RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 9, No. 60, Part I, 31 March 2005

A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe,
Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Southwestern Asia, and the Middle
East prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

This is Part I, a compilation of news concerning Russia,
Transcaucasus, and Central Asia. Part II, which covers Eastern and
Southeastern Europe, and Part III, which covers Southwestern Asia and
the Middle East, are distributed simultaneously as separate
documents.

NOTE TO READERS: In line with RFE/RL's changing priorities, as of 4
April, "RFE/RL Newsline" will substantially reduce its coverage of
Romania. This means that domestic political and economic developments
will no longer be reported on a daily basis. We will, however,
continue to report on topics of importance to our broadcast region,
including security concerns and NATO-related issues, as well as human
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Headlines, Part I

* RUSSIAN MINISTER ACCUSES OSCE OF 'DESTABILIZING' KYRGYZSTAN

* INTERIOR MINISTRY RECOMMENDS POLICE TARGET CRITICAL MEDIA

* ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER PROPOSES REFERENDUM ON KARABAKH STATUS
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RUSSIA

MINISTER ACCUSES OSCE OF 'DESTABILIZING' KYRGYZSTAN... Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov said on 30 March that Russia is concerned
about the political situation in the CIS, where several countries
have seen "violent changes of government" in recent months,
newsru.com reported. "We consider it counterproductive to intervene
in the internal processes of [neighboring] states," Lavrov said. He
criticized the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) for its role in the ongoing events in Kyrgyzstan, saying that
OSCE assessments of the elections there were used "by those who
destabilized the situation in the country" and that "Russia cannot
ignore this fact." Ousted Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev, who has been
allowed to settle in Russia, gave a lengthy interview to "Rossiiskaya
gazeta" on 30 March. Akaev said that he was overthrown by forces from
outside his country "with the help of new techniques for the
enforcement of democratic process that were used by a world
revolutionary International." He added that his greatest mistake was
not doing more to strengthen Kyrgyzstan's law-enforcement agencies.
VY

...AS EXPERT SEES ROLE OF WESTERN FOUNDATIONS AS CRUCIAL. Vladimir
Zharikhin, deputy director of the CIS Institute, said on 29 March
that recent Russian "failures" in the CIS "are linked to the activity
of Western centers of influence," RBK-TV reported on 29 March and
strana.ru reported on 30 March. Zharikhin said it would be an
oversimplification to say the latest CIS events were the result of
the activity of Western governments, but they did stem from various
institutions, including philanthropist George Soros's Open Society
Institute, whose activities can either support or contradict U.S.
government policies. "We should be objective and admit that there was
no direct intervention in Kyrgyzstan," he said. "And I am sure that
neither Russia, the United States, NATO, Uzbekistan, nor China
desired the destabilization of Kyrgyzstan." "Russia should clearly
define its policy there, since it has the desire and the means to be
there but it lacks the [political] will," Zharikhin concluded. VY

MINISTER SAYS NATO BASES IN CIS CORRESPOND TO RUSSIA'S INTERESTS...
Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said in "Argumenty i fakty," No. 13,
that "the temporary deployment of U.S. and NATO bases on CIS
territory in support of the antiterrorism operation in Afghanistan is
in Russia's national interests." "We do not always cooperate with
them or share all of their objectives," Ivanov said, "but NATO no
longer considers Russia its geopolitical enemy and we no longer view
them as our likely adversary." CIS Institute Deputy Director
Zharikhin told strana.ru on 30 March that Russia's historical memory
is too short and it forgets "what a difficult situation Russia was in
Central Asia when [the West] began its Afghanistan operation. It was
a time when the Taliban were about to being a massive incursion into
Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, and Russia faced the prospect of defending
them with very scarce resources." He added, however, that the status
of NATO bases in the region must be clarified, as must be their term
and functions. VY

...AND EXPLAINS VIEWS ON STUDENT DRAFT DEFERMENTS. In the same
"Argumenty i fakty" interview, Defense Minister Ivanov said he wants
to change the predominantly "peasant-worker" composition of the
Russian military by drafting more students. Ivanov proposed cutting
the number of military departments at institutions of higher
education by half and drastically reducing the number of student
deferments. "We have cut the size of the military by two-thirds, but
the number of military departments has increased by 50 percent. Each
year they produce 50,000 reserve officers, while we only call up
about 10,000," Ivanov said. "This means that many of these
departments were created simply to provide a mechanism for bribe
taking. At the same time, poor people have no chance to get a good
education in modern Russia. Since the military will move to volunteer
service in 2008, we will help soldiers get an education after they
finish their service. For many poor people, to be candid, this will
be the only way to survive." VY

RUSSIA FACING ACUTE SHORTAGE OF ABLE-BODIED MEN. Regional Development
Minister Vladimir Yakovlev said on 30 March that up to 60 percent of
Russian males today are either underage, elderly, or handicapped,
ITAR-TASS reported. Of an able-bodied male population of about 20
million, nearly 1 million are in prison; about 4 million are serving
in the military, Interior Ministry, Emergency Situations Ministry, or
Federal Security Service (FSB); some 4 million are alcoholics, and
about 1 million are drug addicts. Moreover, mortality among men is
about four times the rate it is for women. "In the very near future,
we will simply have no labor force at all, as the losses among the
male population are comparable to those the USSR suffered during
World War II," Yakovlev said. VY

PAPER: KREMLIN ASKED ROCK STARS TO KEEP QUIET Deputy
presidential-administration head Vladislav Surkov earlier this month
held a closed-door meeting with leading Russian rock musicians,
during which he asked them not to participate in events that could
provoke "an orange revolution" in Russia, "The Moscow Times" reported
on 31 March. Some participants in the meeting, which took place at a
Moscow hotel, told the daily that Surkov, the Kremlin's chief
ideologue, did not conceal his concern that Russia could see a
repetition of recent events in Ukraine, where rock musicians played
an important role in rallying Ukrainian youth in support of the
Orange Revolution. Surkov said the authorities would like to be able
to count on the support of the musicians, but added that they should
at least remain neutral in the event of an uprising, "The Moscow
Times" reported. Prominent rock stars Boris Grebenshchikov, Sergei
Shnurov, Vyacheslav Butusov, and Zemphira attended the meeting,
according to the daily. Meanwhile, on 29 March, Surkov told a meeting
of the Unified Russia Duma faction that he "is categorically opposed
to the introduction of a parliamentary system in Russia, as it could
lead to the disintegration of the country," newsru.com reported. VY

INTERIOR MINISTRY RECOMMENDS POLICE TARGET CRITICAL MEDIA. REN-TV
reported on 29 March that it has obtained a copy of an Interior
Ministry document that recommends that senior police officers
identify journalists who file critical reports about the police for
possible "countermeasures." Ella Pamfilova, chairwoman of the
presidential Human Rights Council, said she has requested that the
Prosecutor-General's Office investigate the memo. Interior Ministry
spokesman Valerii Gribakin confirmed the existence of the memo, but
said it "pursues the most benign purpose, which is getting to the
bottom of various kinds of critical situations and critical
publications and learning the truth." According to Gribakin, the memo
was meant to facilitate "openness and close liaison" between the
police and journalists. Ildar Isangulov, head of the For Human Rights
movement in Bashkortostan, told REN-TV that human rights workers,
whistle-blowers, and journalists are routinely shadowed, concluding
that the memo in question simply suggests extending Bashkortostan's
practices throughout Russia. JAC

SOCIOLOGIST SEES PUTIN AS BALANCER... In an interview in "Profil,"
No. 10, sociologist Olga Kryshtanovskaya discusses the contours of
Russia's current political system. According to Kryshtanovskaya,
Russia no longer has any separation of powers in the classical sense
of the term, but it does have a system of checks and balances of
sorts, which consists of competing clans and factions within the
ruling elite. She said there are two main clans in the Kremlin -- the
"siloviki" and the "liberals." However, the main difference between
the two groups is not ideological. They both support a strong,
monocentric state. "Their conflicts are over spheres of influence,"
she said. She argues that President Vladimir Putin has deliberately
retained some "liberals" in the presidential administration and the
cabinet because "it's more convenient for him to balance these two
forces, rather than facing one faction on his own and perhaps
becoming its hostage." JAC

...AND PREDICTS THAT HE WILL BECOME PRIME MINISTER. Asked about
changes in the elite from the Yeltsin era, Kryshtanovskaya noted that
the style of the regime has changed, "Profil," No. 10 reported. "One
of my acquaintances, a German journalist, has described today's
Kremlin as 'Soviet lite' -- you know, like 'Coca-Cola Light,'" she
said. "It's a fairly accurate description, I think. The present elite
is slightly Soviet-like, but without any rigid orthodoxy. It's an
elite in keeping with the monocentric state of Russian tradition."
She concluded that preparations are under way for a transition to a
parliamentary republic, in which Putin would become "a very strong
prime minister." JAC

ZHIRINOVSKII GIVEN TIME-OUT FOR A MONTH. Following fisticuffs on the
Duma floor earlier in the day, State Duma deputies voted on 30 March
to deprive Deputy Speaker Vladimir Zhirinovskii (Liberal Democratic
Party of Russia, LDPR) of his right to speak during Duma sessions for
one month, RIA-Novosti and Interfax reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
30 March 2005). The vote was 373 in favor, with 35 against.
Motherland faction leader Dmitrii Rogozin complained about Unified
Russia's refusal to consider a proposal to deprive Zhirinovskii of
his post as deputy speaker. "Unified Russia doesn't want to lose such
a militant ally of the party of power," Rogozin said. Rogozin on 31
March told polit.ru that he has refused to participate in a popular
NTV television show with Zhirinovskii, saying, "I will not go into
the bullring with pigs." JAC/VY

NEW ORGANIZATION WILL TRACK CONSUMERS' CREDIT HISTORIES. A new
National Credit History Bureau held its founding meeting on 30 March,
newsru.com reported. The bureau has created a federal system for the
exchange of information about debtors and their debts. The authors of
the legislation establishing the bureau hope that a credit-history
system will allow creditors to minimize the risk of lending and
reduce the cost of borrowing for consumers. Founders of the bureau
include the Association of Russian Banks, Vneshtorgbank, Alfa Bank,
the United States' Trans Union International, and Italy's CRIF, along
with dozens other lesser-known Russian commercial banks. JAC

PUTIN TAPS ENGINEER TO REPLACE COMMUNIST GOVERNOR. Tula Oblast
legislators voted on 30 March to confirm Vyacheslav Dudka as the new
governor of that region, ITAR-TASS reported. The vote was 37 in
favor, while one deputy did not participate in the vote. President
Putin submitted Dudka's nomination on 25 March, according to
uralpolit.ru. Dudka, 44, is a native of Tula who most recently served
as the chief engineer of the state enterprise Construction Bureau for
the Instrument-Making Industry. He participated in the cleanup after
the 1986 Chornobyl nuclear-plant disaster. "Novye izvestiya" noted
that Tula is only the second region where a sitting governor was not
nominated by Putin for another term. Former Communist Governor
Vasilii Starodubtsev was elected to a second term in 2001 with more
than 70 percent of the vote (see "RFE/RL Russian Federation Report,"
25 April 2001). JAC

SIBERIAN CITY TO UNVEIL STALIN STATUE. Legislators in the city of
Mirnyi in the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic voted on 30 March to erect a
bust of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in the city's Victory Square for
the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II on 9 May, RIA-Novosti
reported. Mirnyi Mayor Anatolii Popov said: "We could not ignore the
request of participants in the Great Patriotic War. It's no secret to
anyone that our fighters went to battle [with the slogans] 'For the
Fatherland' and 'For Stalin.'" In an interview with gazeta.ru, Lev
Ponomarev of For Human Rights commented that renewed veneration for
Stalin is to be expected around the anniversary of the end of the
war. "His apologists always emphasize Stalin's role in this victory,"
Ponomarev said. "These are basically elderly people who lived with
this myth their whole lives and do not intend to give it up now." "It
is possible to argue whether to let already existing monuments wear
out or leave them where they are, but it [should be] forbidden to
build new ones," he said. JAC

CHECHEN LEADER BRIEFS PUTIN ON PACE ROUNDTABLE. Pro-Moscow Chechen
administration head Alu Alkhanov met in Moscow on 30 March with
President Putin to brief him on the discussion of the situation in
Chechnya convened in Strasbourg on 21 March by the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Russian media reported.
Alkhanov characterized the roundtable as "positive" and a dialogue in
which the interlocutors understood one another and agreed that there
is "no alternative to a constructive course," Interfax reported.
Alkhanov estimated that between 7,000 and 10,000 former resistance
fighters have now returned to civilian life. He said the Chechen
people are ready to elect a new parliament, and that ballot could
take place in the fall. Alkhanov singled out as a priority task
reconstruction of destroyed housing, schools, and medical facilities
in Grozny and elsewhere in Chechnya. LF

PRO-PRESIDENTIAL YOUTH MOVEMENT FORMED IN INGUSHETIA. Alarmed at the
growing popularity of the Youth Movement of Ingushetia (see "RFE/RL
Caucasus Report," 1 April 2005), the Ingushetian authorities have
created a rival movement, Youth Unity, to serve as a counterweight,
ingushetiya.ru reported on 30 March. Speaking on republican
television on 30 March, Central Election Commission press secretary
Yusup Kostoev, 42, identified himself as the new organization's
leader and pledged support for embattled Ingushetian President Murat
Zyazikov. Meanwhile, Mukharbek Aushev (Unified Russia), who
represents Ingushetia in the State Duma, is reportedly seeking to
persuade Dmitrii Kozak, presidential envoy to the Southern Federal
District, to propose him as a successor to Zyazikov, ingushetiya.ru
reported. Duma Security Committee member Gennadii Gudkov (Unified
Russia) told ingushetiya.ru that Zyazikov is "unsinkable," because he
is a former FSB general. Gudkov added, however, that the people of
Ingushetia are no longer prepared to tolerate Zyazikov's corrupt and
inept administration, and that Zyazikov will be forcibly ousted if he
does not resign voluntarily. LF

TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

DIPLOMAT ADVOCATES REFORM OF ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY. Arman
Hakobian, head of the Armenian Foreign Ministry Disarmament and
International Security Department, argued on 30 March at a roundtable
discussion in Yerevan that the virtual absence of civilian officials
within the Armenian Defense Ministry is "a big problem" and an
obstacle to closer cooperation with NATO, RFE/RL's Armenian Service
reported. He advocated reforming the Soviet-style structure of the
ministry to bring in more civilian personnel. LF

ARMENIA SUBMITS REVISED REQUEST FOR U.S. AID. Armenia has submitted
to Washington a revised request for funds under the Millennium
Challenge Account program announced last year, RFE/RL's Armenian
Service reported on 30 March, quoting the Armenian Finance Ministry.
The new request is for some $175 million, far less than the $900
million Armenia originally asked for. The funds will be used to
rebuild highways and irrigation networks in rural areas. LF

ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER PROPOSES REFERENDUM ON KARABAKH STATUS.
Speaking on 30 March at the two-day parliamentary hearings on the
Karabakh conflict (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 March 2005), Serzh
Sarkisian said that any settlement of the Karabakh conflict will
entail "painful" concessions by both sides, RFE/RL's Armenian Service
reported. One such concession, Sarkisian suggested, could be asking
all persons resident in the then-Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast
at the onset of the conflict in February 1988 to vote in a referendum
to determine the disputed region's future status, Noyan Tapan
reported. At that time, the oblast's population numbered
approximately 160,000, of whom approximately 75 percent were
Armenian. Armen Melikian, foreign minister of the unrecognized
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, agreed in principle to the concept of a
referendum, but questioned whether Azerbaijan would accept the
outcome as legally valid and binding, Noyan Tapan reported. The
online Azerbaijani daily zerkalo.az pointed out on 31 March that the
constitution of the Azerbaijan Republic prohibits referendums on
issues concerning the country's territorial integrity. LF

FORMER GEORGIAN ENERGY MINISTER SENTENCED. A Tbilisi district court
sentenced David Mirtskhulava on 30 March to 10 years' imprisonment on
charges of misappropriating some $6 million and abuse of office in
connection with the import of electricity from Armenia in 1998-99,
Georgian media reported. Mirtskhulava was arrested in December 2003
and hospitalized shortly thereafter with a heart attack that
then-Prosecutor-General Irakli Okruashvili accused him of simulating
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 December 2003 and 20 January 2004).
Mirtskhulava's lawyer Eka Beselia appealed last summer to the
European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg, arguing that due to
his poor health her client should be transferred from a solitary
confinement cell to a prison hospital. LF

KAZAKHSTAN, RUSSIA LAY GROUNDWORK FOR SPACE-LAUNCH FACILITY.
Maksudbek Rakhanov, chairman of Kazakhstan's State Property
Committee, and Aleksandr Medvedev, director of Russia's Khrunichev
Space Center, signed an agreement on 30 March in Astana to create a
joint venture to build the Baiterek Kazakh-Russian launch facility,
Kazinform reported. The launch facility, which will be located at
Kazakhstan's Baikonur cosmodrome, will put payloads into space using
the Angara rocket, which is currently under development at the
Khrunichev Center. The Kazakh government will provide a credit of
between $120 million and $150 million to construct Baiterek,
Interfax-AVN reported. DK

KYRGYZ LEADER MAKES NEW APPOINTMENTS... Acting Kyrgyz President
Kurmanbek Bakiev made a number of government appointments on 30
March, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported. He issued decrees appointing
Ishengul Boljurova, a member of the People's Movement of Kyrgyzstan,
as deputy prime minister for social services; banker Daniyar Usenov
as deputy prime minister for economic issues; and Tashtemir Aitbaev,
who headed the Interior Ministry in 2000-02, as minister of national
security. DK

...AS LAW ENFORCEMENT OVERSEER STEPS DOWN. Feliks Kulov, who was
named overseer of Kyrgyzstan's law enforcement agencies after the
collapse of ousted President Askar Akaev's government on 24 March,
told parliament on 30 March that he is stepping down from that post,
RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported. Kulov, who heads the Ar-Namys
party, said he achieved his primary task of restoring order after the
24 March looting, adding that he now plans to await the result of his
appeal to the Supreme Court on a 2002 criminal conviction that he and
his supporters have long argued was politically motivated. Kulov's
supporters freed him on 24 March (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 March
2005). Arkadii Dubnov, a longtime observer of Central Asian affairs,
told Russia's Ekho Moskvy on 30 March that Kulov's decision to step
down followed a disagreement with acting President Bakiev over the
latter's appointment of Tashtemir Aitbaev to head the National
Security Service. For his part, Bakiev promised on 30 March that, as
head of state, he will not interfere in Kulov's appeal to the Supreme
Court, Kabar reported. DK

MORE KYRGYZ PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDERS APPEAR. Parliamentarian Adakhan
Madumarov and businessman Nurbek Turdukulov announced on 30 March
that they plan to seek the presidency when Kyrgyzstan holds elections
on 26 June, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service and akipress.org reported.
Madumarov might seek the presidency in tandem with newly appointed
Deputy Prime Minister Daniyar Usenov, with the latter a prospective
prime minister, RFE/RL reported. Madumarov noted that while
Kyrgyzstan's new government came to power promising to revoke the
mandate of the new parliament, elected in disputed 27 February and 13
March elections, and to bring about preterm presidential elections,
only the second promise has been kept. Turdukulov warned against the
danger of a police state taking shape in Kyrgyzstan, akipress.org
reported. He said the business community needs to unite in order to
lessen the role of violence and intimidation in the country's
economic life. Acting President Bakiev and former Emergency
Situations Minister Temirbek Akmataliev previously announced that
they plan to run for president. DK

KYRGYZ LEADER SAYS TOO EARLY FOR OUSTED PRESIDENT TO RETURN. In
remarks reported by Kyrgyz Television 1 on 30 March, acting President
Bakiev said he cannot yet guarantee ousted President Akaev's safety
should the latter return to Kyrgyzstan. Bakiev spoke in favor of
Akaev's proposal to hold talks with Omurbek Tekebaev, the speaker of
parliament, but warned that "it would be wrong for the president to
return here at the moment." Bakiev said that "it is very difficult to
give a guarantee for his safety after the events that occurred a week
ago." In an interview with Russia's ORT on 29 March, Akaev said he
would be willing to consider resigning, but only if given
"appropriate guarantees" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 March 2005). DK

TAJIKISTAN, PAKISTAN PLAN ENERGY-EXPORT PROJECT. Tajik Energy
Minister Jurabek Nurmahmadov and Pakistani Water and Power Minister
Liaqat Ali Jatoi signed a memorandum of understanding in Dushanbe on
30 March for the construction of a 700-kilometer power-transmission
line linking Tajikistan and Pakistan, RFE/RL's Tajik Service
reported. Nurmahmadov said that the exact cost of the power line,
which will transport electrical energy from Tajikistan's Roghun
hydroelectric station to Pakistan, has not been determined, Avesta
reported. The BBC's Persian Service reported that its likely cost is
$280 million, however, with financing to be provided both by Pakistan
and Tajikistan. The project is slated for completion in 2009, RFE/RL
reported. DK

TURKMEN LEADER REPLACES SOCIAL SECURITY MINISTER. President
Saparmurat Niyazov has issued a decree removing Orazmurat Begmuradov
from the post of minister of social security and replacing him with
Bibitach Vekilova, Turkmen Television First Channel reported on 30
March. In connection with the move, Vekilova was removed from her
posts as director of the State Statistics Institute and deputy
economy minister. Begmuradov was dismissed for "shortcomings in his
work." DK

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