Country News Digest Issue #3 September 18 - September 24
Country News Digest
Tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia have increased since the former’s pardon of murderer Ramil Shavarov earlier this month. In the past week, Azerbaijan has conducted military drills on its own soil and Azerbaijan’s deputy speaker condemned Armenia’s plan to build an airport in the contested territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijan
PanArmenian
Articles:
Trend.Az
Riots broke out in Tbilisi this week in response to leaked videos of prison guards abusing inmates. Several of the perpetrators have been arrested, and the minister in charge of the prison system has resigned. Some speculate that this scandal will hurt President Saakashvili’s ruling party at the election on Oct. 1.
Georgia
San Francisco Chronicle
Articles:
The Voice of America
This week the CSTO held military exercises in Armenia for its Collective Rapid Reaction Forces. The Russian defense minister met with Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan to discuss military and security cooperation.
Armenia
Jamestown
Articles:
News.am
Turkey has extended its mandate as part of the USled military coalition in Afghanistan for another year. Turkey has around 1,800 soldiers serving in Afghanistan.
Turkey
Business Recorder
Articles:
Euro News
On Tuesday, the Kremlin issued a statement barring USAID activities in Russia and asking the organization to withdraw from the country by Oct. 1. The regime has accused USAID of trying to influence Russian elections. Cessation of funding from USAID will hurt groups such as human rights watcher Memorial and elections monitor GOLOS.
Russia
Articles:
Reuters
The L.A. Times
Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski warned Ukraine that it must make a decision on where its future lies: with the East or with the West. Ukraine had sought EU ascension, but the process has stalled over Tymoshenko’s incarceration. Tymoshenko is currently fighting tax evasion and embezzlement, charges that the West sees as politically motivated.
Ukraine
FinChannel.com
Articles:
The Guardian
Major opposition parties boycotted the Parliamentary elections on September 23rd, because Lukashenko’s government refused to release political prisoners. During a small protest to promote the boycott, plain clothes policemen beat and arrested several opposition figures and journalists, later releasing them.
Belarus
Huffington Post
Articles:
Radio Free Europe
CBS News
Representative of the Irish Chair-in-Office of the OSCE, Lucinda Creighton, is on a three-day visit to Moldova this week. The visit is seen as important, as Ireland will hold the EU chairmanship in 2013, when Moldova is scheduled to conclude the negotiations on the Association Agreement by the Eastern Partnership Summit.
Moldova
Moldova.org
Articles:
All Moldova
Country News Digest
Russia and Kyrgyzstan signed a series of agreements this week regarding Kyrgyz debt, energy projects and the presence of Russian military bases on Kyrgyz soil. Moscow has agreed to write off $500 million in Kyrgyz debt while Bishkek has agreed to a new 15-year lease for a Russian military base.
Kyrgyzstan
RIA
Articles:
Reuters
Scientists examining the former Semipalatinsk nuclear test site say that some areas may be suitable for agriculture. The study has so far covered 4 out of 18.5 thousand square kilometers and found some areas to not pose considerable threats to agricultural production. The project to identify the borders of the hazardous zone is set to be completed by 2020.
Kazakhstan
Articles:
Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon visited the Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous region this week. The region has witnessed a recent surge in unrest and violence. President Rakhmon promised amnesty for any rebels or warlords that voluntarily turn in their weapons, but vowed that he would not negotiate with criminals.
Tajikistan
Articles:
Montreal Gazette
An Uzbek court ordered the seizure of all subsidiary holdings of Russian mobile operator MTS in the country after charges of embezzlement and tax evasion were brought against four employees of the company. MTS has denied all charges and declared the seizure illegal. MTS’s holdings in Uzbekistan are believed to be valued at $700 million.
Uzbekistan
Businessweek
Articles:
Afghanistan
Hurriyet
Articles:
New York Times
Iran has acknowledged that two separate explosions targeted the power supply lines to its two main uranium enrichment facilities. Iranian nuclear chief Fereydoon Abbas alleged that “terrorists and saboteurs” may have infiltrated the IAEA, which asked to visit the facilities the day after the explosions.
Iran
New York Times Articles: Los Angeles Times
Caspionet
Chicago Tribune
The American-led military coalition has scaled back joint operations with Afghan security forces due to an increase in “green-onblue” attacks. Joint operations, ranging from joint patrols to hands-on training, will now require approval of a twostar general.
Turkish Weekly
India’s Communications Minister offered to help Turkmenistan improve its educational and information technology infrastructure during a visit this past week. Suggestions included joint ventures, satellites which would deliver lectures by Indian professors, and a provision of inexpensive “Aakash” tablets to Turkmen students.
Turkmenistan
Newstrack
Articles:
FirstPost
Russian-Mongolian military exercises will begin in Buryatia. The RussianMongolian combined force will carry out an imaginary anti-terrorist operation. The Selenga 2012 exercise, the code name for the military operation, involves about 250 Mongolian troops.
Mongolia
ZeeNews
Articles:
Mad Mongolia
Country News Digest
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are committed to building a nuclear plant in Lithuania. The Baltics want to cut their dependence on Russian energy sources. There will be a referendum on October 14th to decide the future of the nuclear project.
Estonia
Baltic Course
Articles:
Bloomberg
Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius opened up an exhibit dedicated to the children of the Holocaust. The exhibit, titled “Butterflies,” is named such because the butterfly “symbolizes childhood cut short abruptly for so many children by the Holocaust tragedy, whose life was as short as that of a butterfly.”
Lithuania
Lithuania Tribune
Articles:
Government site
Latvia still plans to join the Eurozone in 2014, despite the current euro crisis. Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis said next year his government will ask the European Central Bank and the European Commission for their assessment of Latvia’s fitness to join the single currency and apply for membership.
Latvia
The Guardian
Articles:
Leta
Bootleggedliquor containing toxic levels of methanol from the Czech Republic has killed five people in Poland. Poland has since banned the imports of all Czech liquor. The ban will last for one month, giving the Czech government time to sort out the issue. In the meantime, the ban does not apply to Czech wine or beer.
Poland
Chicago Tribune
Articles:
Wall Street Journal
The Czech Republic has banned the sale of any liquor over 20% ABV, after 19 people have died in recent weeks from contaminated bootleg liquor that was passed off to kiosks and sold as legitimate. The liquor has contained methanol, which in low doses can cause illness and in high doses, blindness and death.
Czech Republic
Wall Street Journal
Articles:
Washington Post
After a similar move from Poland which also borders the Czech Republic, Slovakia has banned all imports of Czech liquor, the Slovak Health Minister announced this week. This follows the hospitalization of ten people for methanol poisoning, traced back to “plum brandy” originating from the Czech Republic.
Slovakia
Slovak Spectator
Articles:
Prague Monitor
Opposition parties have staged a hunger strike against Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s proposal to require voter registration ahead of upcoming elections, saying that such a measure would have a detrimental effect on the fairness of elections. MTI news service has estimated that registration could cut voter participation by 25%.
Hungary
New York Times
Articles:
Businessweek
The Romanian Const. Court ruled that an ordinance preventing the Court from hearing challenges to Parliamentary decisions was unconstitutional. The decree was passed by PM Victor Ponta and the center-left Parliament during their unsuccessful attempt to impeach center-right President Traian Basescu this summer.
Romania
Fin Channel
Articles:
NineO’Clock
Country News Digest
Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen Zone has been delayed due to concerns over neighboring Romania. Dutch and German officials have so far opposed expansion of the Schengen Zone while they seek to determine if Romania is capable of fulfilling the requirements of membership following the recent political turmoil in the country.
Bulgaria
Standart
Articles:
Novinite
Albania
Albania is in the process of turning Communistera bunkers into tourist attractions. The government is planning to put beds in the bunkers, then rent them out to tourists. In one coastal town, they are turning a bunker into a hostel that will allow residents to “savor the countryside through the bunker’s slits.”
Articles:
Travel-News Serbia is creating programs to helped its impoverished Roma population. The country is setting aside 50-70 million euros in aid to the Roma people, but they continue to live in destitution.
Articles:
Eurasia-Review
Macedonia has officially descended into recession according to the State Statistics service. This past quarter marked the second consecutive quarter of negative growth and saw Macedonia suffering from a massive 31% unemployment rate, according to estimates.
Macedonia
Washington Post
Croatia
Articles: Focus Info Agency
Articles:
EU Observer
EuroPolitics
TheParliamentar y campaign officially kicked off in Montenegro this week, about a month before the official election day scheduled for October 14. The process will be monitored by the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the Oranization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Montenegro
Financial
Serbia
Turkish Weekly
Slovenia is threatening Croatia’s ascension to the EU over a banking row worth at least €160 million. The dispute concerns the now defunct Ljubljana Bank and the break up of the former Yugoslavia.
Articles:
Balkan Insight
Balkan Insight
The Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia has announced that a referendum might be held forcing citizens to choose whether to recognize Kosovo or join the EU. Although the EU so far has only required Serbia to normalize relations with Kosovo, Serbian officials speculate that the EU might stiffen requirements to full recognition.
Kosovo
Business Week
Articles:
Balkan Insight
Leaders of Slovenia’s largest Union have signaled they are ready to negotiate with the government on proposed reforms. The reform plans include raising the retirement age to 65, making it easier to hire and fire employees, and setting up an agency that would take over the bad debts of state banks.
Slovenia
Reuters
Articles:
Slovinian Times
Country News Digest The ICTY will give former Bosnia & Bosnian Serb leader Herzegovina Radovan Karadzic threehundred working hours for his defense. The amount is the same that was given to the prosecution to prove Mr. Karadzic’s guilt on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Mr. Karadzic had requested six-hundred hours but was denied. The presentation of the defense is scheduled to begin October 16. Balkan Insight
Articles:
Calgary Herald
The Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies is a U.S. Department of Education Title VI-funded National Resource Center (NRC) that strives to increase understanding and appreciation of the cultures and challenges of the region stretching from Central Europe to the Pacific and from the Baltic to the Mediterranean, Black and Caspian Seas
Box 571031, ICC 111, Washington, DC 20057-1031 Email: ceres@georgetown.edu
Tel.: (202) 687-6080
Fax: (202) 687-5829