicate through institutions of the European Union
and NATO and also through the media," as is currently the case.
Gruevski's statement followed visits to Skopje and Athens by Matthew
Nimetz, a UN-appointed mediator who is trying to end the 16-year
dispute between the two countries about Macedonia's name (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," November 6, and December 5, 2007). Gruevski gave no
indication, however, that Macedonia is prepared to change its official
position. It says it is willing for Greece to use a different name for
Macedonia in bilateral relations, but believes other countries should
be allowed -- as most already do -- to employ Macedonia's
constitutional name, "the Republic of Macedonia." Greece has threatened
to veto Macedonia's bid for NATO and EU membership if it does not
change its stance. That prospect, and concern about security in the
region as the dispute over Kosova reaches a climax, has led to what
Nimetz recently referred to as "heightened interest" within the
international community in finding a solution. AG
Southwestern Asia And The Middle East
[41] NATO AND AFGHAN FORCES CONSOLIDATE POSITIONS IN MUSA QALA...
Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi said on
December 11 that the key town of Musa Qala in southern Helmand Province
is in the hands of NATO and Afghan forces, who are strengthening their
positions and continuing cleanup operations, Bakhtar News Agency
reported. Azimi said the next two days will be crucial to completely
secure Musa Qala and restore services for its residents. Separately,
President Hamid Karzai reportedly said the decision to enter Musa Qala
-- the most significant territory controlled by the Taliban -- followed
reports of "brutality there by the Taliban, al-Qaeda and foreign
fighters." "The successful attack was aided by some local Taliban
leaders switching allegiance to the government," Karzai said. A Taliban
spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, said militant fighters left Musa Qala
because of a strategic decision to avoid Taliban and civilian
casualties. MM
[42] ...PUSH TO CRUSH TALIBAN POCKETS OF CONTROL IN SOUTHERN
AFGHANISTAN
The Afghan Interior Ministry said in a statement on December 10 that
the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and the
Afghan Army launched operations in the Taliban-controlled Panjwai
district in Kandahar Province on December 8, killing at least 31
Taliban insurgents, Afghan and international media reported. The
offensive in Panjwai coincides with the operations in neighboring
Helmand Province to clear the center of Musa Qala of Taliban and
possibly Al-Qaeda militants. The Interior Ministry said that "the
operation will continue until the elimination of militants from the
area." Separately in Kandahar Province, Afghan forces detained three
Taliban insurgents and secured a weapons cache during combat operations
on December 9. MM
[43] CANADA STEPS UP TRAINING OF AFGHAN POLICE FORCE
Canadian CTV and Afghan media reported on December 11 that Canada is
stepping up its efforts to train and equip the Afghan police force in
some of the country's most hostile territories. According to the
reports, the Canadian efforts are promoting what the military calls a
"spiderweb" of small but well-connected Afghan Army and police
substations. The Canadian forces hope to be able to redeploy to other
trouble spots once the Afghan police are prepared to maintain security
in their areas, CTV reported. Major Louis Lapointe, the commander of
training for Canadian troops in Afghanistan, said that "from our side,
we're trying to give them the skills to survive.... But to do that,
they need weapons and proper training." Lapointe noted that it is
difficult even to keep the police outposts supplied with basic
necessities such as food and heating fuel. MM
[44] KARZAI ESTABLISHES THE FIRST BAR ASSOCIATION IN AFGHANISTAN
President Karzai on December 6 signed legislation allowing for the
establishment of an independent law association, the Afghan Bar
Association, news website allAfrica.com reported on December 10, citing
a statement by the International Bar Association's Human Rights
Institute (IBAHRI). Mark Ellis, the International Bar Association's
executive director, said the Afghan Bar Association "will ensure that a
competent, honest, and independent legal profession will help steer
Afghanistan into a peaceful future." He noted that "IBAHRI has worked
closely with the Afghan Ministry of Justice for the last three years to
establish the basis of a nonpolitical, independent association which
will both protect and advance the legal profession and also promote the
rule of law in Afghanistan." The Afghan Bar Association is expected to
have responsibilities including determining the eligibility of lawyers
for admission to the profession, and setting the standards of
professional ethics, discipline, legal aid, and continuing education
for lawyers, according to its charter. MM
[45] IRANIAN JUDICIARY CONFIRMS STUDENT ARRESTS
Judiciary spokesman Alireza Jamshidi said in Tehran on December 11 that
some 20-24 students and others are in detention for allegedly
disrupting the public peace in recent months, agencies reported.
Jamshidi spoke in the wake of recent demonstrations by Tehran students
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," December 10, 2007). He said five people were
arrested during the most recent gathering, probably referring to
demonstrations on December 9, though he said only one was a student,
AFP reported. A visiting delegation from the European Parliament has
meanwhile called on Iran to release detained students and trade
unionists, ISNA reported on December 10. The 11-member delegation met
with Iranian lawmakers that day to discuss current affairs and human
rights. Delegation head Angelika Beer, speaking alongside Mahmud
Mohammadi, a member of the Iranian parliament's National Security and
Foreign Policy Committee, said the delegation believes 27 students have
been arrested in Iran in December alone, and that their families do not
know where they are. She said her delegation asked the Iranian
authorities to release the students, as well as several prominent trade
unionists; she also called for a reprieve for Adnan Hasanpur, a Kurdish
journalist apparently awaiting execution on security-related charges
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," October 12, 2007). VS
[46] IRANIAN COURT REOPENS SLAIN JOURNALIST'S CASE
A branch of Iran's Supreme Court on December 10 overturned an earlier
verdict in the case of the 2003 death of photojournalist Zahra Kazemi
while in custody, "Etemad" reported on December 11, quoting Abdolfattah
Soltani, a lawyer for Kazemi's mother (see "RFE/RL Newsline," November
29, 2007). Soltani told ISNA the case is to be reinvestigated at the
Tehran provincial court. He said a department of the Supreme Court has
acknowledged the flaws that he and other lawyers observed in the
investigation following Kazemi's death, and decided that the Tehran
provincial penal court, with a panel of five judges, should investigate
the case. The first court failed to find anyone guilty for Kazemi's
death, and acquitted an intelligence ministry agent of charges of
accidental manslaughter for lack of evidence. Kazemi is suspected to
have died as a result of violence during interrogation either at the
hands of intelligence ministry or judiciary agents, though neither body
has accepted responsibility. Branch 15 of the Iranian Supreme Court,
which has overturned the initial ruling, began examining the case on
July 2, "Etemad" reported. VS
[47] IRAN RELEASES ACTIVIST, BRINGS ANOTHER TO TRIAL
Ali Nikunesbati, a student activist and a member of the nationwide
grouping Office to Consolidate Unity (DTV), was released from Tehran's
Evin prison while awaiting a ruling on December 10, ISNA reported. He
was arrested on November 8 for allegedly disrupting the public peace,
ISNA reported. A court ordered his release after an unnamed guarantor
or guardian left a written pledge, ISNA reported (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," November 9, 2007). Separately, the Tehran Revolutionary
Court is scheduled to try activist Yaqub Ali on December 16 on charges
of acting against national security through antigovernment propaganda,
ISNA reported on December 10. His lawyer, Nasrin Sotudeh, said she has
studied his case and found no evidence for the charge. VS
[48] IRANIAN JAILED IN CONNECTION WITH MURDERS RETURNS TO TEHRAN
Kazem Darabi, who was jailed in Germany after being convicted of
complicity in the murders of four Iranian Kurdish dissidents at a
Berlin restaurant in 1992, returned to Tehran on December 11 after the
German authorities released him, Radio Farda reported. Darabi insisted
upon arrival that he was not a member of any "group or formation" at
the time of the killing and was unjustly jailed. He said he intends to
write a book in German that will make unspecified revelations about
Germany's judiciary. He was greeted at the airport by Iranian Deputy
Foreign Minister for European Affairs Ali Baqeri. Baqeri told the press
Darabi is innocent, and lamented that he had been separated from his
family for several years. Darabi said he was jailed in 1997 in
connection with the murders because Germany suspected him of being an
Iranian intelligence agent, which he implied was untrue. The German
court concluded the "terrorists" had consulted at Darabi's house before
the crime, Radio Farda stated on December 11. Another man jailed in
connection with the killings, Abbas Rahil, has also been released,
according to agency reports on December 10. VS
[49] IRAN OFFICIAL SAYS GULF STATES PLEASED TO HOST PRESIDENT
Iranian Deputy Minister for Arab and African Affairs Mohammad Reza
Baqeri on December 10 said that the Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC)
invitation to Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad to attend its recent
summit showed the importance the council places on Iran's role "in
determining the fate of the region," "Iran" reported on December 11,
quoting Baqeri's remarks to the Iranian Arabic-language television
channel Al-Alam. Some reformist papers in Tehran have questioned the
usefulness of Ahmadinejad's visit, while one lawmaker asked why
Ahmadinejad went when he apparently was not invited (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," December 11, 2007). Baqeri said clearly the "active
presence" of "this large, powerful, and kindly neighbor" among its
"little neighbors" was encouraging to them, and that Ahmadinejad's
12-point proposals on regional cooperation "were very much a source of
satisfaction." He blamed former colonial powers for sowing the seeds of
discord among countries in the region with the border delineations
established early in the 20th century. He dismissed reports that Iran
is disputing the ownership of three Persian Gulf islands with the
United Arab Emirates, and said "the issue is a misunderstanding over
one island, which can be resolved through talks." He said counties in
the region must assure the security of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of
Oman, "Iran" reported. VS
[50] THREE CAR BOMBS EXPLODE IN IRAQI SHI'ITE CITY
Three car bombs exploded about six minutes apart in the Shi'ite city of
Al-Amarah in Maysan Governorate on December 12, international media
reported. Initial reports put the death toll at 40, with more than 100
injured. The first bomb detonated in a parking garage at around 10 a.m.
A second bomb-laden car parked some 50 meters away exploded as crowds
of people gathered to examine damage from the first attack. A third
bomb then exploded outside a movie theater another 50 meters away.
Al-Amarah is located some 265 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, close to
the Iranian border. KR
[51] IRAQI PREMIER FORMS COUNCIL IN SAMARRA, TASKED WITH HELPING
REBUILD MOSQUE
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has formed a so-called support council in
the city of Samarra which will assume responsibility for maintaining
security there, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh announced on
December 11. Members of the council include tribal leaders and city
residents. The Golden Mosque, which houses the shrines of Shi'ite imams
Ali al-Naqi and his son, Hasan al-Askari, is located in Samarra. An
insurgent bombing badly damaged the mosque last year, sparking more
than a year of unprecedented sectarian violence (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
February 22, 2006). The mosque was bombed for a second time in June
2007. After the second attack, UNESCO announced that the UN Development
Group's Iraq Trust Fund will donate $5.4 million to rebuild the mosque
complex, while the Iraqi government has pledged $3 million to the
project. Al-Dabbagh said the new support council will work to keep
armed groups from infiltrating the city, and provide an atmosphere
conducive to the rebuilding of the mosque complex. KR
[52] CAR BOMB TARGETS AREA HOUSING IRAQI OFFICIALS
A suicide car bomber on December 11detonated explosives on a street in
western Baghdad that houses several politicians' offices and homes,
Iraqi media reported. Two guards were killed in the attack and 12
people injured. Al-Arabiyah television reported that bomb went off at a
crossroad between the headquarters of the Sunni-led Iraqi Front for
National Dialogue, led by Salih al-Mutlaq, and the headquarters of the
Shi'ite-Sunni grouping Iraqi National List, which is headed by former
Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. Maryam al-Rayyis, a former adviser to Prime
Minister al-Maliki, also lives on the street. Allawi's aides claimed
the attack targeted the former prime minister. Neither Allawi nor
al-Mutlaq was in Iraq at the time of the attack. KR
[53] IRAQI POLICE SOURCE SAYS INSURGENTS PLAN TO TARGET MOSUL DAM
A police source in Ninawah Governorate has said that police obtained
intelligence suggesting 250 insurgents have entered the governorate to
carry out attacks, including a planned bombing of Mosul Dam,
Al-Sharqiyah television reported December 11. The police source said
the intelligence information came from the Interior Ministry, adding
that the insurgents obtained special underwater training outside Iraq
in preparation for the attack. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said in
an October report that the dam is in imminent danger of collapsing. "A
catastrophic failure of the Mosul Dam would result in flooding along
the Tigris River all the way to Baghdad," the report warned (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," November 1, 2007). Iraqi officials disputed the
report. KR
[54] 200 TRIBAL LEADERS WANT IRANIAN EMBASSY CLOSED
The National Council of Iraqi Tribes has called on the Iraqi government
to close the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad, according to a statement
posted on the Iraqi Islamic Party website on December 12. The statement
said tribal leaders from 15 of Iraq's 18 governorates held an
extraordinary meeting on December 5 and called for an end to the
"terrorist presence" of the Iranian regime in Iraq. The tribesmen also
voiced support for the U.K. government's decision to remove the
Mujahedin e-Khalq Organization (MKO) from its list of terrorist groups.
The MKO is an Iraq-based Iranian organization advocating the overthrow
of the Iranian regime, and was supported by Saddam Hussein before the
start of the war in 2003. Some 4,000 MKO members were placed in
detention by U.S. forces following the fall of the Hussein regime.
According to the Islamic Party, a Sunni Arab party headed by Vice
President Tariq al-Hashimi, some 300,000 citizens "in the southern
region" of Iraq condemned "Iranian interference in Iraqi affairs." The
tribal leaders also called for Iranian consulates in Iraq to be closed.
KR
End Note
[55] THERE IS NO END NOTE TODAY.
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