| Airbornelawyer |
11-29-2005 10:00 |
From the RFE/RL Newsline:
Russia- CHECHEN LEADER ANNOUNCES TALKS WITH UNNAMED RESISTANCE REPRESENTATIVES
Pro-Moscow Chechen administration head Alu Alkhanov told journalists in Grozny on 29 November he plans to meet "soon" in Brussels with unnamed representatives of the Chechen regime formerly headed by President Aslan Maskhadov, Russian media reported. Alkhanov affirmed that "the policy of reconciliation will be continued, and we are open [for talks with] those who want peace." But he ruled out including in the Brussels talks Akhmed Zakaev, whom he denounced as "a criminal," Interfax reported. Maskhadov's successor Abdul-Khalim Sadullaev in August named Zakaev as deputy chairman of the Chechen Council of Ministers and as his representative for peace talks. Zakaev for his part said in a statement posted 29 November on www.chechenpress.org that the legitimate Chechen leadership will not participate in any talks with those persons, including Alkhanov, whose official position in Chechnya depends on "Russian bayonets." "Alkhanov did not begin this war, he is not waging it, and it is not within his power to end it," Zakaev commented, adding that the resistance is "tirelessly seeking" to begin talks with Moscow with the aim of ending the conflict.
Transcaucasus and Central Asia- GEORGIAN PREMIER MEETS WITH NATO OFFICIALS
Zurab Noghaideli met in Brussels on 28 November with NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who told him that while the alliance's doors "are open for Georgia," Georgia still has "a long, long way to go" in terms of implementing defense reforms before it will qualify for NATO membership, RFE/RL reported. De Hoop Scheffer declined to offer any specific date by which Tbilisi might receive a formal offer of NATO membership, but he said no third country (presumably Russia) would be empowered to impose a veto. Georgian Minister for European Integration Giorgi Baramidze predicted on 28 November that Georgia will be a full-fledged NATO member by late 2008, Caucasus Press reported, while President Mikheil Saakashvili similarly proclaimed on 24 November that Georgia will join NATO before his presidential term ends. Saakashvili was elected for a five-year term in January 2004.
- VISITING TURKISH MILITARY DELEGATION UNVEILS AID TO KAZAKHSTAN
A visiting delegation of senior officers from the Turkish General Staff announced on 28 November a new $900,000 aid package for the Kazakh armed forces, "Kazakhstan Today" reported. In comments following a meeting in Astana with the visiting Turkish officers, senior officials from the Kazakh Defense Ministry reported that the Turkish military aid consists of unspecified "modern military equipment." The aid is the latest in a bilateral military-aid-and-training program with Turkey; it follows an earlier provision of more than $6 million in equipment to the Kazakh armed forces. The Turkish delegation also signed a similar bilateral agreement on military cooperation with neighboring Kyrgyzstan on 25 November.
- UZBEK FUGITIVE ARRESTED IN SOUTHERN KAZAKHSTAN
A fugitive former Tashkent imam wanted in Uzbekistan on charges of Islamic extremism was arrested on 28 November in southern Kazakhstan, RFE/RL's Uzbek Service reported. Ruhiddin Fakhriddinov had evaded arrest since 1998 and is accused of leading the Tashkent branch of the militant Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU).
Southwestern Asia And The Middle East- AFGHAN SECURITY FORCES REPORTEDLY TO GET 'BILLIONS' IN U.S. AID
A senior U.S. military official said in Kabul on 28 November that the United States will provide "billions" of dollars in aid for reform of the Afghan National Army (ANA) and the Afghan National Police (ANP) over the next two years, Xinhua News Agency reported. "As far as [the] fund issue is concerned, [the] U.S. will spend billions of U.S. dollars on the reform of ANA and ANP," the agency quoted Chief of Office of Security Cooperation-Afghanistan Major General John Brennan as telling reporters. "In the past one year, over $1 billion have been put in the reform of ANA and ANP, and we anticipate the process to continue for a couple of years." Coalition forces have trained more than 26,900 ANA soldiers since May 2002; another 3,250 are currently in training. "We have built a central training facility and seven regional training centers," Brennan said. "In about six to nine months, 50 to 60 percent of the police will be equipped with communication equipment and vehicles. Besides that, we also have the future five-year plan of constructing or refurbishing all the police facilities."
- AFGHANISTAN PROMISES FURTHER DISARMAMENT
The Afghan government has threatened to forcibly disarm police and other officials who possess illegal arsenals, AFP reported on 28 November. "District chiefs, police commanders, and others who work in government posts still have illegal weapons," Disarmament and Reintegration Commission representative Mirzada Bakhtbeg said. The Interior Ministry's counterterrorism chief, Manan Farahi, said, according to AFP, "If they don't disarm, the government will use force to disarm them." Afghanistan this year launched the second phase of a UN-backed disarmament program called the Disbandment of Illegal Armed Groups, which targets militia leaders and armed bands who have so far refused to relinquish their weapons. Farahi said most of the known illegal weapons are in the hands of warlords operating in northern Afghanistan, an area that has been largely unaffected by the neo-Taliban insurgency.
- SUNNI LEADERS, BODYGUARD KILLED IN BAGHDAD
Two Sunni Arab leaders were gunned down along with a bodyguard in Baghdad on 28 November, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq (RFI) reported on 29 November. Iyad al-Azzi and Ali Husayn were both members of the Iraqi Islamic Party; al-Azzi was a candidate in the December National Assembly election.
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