Immanent/Voiceless

Russian Official Says Insurgency in Chechnya Has Been Tamed

2007-02-13T11:58:00.000-05:00

By C.J. Chivers

Published: February 12, 2007

MOSCOW, Feb. 11 — Russia's defense minister said Sunday that Russia had succeeded in its latest war in Chechnya, defeating separatists and what he called their “emissaries from 50 states.”

“We have scored a success in Chechnya,” said the defense minister, Sergei B. Ivanov. “The problem has been solved.”

Mr. Ivanov, speaking before an international audience of defense officials and diplomats at the Munich Conference on Security Policy, underscored the Kremlin’s confidence that the second war in Chechnya since the dissolution of the Soviet Union had largely ended, and that the separatists’ ranks had been shrunk by military operations and offers of amnesty.

The second Chechnya war began late in 1999. There has been a sharp turn in Russia’s favor since late 2004, and the insurgents have not conducted a large-scale guerrilla operation since 2005 or a major terrorist attack since the seizure of a public school in the autumn of 2004.

The military situation in Chechnya contrasts sharply with that of the United States in Afghanistan and Iraq, where American forces are struggling against growing insurgencies.

Attacks still occur in and near Chechnya, and an insurgency persists, mixing militant Islam, separatism and local vengeance codes.

But the pace of fighting is much slower than it was two years ago, and many of the insurgency’s principal leaders — including Shamil Basayev, the terrorist leader — have been killed since 2005.

The turnaround has defied predictions from many analysts and critics of Russia, who believed that its army was hopelessly bogged down and that its rough and often indiscriminate tactics were creating more insurgents than were killed.

Russia has also found strong indigenous forces to serve as local proxies to do much of the continued fighting. These military allies, criticized by human rights organizations as corrupt and ruthlessly brutal, are now largely in control of the region’s government.

Mr. Ivanov drew a distinction between Chechnya and the wars that the United States is fighting. He noted, for example, that Chechnya “is a small territory compared to Afghanistan or Iraq.”

Mr. Ivanov is viewed as a possible successor to President Vladimir V. Putin, whose second term ends next year.

(from NY Times)

Pro-Russian Chechens defect to rebels

2007-01-24T10:25:00.001-05:00

Text of report by Kavkaz-Tsentr news agency website

8 January: A source of Kavkaz-Tsentr at the headquarters of the eastern front of the armed forces of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria has reported that three Kadyrovites, members of a detachment stationed in Gudermes, have defected to mojahedin with their weapons and other equipment.

The source explained that in fact, the Kadyrovites ran away in November. But the puppets themselves said that "they were missing".

The former Kadyrovites themselves said that they could no longer tolerate humiliation and disgrace. They said that Kadyrov and his circle are conducting a brutal policy of Russification and eradicating Chechen mentality under the control and leadership of the FSB. "They are making Russian Ivans out of Chechens. We do not want to be Russian Ivans. They force boys and girls to drink vodka and take drugs and other nasty things. They attack women who do not want to be half-naked. Kadyrov and his circle humiliate and torture their subordinates and turn them into cattle, while they are doing the same to others," the former Kadyrovites said.

В Испании по запросу России арестован уроженец Чечни

2007-01-18T13:12:00.000-05:00

12/4/2006

Полиция Испании задержала выходца из Чечни Мурата Гасаева, который числился в федеральном и международном розыске за совершение преступления, предусмотренного ч.2 ст.209 УК РФ (бандитизм).

Мурат Ахмедович Гасаев, 1974 года рождения, уроженец Грозного, был арестован в местечке Мислата (автономная область Валенсия). Арест, в котором участвовали 40 сотрудников Национальной полиции Испании, был произведен в минувшую пятницу по запросу Генпрокуратуры Российской Федерации, сообщает ИТАР-ТАСС со ссылкой на источники в МВД Испании.

Помимо самого Гасаева задержан и арендатор квартиры, где он был найден. На квартире задержанных обнаружены мобильные телефоны, кредитные карточки и документы, которые подвергнутся тщательному анализу специалистов", - заявили представители правоохранительных органов.

Испанские власти пока не информировали российских дипломатов о задержании Гасаева, сообщил агентству руководитель консульского отдела посольства РФ в Испании Дмитрий Верченко. По правилам, вначале испанский суд должен подтвердить его виновность, затем вердикт суда должен подтвердить Совет министров Испании и только затем задержанный может быть выдан разыскивающей его стороне.

Мурат Гасаев объявлен в розыск Назрановским ГОВД в феврале 2006 года, когда уже находился за границей. Родственники Гасаева считают, что его объявили в розыск из-за отсутствия по месту жительства, посчитав, что он находится в горах в отряде боевиков, - сообщает NEWSru.com со ссылкой на "Ингушетия.Ru".

Грузия выразила России протест в связи со смертью грузинки

2007-01-18T13:02:00.000-05:00

12/4/2006

Специальная комиссия парламента Грузии по делам граждан Грузии, депортированных из России, выразила решительный протест в связи с гибелью в московском спецраспределителе 51-летней уроженки Грузии Мананы Джабелия, передает Радио "Свобода". "Манана Джабелия, по всем данным, легально находилась на территории России. У неё все документы были в порядке. Российский суд её даже оправдал и счёл неправомерной депортацию, но, не смотря на это, всё завершилось трагически", - заявила одна из руководителей парламентской комиссии Манана Начкебия.

Напомним, что 2 декабря в приемнике-распределителе российской миграционной службы скончалась гражданка Грузии, более месяца ожидавшая депортации на родину. Об этом сообщила представительница комитета "Гражданское содействие".

Согласно заявлению грузинского консульства в России, причиной смерти Мананы Джабелия стал сердечный приступ. Последние несколько дней она проводила голодовку протеста.

Защита и обвинение обжаловали приговор Стомахину

2007-01-18T13:01:00.001-05:00

12/4/2006

Приговор осужденному к пяти годам лишения свободы автору сайта сепаратистов Чечни "Кавказ-центр", сопредседателю Революционного контактного объединения Борису Стомахину обжалован в Мосгорсуд как защитой, так и обвинением, заявил корреспонденту "Кавказского узла" его адвокат Карен Нерсесян. Защита требует полного оправдания журналиста. Прокуратура же напротив, считает приговор слишком мягким - на суде она требовала для Стомахина семи лет заключения.

По словам Карена Нерсесяна, пока им подана только предварительная кассационная жалоба, в которой не излагаются аргументы по существу дела. Полный текст аппеляции будет подготовлен и представлен в суд позже - после того, как адвокатам выдадут копии протоколов судебных заседаний.

О том, что приговор обжалован и стороной обвинения, адвокату сторонника вооруженного подполья Чечни сообщили в Бутырском районном суде Москвы, который и вынес 20 ноября вердикт о его виновности в возбуждении национальной и религиозной ненависти и призывах к осуществлению экстремистской деятельности, совершенных публично с использованием СМИ.

Как установила судья Любовь Ишмуратова, "Стомахин Б. В., лично, ежемесячно с неустановленного следствием времени, примерно с 2000 года до момента привлечения его к уголовной ответственности по настоящему уголовному делу 26.04.2004 года, находясь у себя дома..., организовывал производство печатного издания - информационного бюллетеня "Радикальная политика", набирал тексты бюллетеней на своем персональном компьютере, установленном по вышеуказанному адресу, и занимался их последующим распечатыванием и размножениемпри неустановленных следствием обстоятельствах, посредством трафаретной печати". Указанный бюллетень осужденный издавал тиражом в несколько десятков экземпляров.

"Отражая в своих публикациях сведения, происходящие в стране, связанные с боевыми действиями в Чеченской Республике, а также произошедшие террористические акты на территории России, Стомахин Б. В. одобрял преступников и террористов, действия которых, направлены на уничтожение русского народа, как нации", - говорится в приговоре редактору самодельной брошюры.

Адвокат Карен Нерсесян заявил корреспонденту "Кавказского узла", что, по его мнению, Стомахин должен быть оправдан, т. к. в своих публикациях он только выражал свою точку зрения на конфликт в Чечне и политическую ситуацию в России, на что имеют право все граждане страны. Защитник считает, что настоящей причиной осуждения стала критика со стороны журналиста федеральных властей.

"Стомахин Б. В. выражал в публикациях свое отражающее протест антиконституционное поведение, придавая им негативную и отрицательную эмоциональную краску, ориентируя читателей на выражение крайностей разворачивающихся политических процессов, абсолютизируя внешнюю сторону явлений, высказывал неполноценность православной религии, полагая тем самым возмутить общество и призвать его в последующем к изменению существующего государственного строя страны. Одновременно появляясь в общественных местах города Москвы, при наибольшем скоплении народа, учитывая многонациональный характер населения города и наличие значительного числа граждан стран ближнего и дальнего зарубежья, Стомахин Б. В ежемесячно распространял информационный бюллетень "Радикальная политика" лично и через неустановленных следствием лиц, путем продажи за деньги, доступные по своему размеру для всех слоев граждан, а также безмездно передавая бюллетень лицам, заинтересованным в получении данного издания, одновременно предлагая им подписаться на данное периодическое издание, чем добивался распространения среди общественных масс, взглядов и идей, изложенных в вышеуказанном печатном издании, пытаясь придавать остроту усложнившейся в стране проблемы проявления конфликтов на почве расовой, этнической и религиозной нетерпимости", - говорится в приговоре Борису Стомахину, текст которого опубликован на интернет-сайте Zaborisa.narod.ru, поддерживающемся общественной группой в его защиту.

"Взрыв в московском метро оправдан, естественен и законен... Чеченцы имеют полное моральное право взрывать в России все, что захотят, - после того, что с ними сделала Россия и русские, никакие возражения о гуманизме и человеколюбии не принимаются", -писал Стомахин в одной из вмененных ему в вину статей.

"Также Стомахиным Б. В. предполагались и другие формы противоправных действий против государства и государственного строя... В текстах бюллетеней "Радикальная политика" Стомахиным Б.В. целенаправленно размещалась информация, побуждающая вести списки таких действий, как "зачистки", "проверки паспортного режима", "контртеррористические операции", "незаконные обыски и политические уголовные дела" - все эти действия квалифицированы Стомахиным Б. В. как "преступления", а лица, совершившие эти действия, обозначены как "палачи в форме" и "стукачи без формы", - и в этих действиях подсудимого судья нашла состав преступления.

Оскорбил Борис Стомахин и православных. Как гласит приговор, в "Радикальной политике" №1 и № 9 за 2003 год он "указал на неполноценность православного народа, передав изложенными им словесными оборотами о православии оскорбительные характеристики и отрицательные эмоциональные оценки верующих, выражения дискриминационного отношения к православию, как религии, отмечая о необходимости ликвидации таковой веры, исповедуемой русским народом, унижая, тем самым национальное достоинство граждан, исповедующих данную веру".

Так, одну из статей своего бюллетеня опальный журналист озаглавил "Православные совсем охренели...". "Стомахин Б. В. в данном материале, использовал заголовок с отрицательной эмоциональной оценкой граждан, исповедующих православие ("охренели"), вместе с тем, содержание материала статьи не соответствует его заглавию - в этом материале речь идет о единичном случае (содержащемся в брошюре "основы православия" утверждении: "Иисуса Христа распяли не евреи, а чеченцы"), который с помощью заголовка обобщен и представлен как типичный для православных", - написано в тексте вердикта суда.

Напомним, что по поводу публикаций в "Радикальной политике" в 2001-2003 годах трижды возбуждались уголовные дела по статьям Уголовного кодекса РФ "Разжигание межнациональной розни", "Призывы к свержению конституционного строя", "Призывы к экстремистским действиям". Неоднократно по этим делам Стомахин допрашивался ФСБ и прокуратурой, подвергался обыскам и взятию подписки о невыезде.

Как сообщал "Кавказский узел", данное уголовное дело против Бориса Стомахина было возбуждено в декабре 2003 г., а обвинение предъявлено в апреле 2004 г. После того, как следователь прокуратуры Светлана Колобова отказала Стомахину в просьбе о привлечении к назначенной ею психиатрической экспертизе обвиняемого эксперта из Независимой психиатрической ассоциации, Б. Стомахин уехал на Украину и попросил там политического убежища, в котором ему было отказано. В прошлом году, как говорят его товарищи, он вернулся домой в Москву, где и был арестован 21 марта текущего года. Как сообщалось, при задержании он пытался спуститься по веревке с балкона своей квартиры на четвертом этаже, но веревка оборвалась и он упал, в результате чего получил двойной перелом позвоночника и перелом ноги.

"Международная амнистия" огорчена решением ВС по делу Лапина, виновного в пытках в Чечне

2007-01-18T12:45:00.000-05:00

17/1/2007

"Мы огорчены решением суда по делу Сергея Лапина", - заявила корреспонденту "Кавказского узла" представитель крупнейшей в мире правозащитной организации "Международная амнистия" ("МА"), исследователь "МА" по России Фредерика Бер, комментируя сегодняшнее решение Верховного суда РФ, вернувшего нашумевшее дело осужденного за пытки в Чечне офицера милиции из Нижневартовска на новое рассмотрение в Чечню. Г-жа Бер присутствовала сегодня в зале суда в качестве наблюдателя.

Как уже сообщал "Кавказский узел", сегодня, 17 января, Верховный суд России принял решение отправить дело осужденного к 11 годам лишения свободы за пытки над жителем столицы Чечни Грозного Зелимханом Мурдаловым старшего лейтенанта угрозыска Нижневартовского УВД Ханты-мансийского автономного округа Сергея Лапина (радиопозывной "Кадет") на повторное рассмотрение в Октябрьский районный суд г. Грозный в новом составе суда.

"Зелимхан Мурдалов находился под арестом в Октябрьском РОВД Грозного в 2001 году и несколько свидетелей, содержавшихся там вместе с ним, дали показания на процессе в Грозном, что Мурдалов имел следы избиений и пыток, после того, как возвращался в камеру после допроса Сергеем Лапиным. С нашей точки зрения, суд неверно усомнился в обвинительном приговоре, т. к. в деле присутствуют серьезные улики против офицера. Там, конечно, были и другие сотрудники, которые должны нести уголовную ответственность. Два человека объявлены в розыск, но есть сомнения, что их ищут. Поступали сведения об их местонахождении: один, вроде бы, находится в Центральной Азии, другой здесь, в России. Адвокат же Лапина никаких новых аргументов не представил", - пояснила правозащитница.

31 марта 2005 года "Международная амнистия", имеющая штаб-квартиру в Лондоне, приветствовала вынесение обвинительного приговора Сергею Лапину Октябрьским судом города Грозный.

"Впервые представитель российских федеральных сил предстал перед судом в самой Чечне за нарушения прав человека в отношении гражданского населения. Сергей Лапин оказался причастен к пыткам и "исчезновению" 26-летнего Зелимхана Мурдалова, задержанного 2-го января 2001 года в г. Грозном. 29-го марта 2005 года Лапин был признан виновным в умышленном причинении тяжкого вреда здоровью при отягчающих обстоятельствах (статья 111 часть 3 УК РФ); превышении должностных полномочий при отягчающих обстоятельствах (статья 286 часть 3) и служебном подлоге (статья 292). Он был приговорён к 11-ти годам лишения свободы в колонии строгого режима. После освобождения ему будет запрещено работать в силовых структурах в течение трёх лет. Кроме того, суд направил специальное постановление главе ханты-мансийского ОМОНа, в котором, как сообщается, действия сотрудников подразделения, проходивших службу в Чечне, подвергаются более широкой критике. Остальных лиц, причастных к пыткам и бесследному "исчезновению" Мурдалова, ещё предстоит установить и привлечь к ответственности", - говорилось в заявлении МА.

"Международная амнистия" внимательно следила за ходом расследования и прилагала усилия для того, чтобы виновные в "исчезновении" Мурдалова понесли наказание. Норвежская секция "Международной амнистии" финансировала юридическое сопровождение этого прецедентного дела.

"Сергей Лапин впервые был задержан и помещён в изолятор временного содержания в январе 2002 года. В мае того же года его освободили до передачи дела в суд. Судебным слушаниям по делу, которые начались в октябре 2003 года, предшествовали активные действия родственников Мурдалова, пытавшихся добиться справедливости. Следствие установило, что 3-го января 2001 года Мурдалов был доставлен Сергеем Лапиным и ещё одним неустановленным сотрудником в отделение милиции Октябрьского района и помещён в КПЗ, где был избит Лапиным резиновой дубинкой. В КПЗ Мурдалова также пытали электрическим током. Свидетели сообщили в суде, что Мурдалов, попав в камеру, едва мог стоять на ногах и несколько раз терял сознание. У него была сломана рука, разорвано ухо и, по-видимому, он получил сотрясение мозга. На следующий день Лапин вместе с другим сотрудниками, личности которых до сих пор не установлены, забрали Мурдалова из камеры, и с тех пор его судьба и местонахождение неизвестны", - описывает самая крупная и влиятельная в мире правозащитная организация обстоятельства, послужившие основой уголовного дела против старшего лейтенанта милиции Сергея Лапина.

"Семья Зелимхана Мурдалова подверглась давлению и угрозам, пытаясь добиться справедливости, а его матери и сестре пришлось покинуть страну в поисках безопасности. Отец потерпевшего - Астемир Мурдалов - сообщил "Международной амнистии", что он не теряет надежды установить судьбу своего сына", - отмечают правозащитники.

За время вооружённого конфликта в Чечне "Международная амнистия" неоднократно выражала беспокойство в связи с атмосферой безнаказанности, царящей в регионе, и призывала российские власти привлечь к ответственности виновных в нарушении прав человека. "Однако реальных мер по улучшению ситуации было принято немного", - считает МА.

"Лишь в единичных случаях факты "пропажи без вести", пыток и жестокого обращения доводились до суда. Многие жители Чечни решили обратиться в Европейский суд по правам человека, поскольку российская судебная система не продемонстрировала реальной готовности наказывать виновных в нарушениях прав человека на Северном Кавказе. И хотя решение суда по делу Мурдалова представляет чрезвычайную важность не только для его семьи, но и для других людей в Чеченской Республике, пострадавших от нарушения прав человека и военных преступлений, предстоит сделать ещё очень многое. По словам российских и чеченских официальных лиц, за период с конца 1999 года "пропало без вести" около двух тысяч человек (на начало 2005 года). По неофициальным оценкам, эта цифра достигает 5000 человек. "Международная амнистия" и другие правозащитные организации, работающие в регионе, обнаружили свидетельства того, что федеральные и чеченские власти причастны к большому количеству подобных "исчезновений"", - констатировала "Международная амнистия".

Начались слушания по делу краснодарских милиционеров, замучивших до смерти жителя аула Адыгеи

2007-01-18T12:34:00.000-05:00

12/3/06

В Краснодарском краевом суде, в среду 29 ноября началось слушание громкого уголовного дела, в отношении участковых милиционеров, которые с особой жестокостью и цинизмом забили насмерть жителя адыгского аула. Об этом сообщает «Российская газета — Кубань». По просьбе обвиняемых оно рассматривается судом присяжных. На скамье подсудимых пять человек, четверо из которых ещё недавно носили милицейские погоны.

Государственный обвинитель - советник юстиции, сотрудник краевой прокуратуры Валерий Путимцев, обращаясь к присяжным заседателям, отметил: «Все совершенное подсудимыми выглядит особенно цинично, ибо подрывает авторитет всех правоохранительных органов, вызывая у граждан недоверие к их деятельности и неуверенность в защищенности их прав и законных интересов».

Судебное разбирательство, как сообщает газета, началось с допроса потерпевших. Суд приступил к выслушиванию показаний свидетелей. В уголовном деле семь томов. Присяжным заседателям предстоит оценить все собранные в ходе предварительного следствия доказательства обвинения.

Напомним, что житель аула Афипсип Тахтамукайского района Адыгеи 34-летний Нальбий Ачмиз погиб от рук милиционеров, как выяснило следствие, в помещении одного из опорных пунктов милиции УВД Центрального округа Краснодара. Погибший был женат и являлся отцом двухлетнего сына. Двое подозреваемых сотрудников милиции были задержаны по горячим следам, остальные подозреваемые бросились в бега, но вскоре и они оказались за решеткой.

Последний раз Ачмиза видели живым в городском парке, где он отдыхал. За его столик в кафе к нему подсели четверо милиционеров и один гражданский. По свидетельству очевидцев между ними вскоре произошла ссора. После, очевидцы видели как Ачмиза, уже садившегося в свою машину, задержали эти же милиционеры. На следующий день труп жертвы, изуродованный до неузнаваемости, с выколотыми глазами, разрубленной спиной и расплющенной колёсами автомобиля головой был обнаружен на свалке.Это жестокое преступление вызвало большой резонанс общественности Адыгеи. Тогда руководителям правоохранительных структур края с трудом удалось сдержать волну возмущенного негодования.

В ауле Афипсип Тахтамукайского района была проведена встреча общественности района с представителями правоохранительных, силовых структур города и Краснодарского края, сообщает корреспондент «Кавказского узла». На встрече силовики уведомили собравшихся о проделанных мероприятиях по ужесточению контроля при подборе кадров в правоохранительные органы, и обещали по заслугам наказать виновных в преступлении.

На собрании в речах выступавших жителей района помимо требования беспристрастного суда тогда звучала тревожная мысль об ухудшающихся в последние годы межнациональных отношениях на уровне края и района, что в первую очередь проецирует на отношения правоохранительных служб, в частности ГАИ к простым жителям близлежащего района Адыгеи. Однако, убийство Ачмиза, не было перенесено в разряд межнациональных конфликтов.

Автор: Асия Салямова, корреспондент "Кавказского узла"

Pro-Moscow Chechen PM denies ambitions to be president

2006-12-26T15:11:00.000-05:00

Text of report by Chechen GTRK Vaynakh TV on 14 December

[Presenter] Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov held a news conference for local and foreign journalists today. The foreign guests were impressed with positive changes in the republic in a short period of time. Akhmed Susuyev has details.

[Correspondent] Foreign journalists started the news conference pleasantly. The first question was about achievements. You have restored so much during a year, when are you planning to complete [restoration], they asked. Kadyrov replied that the programme "no signs of war" would be completed in three years and the republic would be the most beautiful region of the Russian Federation.

A Swiss correspondent asked about construction projects, whereas his Japanese colleague was more concerned about Kadyrov's relations with Moscow and personally with President [Vladimir] Putin.

[Kadyrov] I do [indistinct] him because he is the only man who today can [changes tack] Russia is great and mighty and only President Putin and his team can maintain this.

[Correspondent] There were questions about the killing of [Russian journalist] Anna Politkovskaya and the Kadyrovites movement. Do you like it? No, Kadyrov replied firmly. Our enemies say this. Who are your enemies, he was asked. This question should be put to [exiled Russian tycoon Boris] Berezovskiy and [director of the national information service under the rebel State Defence Committee - Majlis ul-Shura, Movladi] Udugov, Kadyrov replied. In passing, he advised that [rebel foreign minister Akhmed] Zakayev returns to his theatre [Zakayev used to be an actor].

Incidentally, he did not even use the word "to kill" when speaking about Anna Politkovskaya.

[Kadyrov] Politkovskaya was not saying or writing anything. She did not have anything to write about. She used to write bad things about my father [late pro-Moscow Chechen President Akhmat Kadyrov]. It I had wanted, I would have done something bad to her at that time. I never fight journalists. That is their job. In addition, she is a female and a mother. It would have been better if she had stayed at home to keep household. But that was her destiny. What can we do? The Almighty is the judge.

...

Arrested US citizens' families to protest in Montenegrin capital

2006-12-26T15:08:00.000-05:00

Podgorica MINA in Serbian 1022 GMT 15 Dec 06

Arrested US citizens' families to protest in Montenegrin capital

Text of report by Montenegrin Mina news agency

Podgorica: The families of the arrested US citizens accused of planning terrorist actions in Montenegro have said that they have been allowed to hold a protest rally outside the US embassy in Podgorica.

The rally dubbed "America, look after your citizens" is scheduled for Sunday [17 December] from 1200 to 1400 [1100-1300 gmt].

"We are calling on all those who are opposed to the violence against the arrested Malisori [ethnic Albanians living in the Malesija region south of Podgorica and in northwestern Albania] and those who sympathize with us to join us", says the statement signed by Djeljos and Katrina Dedvukaj.

The Montenegrin police had banned this gathering earlier, for reasons of "traffic safety", the organizers said.

Special organized crime prosecutor Stojanka Radovic has accused 18 people, including several US citizens, of planning terrorist actions in Montenegro.

FSB Officers Seize 500 Kg Of Explosive In Sakhalin In 2006

2006-12-26T15:06:00.000-05:00

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, December 15 (Itar-Tass) - - Officers of the Federal Security Service (FSB) have seized 500 kilograms of explosive, 75 shells and mines, 11 grenades and about 1,500 pieces of ammunition of different calibre. This is the result of work of the FSB Department for the Sakhalin Region in 2006, the press service of the department reported on Friday.

According to the press service, FSB specialists continue combating poaching at sea and illegal export of seafood products to ports of foreign countries. As a result, 133 tonnes of crabs, 40 tonnes of sea urchin, 17.5 tonnes of red caviar and other seafood products worth 21.5 million roubles have been confiscated from poachers in 2006.

Today's priority task of FSB specialists working in Sakhalin, as representatives of the press service said, is to protect personal rights and freedoms, achievements in the field of high technologies, ensure information security, as well as fight with terrorism, political and national extremism.

Litvinenko's father urges USA to end support for Russia

2006-12-19T14:55:00.001-05:00

Valter Litvinenko, the father of Aleksandr Litvinenko who died in London on 23 November from radioactive poisoning, has asked the government and people of the USA to stop giving economic assistance to Russia.

In an appeal to the US government and nation posted on Chechenpress rebel website on 7 December, Litvinenko said:

"US citizens, dear President Bush. Do not give assistance to Putin's criminal government, do not make for the strengthening of his unlimited power. Do not listen to his smooth speech and false exhortations. He is lying... I appeal to you with only one request - do not support Putin's murderous regime so that a nuclear weapon does not kill your children just like it killed my son."

Litvinenko urged President Bush to demand Putin's apologies for everything that has happened in Russia since 1917.

[Description of Source: Tbilisi Chechenpress (Internet Version-WWW) in Russian -- Official news agency of rebel Chechen government; located at www.chechenpress.com]

Arab volunteer fighter replaces killed Chechen rebel commander

2006-12-17T21:50:00.001-05:00

Text of report by Kavkaz-Tsentr news agency web site

17 December: Amir Mukhannad became the new commander of a group of Muslim volunteers fighting in Chechnya against Russian occupation troops on 9 December after the death of Amir Abu-Khafs al-Urdini, Qoqaz.net has reported quoting a representative of the Chechen command.

Amir Mukhannad offered his condolences to Muslims and the family of Al-Urdini and said that every fighting mojahedin wanted to become a martyr. Amir Mukhannad said that jihad [holy war] continued in Chechnya and the Caucasus.

London-based Al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper reports that Amir Mukhannad hails from a Gulf country and arrived as a volunteer to participate in the jihad in Chechnya about 10 years ago. Amir Mukhannad is about 35, the newspaper said quoting Islamic sources.

2006-12-11T13:42:00.001-05:00

Cocaine Supply To Moscow Black Market On The Rise - Police

CEP20061205950451 Moscow ITAR-TASS in English 1924 GMT 05 Dec 06

[Computer selected and disseminated without OSC Editorial intervention]

MOSCOW, December 5 (Itar-Tass) -- The supply of cocaine to the Moscow black market is growing amid the growth in synthetic drugs, Sergei Tikhonenko from the Russian Interior Ministry's investigation bureau said on Tuesday.

"The drug situation in Moscow is characteristic of megalopolises. Rather high living standards and the developed transport system are add-on factors," he said.

The Moscow black market is offering opium, heroin, cannabis and amphetamines, including ecstasy, Tikhonenko said. "A large amount of narcotic pills are confiscated in the city," he said.

Cocaine has recently become available in Moscow. It sells at approximately $110-120 per gram.

Some 90-95% of drugs sold in Moscow are imported. Moscow and the suburbs also top the list of seized drug shipments (300 this year), he said. They are followed by the Murmansk, Irkutsk and Leningrad regions, the Krasnoyarsk and Krasnodar territories, and St. Petersburg.

About 100,000 drug-related crimes are annually exposed in Russia, and 60% of the crimes are committed by organized groups, head of the Russian Interior Ministry's Department for the Suppression of Organized Crime and Terrorism Stanislav Orlov added.

"This year alone we have exposed 66,000 serious drug-related crimes and over 550 cases of drug contraband, and solved over 2,300 crimes perpetrated by groups of drug dealers," Orlov said.

Drug dealers are increasingly using the Internet to sell and advertise drugs, he said.

"We can see narcotic drugs being advertised on the Internet. The dealers are posting original formulas of synthetic drugs and concluding drug deals," he said. Drug dealers are also using the Internet to watch the progress of large shipments and to sell small batches of narcotics.

"A number of drug dealers have been paid for precursor chemicals and narcotics with e-money," Orlov said. Drug money has also been sent through the international system of monetary transfers. "These circumstances complicate the exposure of illegal drug deals," he said.

The prevention of drug crimes on the Internet is a special concern, Orlov said. "A special department of the Interior Ministry is searching the Internet for drug-related websites and referring the information to specific police units," he said.

[Description of Source: Moscow ITAR-TASS in English -- main government information agency]

Article by Alexander Litvinenko: "Why I Believe Putin Wanted Me Dead..."

2006-11-28T17:08:00.000-05:00

London Mail on Sunday (Internet Version-WWW) in English 25 Nov 0

In the summer of 1996, I returned to Moscow from Chechnya and was summoned to see my boss, General Vyacheslav Voloch, head of the Anti-Terrorist Directorate of the Federal Security Bureau (FSB).
'They are putting Khokholkov in charge of URPO,' he said. 'That man is a monster. We should do everything to stop him.'
URPO was the acronym for a newly established top-secret unit at the FSB, and Evgeny Khokholkov was a colonel in the anti-terrorist directorate. More than that, he was General Voloch's subordinate-turned-rival.
The two men had fallen foul of each other ealier that year when Colonel Khokholkov masterminded the assassination of a Chechnyan separatist leader. An air-to-ground missile was used to home in on a satellite phone signal - there wasn't much left of him. It was a sophisticated and costly operation with a hefty budget that, as boss of the Anti-Terrorist Directorate, General Voloch was expected to sign off.
But when the dust had settled nearly a million dollars was missing and Voloch demanded a full account. He was never given one. His subordinate had powerful protectors within the bureau and the matter was papered over, much to General Voloch's embarrassment.
Now Colonel Khokholkov was being handed his own directorate to run - a special operations unit that would be allowed to break the law - and he was likely be promoted to full general.
In fact, the very idea of URPO came up as a result of the Chechen experience. In that undeclared war, secret services enjoyed generous operational freedom: they could detain, interrogate and kill without legal constraints. But while no one would think of 'due process' before firing a missile in Chechnya, back in Moscow, the legal niceties had to be observed.
So the agency bosses decided that it would be handy to have an autonomous, secret unit to carry out occasional 'special tasks', and thanks to his track record Colonel Khokholkov was the natural choice to lead it.
For General Voloch it was a devastating appointment - effectively placing his one-time subordinate in charge of a rival operational division with greater powers than his own. His response to the news of his rival's success and his reason for summoning me to FSB headquarters that day was to give me a secret assignment. I was to dig out all the dirt I could find on this Colonel Khokholkov.
So began a chain of events that would show just how deep the stain of corruption ran - and which would lead me to Vladimir Putin.
It was not the first time that Colonel Khokholkov had been brought to my attention. Three years earlier, as a young operativnik, I had helped unmask a group of corrupt FSB officers, most of them of Uzbek origin.
My report became known as the Uzbek file and Colonel Khokholkov's name surfaced in these investigations. But although several of his colleagues were transferred or fired, he remained untouched. I had found no direct evidence against him.
Shortly after I began digging again into his background, I was contacted by a source at the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The Organised Crime Unit of the Moscow City Police had some explosive material on Colonel Khokholkov, I was told.
He had been videotaped in the company of major crime figures as they gathered to carve up the Russian drugs market. This explained Khokholkov's wealth: he owned a posh restaurant on Moscow's Kutuzovsky Avenue and a country house worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. And one night, he lost some $120,000 gambling at Casino Leningrad.
It was no surprise to me that the police should have investigated an officer of the FSB. At the time, both the FSB and the police were so deeply involved in the city's protection rackets they were virtually at war. Some of their rivalry was over who would benefit from the supply of drugs pouring from Afghanistan into Europe.
I did not find the videotape, but I did find enough evidence against Khokholkov to charge him - if my superiors would agree.
General Voloch was rel uctant to take the decision, so I took my file to the newly appointed FSB Director, Nikolai Kovaliov.
The meeting was brief and the Director defensive. He shrugged 'What can I do?' when told of the evidence against Khokholkov. I later learned that he had ordered an Internal Affairs file on Khokholkov to be closed the moment he was put in charge.
While the meeting at the Director's office failed to affect Colonel Khokholkov's career, it certainly changed mine. Before long, in the same office, the Director asked me to become his personal agent in his new department, the URPO.
I was speechless. Work for Colonel Khokholkov?
Reading my mind, the Director said: 'Forget about Khokholkov. We checked him out. There is nothing there. But it would not harm if I had my own man keeping an eye on him. Agree? Call any time.'
It was an order, not an offer.
So, for many months, I found myself working for the man I had been tasked to expose. But it was only a matter of time before the compromising videotape of Colonel Khokholkov's meeting to extort money from Moscow's drug barons surfaced once more.
The incident started with a simple enough case. A local shopowner had been visited by a man claiming to be a police officer and demanding protection money.
The demands went up and up from $5,000 a month to $9,000 then to $15,000 and more. Next the shopowner received a visit at his home - he was beaten up and threatened. He turned to the FSB.
We identified the vehicle used to visit the shopkeeper that night and it led us to a dingy den where we found a police officer, several men and two terrified girls, one under age. Both showed signs of abuse and had been raped.
We summoned the local police, who obtained a search warrant. The men were booked for rape and a local investigator began questioning them.
Then a remarkable thing happened. A lawyer for the policeman we had arrested showed up, but instead of dealing with his client's situation he told us that for the past three years the policeman had been forcing him to provide services to companies he had under protection, without any pay. But he wanted to take the opportunity to come clean.
I took the lawyer to the Lubyanka FSB headquarters and taped his testimony. He told us about the massive involvement of the Moscow City Police Organised Crime Unit in criminal activity. His evidence implicated the head of the unit and high officials at the Ministry of Internal Affairs. I was discovering that corruption was everywhere in this city - and I was to find out that it went right to the very top.
When the case was completed and everything was ready for the prosecutor, I felt a certain uneasiness about bringing it to Colonel Khokholkov for signature. Investigating such police corruption was a dangerous business when I knew that the tapes linking my own boss with similar protection rackets were still sitting in the vaults of the Moscow City Police.
As it was, Colonel Khokholkov was conveniently unwell, so his deputy signed off the case. And it was only a matter of time before the organisation we were investigating revealed their own evidence about our boss. When it happened, it was calmly and deliberately done. Two police officers showed up at the FSB reception and left the tape of Colonel Khokholkov extorting protection money from drug barons. There was a clear message - forget the investigation or we'll bring down your boss.
I knew about it the next day when the irate Colonel barged into my office: 'What have you been doing? Who authorised this? Why did you go to the prosecutors? Get the case back.'
The case was recalled and I never saw the material again. Most of the criminals are still walking around. The policeman we had arrested was allowed to slip out to Turkey, with much of his money. As for me, I never felt more betrayed. But I was knee-deep in the dirty system in which men like Putin would flourish.
Shortly afterwards, I myself became the centre of a scandal w h en my unit was ordered to plan the assassination of Boris Berezovsky, the entrepreneur-turned-politician who was close to President Yeltsin. No one told us of the reason, but there was no need to: Berezovsky was the most visible of oligarchs, a billionaire tycoon whose Liberal Russia political party stood against the corruption that flowed through the heart of the FSB and our own unit. He was a threat.
I and five other officers refused to carry out the order. Instead, we went directly to Berezovsky and warned him about the plot. We also complained to the Prosecutor-General. The FSB pressured us to withdraw our complaints and suspended the whole group of officers.
Behind the scenes, Berezovsky was pulling levers in the Kremlin and persuaded Boris Yeltsin to turn on our department. Within a few weeks, our secret directorate was disbanded. Colonel Khokholkov was transferred, FSB Director Kovaliov fired. In his place, Yeltsin appointed Vladimir Putin, a little-known Colonel working inside the Kremlin.
Putin's appointment was a shock to everyone - and a disaster for me. I met him soon after his appointment. I was still technically suspended but one day Berezovsky called me. 'Alexander, could you go to Putin and tell him everything that you have told me? And everything that you have not. He is new at the Service, you know, and would benefit from an insider's view.'
Before our meeting, I spent all night drawing up a chart with names, places, links - everything.
I arrived with two colleagues, but Putin wanted to see me alone. It must be incredibly tough for him, I thought. We were of the same rank, and I imagined myself in his shoes - a mid-level operativnik suddenly put in charge of some hundred seasoned generals with all their vested interests, connections and dirty secrets.
I did not know how to salute him without causing embarrassment. Should I say 'Comrade Colonel' as was required by the code? But he pre-empted me and got up from his desk and shook my hand. He seemed even shorter than on TV.
From that very first moment I felt that he was not sincere. He avoided eye contact and behaved as if he was not the Director, but an actor playing a role. He looked at my chart, appearing to study it, and asked a couple of random questions.
I knew he could not have grasped the details in the cursory glance he had given it. 'Shall I leave the chart?' I asked.
'No, no, thank you. You keep it. It's your work.'
I gave him another list I had compiled: 'These officers are clean. I know for sure that you can rely on them in the war on corruption.' Number one on the list was a colleague called General Trofimov. 'There are honest people in the system,' I said. 'We could bring the situation under control.' He nodded, acting as though in full agreement. He kept my files on Colonel Khokholkov and his links to the Uzbek drug barons and protection rackets. He said we would keep in touch and took my home number.
But he never called. Many months later,I got the chance to study my own file and I learned that he had ordered Internal Affairs to start a case against me right after that meeting. I regretted many of the names I had handed over. It seemed I had given them to the enemy as well as revealing just how much I knew.
Shortly afterwards, I was fired from the FSB. Before I left, a former boss at the Anti-terrorist Centre went to Putin to put in a word on my behalf. Returning from the meeting, he looked at me, shook his head and said: 'I do not envy you, Alexander. There is common money involved.'
I did not understand then what he meant by 'common money'. Now I do. He was referring to Colonel Khokholkov and his dealings with the Uzbek drug barons. This understanding came to me many months later. I discovered that Putin's connection with Colonel Khokholkov dated back to the time when Putin was a Deputy for Economic Affairs to the Mayor of St Petersburg.
I had an informer in St Petersburg's city hall. He kept an eye on the criminal connectio n s of city officials. When the Mayor lost the elections, Putin lost his job. One day my informant had a beer with him. Putin was down and out and could not get hold of money he had stashed away. He was under surveillance by the new Mayor's people. My informant took pity on Putin and gave him $2,000 as an 'open-ended' loan. When Putin became President, he repaid him by appointing him an economic adviser.
As for me, my years of service at the FSB were rewarded by being fired and thrown in jail. It was a year before I was released pending trial. My informant came to see me following my release: 'Putin will squash you,' he said, 'and no one can help you. He has no choice because he was working with the Uzbek group. There is lots of common money there.'
I could not believe that he was using the same phrase: common money. He was telling me that Putin had been directly linked with the mob that my investigations into Colonel Khokholkov had led me to. How close had I come to his name?
My informant smiled: 'Remember the smuggling of rare metal in the early Nineties? Putin was in charge of export licensing. You worked on organised crime? Tell me, could anyone export a kilo of metal in those days without the mob? They would blow up the whole train. And he was right at the centre of it all. All his licensees were mob fronts.'
The two of us were talking in a restaurant. 'Vladimir fell for power very quickly,' confided my informant. 'Look, when Yeltsin drove to the Kremlin, only one traffic line was cleared. But for Vladimir they close down the whole highway. He is not fit for power. He has no political skills and a certain weird way of thinking. He is dangerous.'
My friend got drunk and I took him out to the lobby. 'Are you crazy?' I said. 'All of this will be at the FSB tomorrow morning. Don't you know that I am watched?'
But it was too late. Three weeks after that conversation, he was killed by a hit-man from a passing bicycle. A direct hit at close range. I learned about it from TV. A presidential aide has been shot. One of many during the past decade.
Concluding this story, I'm quite sure there will be an explosion of protests about my unsubstantiated allegations that President Putin is personally involved at least in a cover-up of organised criminal activities connected with drug traffic in Russia and Europe. People will demand hard proof. I am not going to try to prove anything. I am an operativnik, not a prosecutor. My job is to collect operational information and analyse it. This is my analysis:
First: two independent sources report that a suspect - call him Mr P. - has 'common money' with Colonel Khokholkov at the FSB. One of the sources gets killed as soon as his connection to me is compromised.
Second: Colonel Khokholkov is tied to the Uzbek drug organisation. He lives lavishly, well beyond his means.
Next: Mr P. protects Colonel Khokholkov. He neutralises his internal opponents.
Further: Mr P. is fully aware that Colonel Khokholkov is involved with the Uzbeks.
Finally: when the crimes were committed, Mr P. held a key position in a northern metropolis, Russia's gateway to Europe. Much of the drug transit went through his city. This made him of tremendous value to the Uzbek friends of his friend Colonel Khokholkov.
As an operativnik, I have every reason to suspect Mr P. at least in criminal complicity. There is nothing unusual in that - in my time I have seen hundreds of similar situations. Sure, Mr P. happens to be the President of Russia. But the crimes were committed when he was a humble Deputy Mayor of St Petersburg.
Admittedly, the evidence against Mr P. is indirect and cannot be used in a court. And, of course, if Mr P. were not the President, I would not have publicised it, but would have opened a case and brought him in for questioning.
But he is the President, and there is no possibility of questioning him. He is accountable by a different standard. So he must respond to my questions before the pu bl ic .
But first, I would like to see what will happen to the newspaper that prints this story.

Turkey: Armenians in Diaspora Assist PKK

2006-11-27T10:48:00.001-05:00

ERZURUM (A.A) - 16.11.2006 - "Armenian Diaspora supported and expended large amounts of financial assistance to terrorist PKK to weaken and fragment Turkey," Associate Professor Savas Egilmez, the Chairman of Association on Fight Against Baseless Allegations of Genocide, said on Thursday.
In an exclusive interview with the A.A correspondent, Egilmez said, "we have been carrying out intensive efforts in the national and international platforms to explain that so-called allegations of Armenian genocide is a lie."
"Despite the affirmative responses, we started to get negative reactions recently. We have assessed that supporters of the terrorist organization is the source of the reactions that were sent through e-mail," he noted.
Egilmez indicated that Armenian-PKK relationship was once again revealed with the reactions, noting that "upon the reactions in the world in 1980's, the Armenian terrorist organizations changed tactics and cooperated with the PKK terrorist organization."
Egilmez said terrorist PKK organization in 1980 proclaimed April 21-28 the week of "Red Week" and remembered April 24th as the so-called genocide day of the Armenians.
"Another remarkable example regarding Armenian-PKK relationship is the meeting in Beirut between January 6 and 9, 1993. Lebanese Armenian Orthodox Archbishop, Armenian party executives and 150 youngsters attended the meetings that were held in two separate churches. At the meeting, the Archbishop underlined that the Armenian society was growing gradually and strengthened in economic means. He said so-called genocide was started to be known better in the world thanks to the propaganda activities," Egilmez said.
"The Archbishop unveiled their real faces by saying, 'Armenian state was established and broadens its territories day by day. The support to PKK activities in Turkey rises. Thanks to this support, Turkish economy will drop to zero, the country will be dragged into chaos, and Turkey will enter fragmentation process. Turkish territories will be in the hands of Armenia tomorrow'," Egilmez said.

Turkey's Gul on War on Terrorism, Separatism; Armenian Claims

2006-11-27T10:39:00.001-05:00

ANKARA (A.A) - 14.11.2006 - "One of the most important problems and threats against Turkey is separatism. The fight against terrorism is our priority duty," said Turkish Foreign Minister & Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul on Tuesday.
Speaking at the Parliamentary Planning & Budget Commission over the budget of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the year 2007, Gul said, "since we predicted current situation in Iraq, we held the meeting of neighboring countries with Iraq. The world should appreciate Turkey's initiatives to this end. We attach great importance to Iraq's territorial integrity and political unity. Protection of these are of vital importance for Iraqi people. If Iraq is separated, it will lead to a new unbelievable dark era."
Recalling that the Iraqi prime minister would pay a visit to Turkey in the coming days, Gul said that all those issues would be taken up in detail during the visit.
Referring to the issue of PKK terrorism, Gul said, "one of the most important problems and threats against Turkey is separatism. Our government has been doing everything in its power in the fight against terrorism. Unfortunately, the northern part of Iraq has become shelter for the terrorist organization. Our government has displayed a determined attitude against it. We attach great importance to the United States' appointing a special envoy. We consider the fight against terrorism our priority duty. Therefore, we do not need a coordinator. However, we have appointed Edip Baser to head the Turkish delegation and to attend the meetings among Turkey, the United States and Iraq."
Upon a question about presence of several maps separating Turkey, Gul said, "these are nothing but worthless rags."
Describing the Armenian issue as one of the most important problems of Turkey in the next decade, Gul said that they would launch all necessary initiatives.

Iran accused of failing Chechen rebels, Muslim cause

2006-11-27T10:28:00.000-05:00

A commentary on a Chechen rebel website has said that the current Iranian government headed by President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad is working against the interests of Muslims by failing to support the rebel Chechen cause. The only interest in Chechens Iran has is keeping the USA out of the region, which resulted in its "pro-Russian intrigues", it said. The following is the text of the commentary by Data Tutashkhia posted on the Chechen news agency Daymohk website on 7 November; subheadings have been inserted editorially:

Chechen overtures to Iran "prudent"

There is one indisputable advantage to problems of the Chechen-Iranian relationship - it is as transparent and predictable as last year's snow. In other words there is a total absence of any kind of strategy, which one can see with the naked eye. In summary this means that the Iranians, if not our enemies, are certainly not our friends.

The question of whether it is worth knocking at the Iranian door when they are not expecting us, is unlikely to cause any doubt in the minds of most Chechens, although one can understand the optimism of diplomat Ilyas Musayev, who in good faith has taken concrete steps towards getting a dialogue going, which would be useful for all concerned. As far as we know, the late public figure Vakha Ibragimov also tried to do his bit for this relationship and put before Iran a strategy for the Chechen leadership. And this was not without risk, because these people travel with a sharp blade. The Iranians could have surrendered them or there could have been a hue and cry on the part of the Russians cutting off the Chechens from any contact with Iranians. The Americans could have stepped in with their intense loathing for Iran. In a word, the Chechens prudently did what they were able to do. And their behaviour ought to be understood and valued.

Iranians at first welcome in Chechnya

The Iranians' basic conclusion is that having freed themselves from Russian influence, the post-Soviet bases have now fallen under the influence of the United States. From this arise two defining factors of Iranian foreign strategy in the Caucasus:

No 1 - We interest Iran only in the sense of keeping the Americans out of the Caucasus. The result of this is Iran's pro-Russian intrigues

No 2 - We interest Iran only as part of its plan to spread Shi'ism.

As far as the first point is concerned, a justified question arises - why not support a Caucasus region which would exist separately from everyone. Surely this would be the most sensible policy. No answer has been given to this question.

We were all witnesses to the fact that before the first war in Chechnya the first few hundred Shi-ites appeared in Naur and around. Not many knew that Iranian emissaries had their people in the central mosque of Dzhokhar [Groznyy] where Shi'ah literature was distributed

But then the Iranians went to the villages of Nozhay-Yurt, Gudermeskiy District and so on, proposing the study of Islam in Iran and Chechnya but only with Iranian teachers. Behind all this, as became apparent later, were Russian Special Forces. The goal was Shi'ism, the collection of intelligence information on developments in Chechnya and to influence them. And most people took the Iranians in good faith and suspected nothing of their actions. At that time it was not just the Arabs of the Middle East who were well regarded in Chechnya. Having only just having freed ourselves from the communist regime and practically knowing nothing about the East, we thought it was the home of the Islamic ideal. Now we have grown wiser and understood the way in which Iran trades openly with the fate of the people of the North Caucasus. We remembered that Iran had already once surrendered the North Caucasus to Russia once and for all and that Peter the Great closed the borders of the republic. Such was the fate of the Chechens.

Carefully avoiding giving any real help to the battling Chechens, refusing to shelter wounded mojahedin, refusing to give them material or moral support, admitting that Chechnya was Russia's internal affair, openly playing up to the Russians [ellipsis as received] in a word, Tehran has adopted the position of the infidels. Thus we were not brothers and probably will not be so in the foreseeable future. The Iranians are indisputably working against Islam. And the fact that they are giving help in Iraq will also continue only as long as it suits them. Until now Russia's position there is not strong enough.

Iranian president "dangerous to Islam"

Ahmadinezhad with his war-like rhetoric and demagoguery is as dangerous to Islam as he is to the Americans. The global threat to Islam is not an external threat but what undermines it from within. And the conviction of the Iranians that they are consorting with the Russians on a friendly level until they have acquired nuclear capability is no more than a fantasy. Iranians will always be Iranians, that is the people they have shown themselves to be up to now. Therefore they interest us less and less. And Praise be to Allah, that they are be a little further away from us, beyond Dagestan, Azerbaijan and the Caspian sea otherwise they would be getting up to all kinds of chaos in Chechnya and dancing to Russia's tune.

The spirit of Islam and brotherhood of the Umma in jihad - is something before which all the nuclear bombs in the world are powerless. And if this religious force is destroyed in the hearts of Muslims as Iran is doing, then the danger is greater than a bomb in one's breast. If Iran heads towards its aim, destroying the unity of the Umma, bargaining with religion and the blood of the shahids, then Muslims of the Caucasus will not be worried by their stinking tin cans. Their bombs may go off in other Islamic countries but never in Israel, America or Russia, as one of the Chechen spokesmen put it.

Comparison with Saddam

And furthermore Ahmadinezhad's bomb reminds one of Saddam's shot gun which he would fire from the balcony of the Shah's palace for any and every reason and, as a result, shot himself. Do not rouse yourself fighter for this disgrace. It is not worth it for Saddam's sake, for he was only concerned with strengthening his relationship with Russia, which today sees his mock trial as an internal affair of Iraq. There's your thanks for oil quotas and for being pro-Russian. The same thing could happen in Iran. But will the Umma come to the help of Ahmadinezhad, who is treading the same path as Saddam in the direction of the Russians. And will it not be these same Russians welcoming the noose around Ahmadinezhad's neck - the neck of a man who thought that the murder of Chechens was an internal affair of Russia.

At any rate, if I was today in the place of the statesmen of Ichkeria I would be launching a written appeal to all the leaders of the Islamic world to suggest the establishment of diplomatic relations. Yes, we all know the futility of this, but we also need to record its refusal for the future. The absence of a result is also a result.

A Caucasus independent and free - this is the issue and nothing else, whether Iran likes it or not. But Russia must get out. The criminal past could come back like a boomerang to hit future Iran-Chechen relations but that is Iran's problem. We need friendship with Russia like a dog needs a fifth leg

Malachi Ritscher's self-written obituary

2006-11-14T11:46:00.001-05:00

previous - next

Chicago resident Malachi Ritscher passed away last (day of week), a (tragic, baffling, mundane) death at the age of (subtract 1954 from current year). He was the modern day version of a 'renaissance man', except instead of attaining success in several fields, he consistently failed, and didn't really worry too much about it. For example, his boxing record in Golden Gloves. The eldest son of Richard C. Ritscher, a music educator, he collected and played many exotic instruments, without mastering any. Most recently, he had been playing a vintage Conn C-Melody saxophone that once belonged to free-spirit Hal Russell. Malachi was best known for his live concert recordings, mostly of local jazz groups who couldn't afford expensive studios. His license plates said AKG C 414, after his favorite microphones. Upwards of fifty recordings were eventually released commercially, with some acclaim for their natural sound. His archive of live recordings he had documented exceeded 2000 shows. Mostly he was just a big fan.

Also he was a film photographer, with a picture of a peregrine falcon chick published in a local Audubon magazine, and related video footage shown on local television news. He wrote poetry that was not published, painted watercolors in a quirky naive style, and participated passionately in the anti-war and free speech movement. He was arrested at a protest on March 20, 2003 and spent the night in jail, then became a member of the pending class-action suit against the City of Chicago. Arrested again two years later, he successfully sued the City of Chicago for false arrest on 1st Amendment/free speech grounds. One of his proudest achievements was an ultra-searing hot sauce recipe, which he registered under the name 'Undead Sauce - re-animate yourself!' It was a blend of tropical peppers, which he grew indoors in 5-gallon buckets, and a few secret ingredients that gave it a unique flavor (pomegranate, pistachio, and cinnamon).

Born Mark David Ritscher in Dickinsen, North Dakota on January 13, 1954, he lived most of his life in the mid-west, ranging from small-town Madison, South Dakota to Chicago, where he moved in 1981, changing his first name to Malachi. As a child, he was intensely afraid of many things, especially heights; he spent the rest of his life trying to face his fears, without ever coming to terms with his fear of people. He dropped out of high school and married at the age of 17, a union that lasted almost 10 years. He became an ordained minister with the Missionaries of the New Truth in 1972, and had performed several weddings. He provided for his family with a variety of trade positions, eventually reaching Journeyman High-Voltage Technician status with the electric utility in Lincoln, Nebraska. He became a Licensed Stationary Engineer in 1987. He was a member of several unions throughout his career, including IBEW, IUOE, and SEIU. He was proud to be a dues-paying proletariat intellectual.

After getting divorced, he relocated to Chicago to work with friends in an art-rock band, which inevitably led to forming a trio called 'wantnot', recording and releasing a CD in 1990, with Malachi on bass and vocals, Mike Mansfield on guitar, and Janna Brooks on drums. The cover design received an award from the American Center for Design, which didn't increase sales. He also designed skateboard decks, flyers, and t-shirts, with similar commercial results.

He was a collector of several things: books, records, meteorites, butterfly knives, keris, glass eyes, fossil tully monsters, microphones, medium-base lightbulbs, and instruments, especially snare drums. He was a man of strong contrasts, and fierce loyalties. There was a joy of life, which balanced a suspicious misanthropy. Endless pondering of existential gray areas could be interrupted by a totally spontaneous act: jumping in his car to drive downtown and participate in the Sears Tower stair-climb (2003). When he read Goethe's words "Nowhere but in his own Montserrat will a man find happiness and peace", his first thought was to find out where it is, and then book a flight there. He had memorized Pi to the 1101 decimal place, and would recite it at will. He could shave with a straight razor. He loved cinnamon rolls. He loved the smell of turpentine. He also loved motorcycles, which he wisely avoided. In the words of Stephen Wright, he was a 'peripheral visionary'. His sense of humor was droll - he theorized that surprise and not tragedy was the most important element of comedy. His favorite joke was to walk into a room, sniff the air, and observe "it smells like snot in here". His favorite word was 'ominous'. His favorite two words were 'Tahitian hiatus'. He always carried his passport with him.

He owned and maintained several web-sites: www.savagesound.com, www.unwinnablewar.net, www.killthepresident.net, www.warwhores.us; in addition he was preparing www.publicparkingparty.org, to promote protection of residents' rights in Chicago.

A lover of literature, even more than music, he had always dreamed of being a writer. The handwritten manuscript of his 'fictional autobiography', titled "Farewell Tour", was under consideration by publishers. It had a general theme of shared universal aloneness, and was controversial for seeming to endorse suicide after the age of fifty. His favorite classic authors were Proust and Shakespeare.

The metaphor for his life was winning the lottery, but losing the ticket. In the end, the loneliness was overwhelming. He was deeply appreciative for everything that had been given to him, but acutely aware that the greater the present, the higher the price. He was a member of Mensa, and Alcoholics Anonymous since 1990. For him, sobriety was virtually getting a second chance at life. He practiced a personal and private spirituality, seeking to connect across the illusion that separates us from each other. Reportedly, his last words were "rosebud... oops".

Near his end, he was purchasing real estate in Vancouver with the intention of eventual emigration, unable to reconcile his conscience with his tax dollars financing an unjust war. He frequently took short trips to New York City and New Orleans, where he made more recordings of concerts. Europe seemed more civilized to him, and he experienced Paris and Amsterdam, Germany and Switzerland, as well as Madrid and Barcelona.

His family was far-flung, surviving parents Richard and Betty Ann, older sisters Carol and Susan, younger siblings Paul, Jon, and Ellen; nieces Laurel, Carol, Julia, Jessica, Marissa, and nephew Aaron. He had a son, from whom he was estranged (at the son's request), and two grandchildren. He had many acquaintances, but few friends; and wrote his own obituary, because no one else really knew him. He has a plot at Calvary Cemetery in Evanston, Illinois; and the epithet he chose is "I Dreamt That I Was Dreaming".

Bruno Johnson of Okkadisk will have the dubious honor of maintaining archives and dispersing collections.

Malachi Ritscher's suicide note/mission statement

2006-11-14T11:37:00.001-05:00

My actions should be self-explanatory, and since in our self-obsessed culture words seldom match the deed, writing a mission statement would seem questionable. So judge me by my actions. Maybe some will be scared enough to wake from their walking dream state - am I therefore a martyr or terrorist? I would prefer to be thought of as a 'spiritual warrior'. Our so-called leaders are the real terrorists in the world today, responsible for more deaths than Osama bin Laden.

I have had a wonderful life, both full and full of wonder. I have experienced love and the joy and heartache of raising a child. I have jumped out of an airplane, and escaped a burning building. I have spent the night in jail, and dropped acid during the sixties. I have been privileged to have met many supremely talented musicians and writers, most of whom were extremely generous and gracious. Even during the hard times, I felt charmed. Even the difficult lessons have been like blessed gifts. When I hear about our young men and women who are sent off to war in the name of God and Country, and who give up their lives for no rational cause at all, my heart is crushed. What has happened to my country? we have become worse than the imagined enemy - killing civilians and calling it 'collateral damage', torturing and trampling human rights inside and outside our own borders, violating our own Constitution whenever it seems convenient, lying and stealing right and left, more concerned with sports on television and ring-tones on cell-phones than the future of the world.... half the population is taking medication because they cannot face the daily stress of living in the richest nation in the world.

I too love God and Country, and feel called upon to serve. I can only hope my sacrifice is worth more than those brave lives thrown away when we attacked an Arab nation under the deception of 'Weapons of Mass Destruction'. Our interference completely destroyed that country, and destabilized the entire region. Everyone who pays taxes has blood on their hands.

I have had one previous opportunity to serve my country in a meaningful way - at 8:05 one morning in 2002 I passed Donald Rumsfeld on Delaware Avenue and I was acutely aware that slashing his throat would spare the lives of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of innocent people. I had a knife clenched in my hand, and there were no bodyguards visible; to my deep shame I hesitated, and the moment was past.

The violent turmoil initiated by the United States military invasion of Iraq will beget future centuries of slaughter, if the human race lasts that long. First we spit on the United Nations, then we expect them to clean up our mess. Our elected representatives are supposed to find diplomatic and benevolent solutions to these situations. Anyone can lash out and retaliate, that is not leadership or vision. Where is the wisdom and honor of the people we delegate our trust to?

To the rest of the world we are cowards - demanding Iraq to disarm, and after they comply, we attack with remote-control high-tech video-game weapons. And then lie about our reasons for invading. We the people bear complete responsibility for all that will follow, and it won't be pretty.

It is strange that most if not all of this destruction is instigated by people who claim to believe in God, or Allah. Many sane people turn away from religion, faced with the insanity of the 'true believers'. There is a lot of confusion: many people think that God is like Santa Claus, rewarding good little girls with presents and punishing bad little boys with lumps of coal; actually God functions more like the Easter Bunny, hiding surprises in plain sight. God does not choose the Lottery numbers, God does not make the weather, God does not endorse military actions by the self-righteous, God does not sit on a cloud listening to your prayers for prosperity. God does not smite anybody. If God watches the sparrow fall, you notice that it continues to drop, even to its death. Face the truth folks, God doesn't care, that's not what God is or does. If the human race drives itself to extinction, God will be there for another couple million years, 'watching' as a new species rises and falls to replace us. It is time to let go of primitive and magical beliefs, and enter the age of personal responsibility. Not telling others what is right for them, but making our own choices, and accepting consequences.

"Who would Jesus bomb?" This question is primarily addressing a Christian audience, but the same issues face the Muslims and the Jews: God's message is tolerance and love, not self-righteousness and hatred. Please consider "Thou shalt not kill" and "As ye sow, so shall ye reap". Not a lot of ambiguity there.

What is God? God is the force of life - the spark of creation. We each carry it within us, we share it with each other. Whether we are conscious of the life-force is a choice we make, every minute of every day. If you choose to ignore it, nothing will happen - you are just 'less conscious'. Maybe you are less happy (maybe not). Maybe you grow able to tap into the universal force, and increase the creativity in the universe. Love is anti-entropy. Please notice that 'conscious' and 'conscience' are related concepts.

Why God - what is the value? Whether committee consensus of a benevolent power that works through humans, or giant fungus under Oregon, the value of opening up to the concept of God is in coming to the realization that we are not alone, establishing a connection to the universe, the experience of finding completion. As individuals we may exist alone, but we are all alone together as a people. Faith is the answer to fear. Fear opposes love. To manipulate through fear is a betrayal of trust.

What does God want? No big mystery - simply that we try to help each other. We decide to make God-like decisions, rescuing falling sparrows, or putting the poor things out of their misery. Tolerance, giving, acceptance, forgiveness.

If this sounds a lot like pop psychology, that is my exact goal. Never underestimate the value of a pep-talk and a pat on the ass. That is basically all we give to our brave soldiers heading over to Iraq, and more than they receive when they return. I want to state these ideas in their simplest form, reducing all complexity, because each of us has to find our own answers anyway. Start from here...

I am amazed how many people think they know me, even people who I have never talked with. Many people will think that I should not be able to choose the time and manner of my own death. My position is that I only get one death, I want it to be a good one. Wouldn't it be better to stand for something or make a statement, rather than a fiery collision with some drunk driver? Are not smokers choosing death by lung cancer? Where is the dignity there? Are not the people the people who disregard the environment killing themselves and future generations? Here is the statement I want to make: if I am required to pay for your barbaric war, I choose not to live in your world. I refuse to finance the mass murder of innocent civilians, who did nothing to threaten our country. I will not participate in your charade - my conscience will not allow me to be a part of your crusade. There might be some who say "it's a coward's way out" - that opinion is so idiotic that it requires no response. From my point of view, I am opening a new door.

What is one more life thrown away in this sad and useless national tragedy? If one death can atone for anything, in any small way, to say to the world: I apologize for what we have done to you, I am ashamed for the mayhem and turmoil caused by my country. I was alive when John F. Kennedy instilled hope into a generation, and I was a sorry witness to the final crushing of hope by Dick Cheney's puppet, himself a pawn of the real rulers, the financial plunderers and looters who profit from every calamity; following the template of Reagan's idiocracy.

The upcoming elections are not a solution - our two party system is a failure of democracy. Our government has lost its way since our founders tried to build a structure which allowed people to practice their own beliefs, as far as it did not negatively affect others. In this regard, the separation of church and state needs to be reviewed. This is a large part of the way that the world has gone wrong, the endless defining and dividing of things, micro-sub-categorization, sectarianism. The direction we need is a process of unification, integrating all people into a world body, respecting each individual. Business and industry have more power than ever before, and individuals have less. Clearly, the function of government is to protect the individual, from hardship and disease, from zealots, from the exploitation, from monopoly, even from itself. Our leaders are not wise persons with integrity and vision - they are actors reading from teleprompters, whose highest goal is to stir up the mob. Our country slaughters Arabs, abandons New Orleaneans, and ignores the dieing environment. Our economy is a house of cards, as hollow and fragile as our reputation around the world. We as a nation face the abyss of our own design.

A coalition system which includes a Green Party would be an obvious better approach than our winner-take-all system. Direct electronic debate and balloting would be an improvement over our non-representative congress. Consider that the French people actually have a voice, because they are willing to riot when the government doesn't listen to them.

"Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up, and shake off the existing government... " - Abraham Lincoln

With regard to those few who crossed my path carrying the extreme and unnecessary weight of animosity: they seemed by their efforts to be punishing themselves. As they acted out the misery of their lives it is now difficult to feel anything other than pity for them.

Without fear I go now to God - your future is what you will choose today.

Wahhabis are financed by Jews - Bosniak politician in Montenegro

2006-11-08T14:54:00.000-05:00

Text of fifth report in a series of texts by R.T, B.C. and A.S. headlined: "Veskovic: Tool of Western services" by Montenegrin newspaper Vijesti on 15 October; subheadings as published:

Bijelo Polje/Rozaje - "The Wahhabis and the Wahhabism as a religious movement were not brought here by the war in Bosnia-Hercegovina. They are being recruited in the diaspora, particularly in the Western one. I met representatives of the Wahhabism even before the Bosnian war. Considering the fact that their origins can be dated back to the second half of the 18 century, one cannot link them to Al-Qa'idah and the mojahedin. They are really a foreign body within Islam, used as tools by Western intelligence services, supported by Jewish money in order to cast a negative light on Islam as an intolerant and radical religion which is a danger to the modern Western civilization," Rifat Veskovic, chairman of the Democratic Union of Muslims-Bosniaks, has told Vijesti.

According to him, Wahhabis are recruited among those who are not very fond of work and are "willing to be paid a few hundred euros every month by their bosses in order to disseminate anti-Islam propaganda that harms greatly all members of this religion, no matter where they might be".

"The Wahhabis are not basing their activities on Islam as the most modern religion, but on retrograde positions, returning to the very roots of this religious movement and its most radical goals. Not a single manifestation of the Wahhabi movement is aimed at following messenger Mohammed A.S. and his teachings. The Wahhabis are operating according to a pyramidal organization, both institutionally and in any other way. The pinnacle of the pyramid is located in some Western centres of power and our young men in their short trousers and with their trimmed beards, our women wrapped and covered, turned into modern slaves - are not aware of this," Veskovic said, adding that the Wahhabis "are not, at least for the time being, dangerous fundamentalists".

"If those who surround them, both clerics and laymen, do not oppose them most determinedly, they could be dangerous tomorrow. I fear that we see them as more harmless than they are and that we underestimate their role and intentions. The Wahhabis are leaving the phase of passive Islam learning behind and entering the phase of direct clashes with those who do not agree with them," Veskovic concluded.

Senad Agic, main imam of the USA Islamic community, also describes the Wahhabism as a rigid interpretation of Islam, "a militant one, which rejects any new thing and every single thing that enriched the Islamic tradition".

Back in 2001 Agic was warning Bosniak officials that a failure to take action against the Wahhabis could cost them their lives. He says that the Wahhabis are an organized religious sect which originates from Saudi Arabia and spreads its influence by financing new mosques with oil money.

Attacked imam in mosque

According to Veskovic there are many cases of clerics and believers being attacked in many municipalities of Sandzak [area straddling the Montenegro-Serbian border with a significant Muslim population]. "They have to be faced first by leaders and believers of Islam and then by all those in the area. This had to be done through a direct dialogue and confrontation of arguments for and against the Wahhabism as a faction of Islam, i.e. as a phenomenon that causes grievous harm to the member this religion. If none of these attempts is successful and if they fail to restrain and prevent this bad Islamic trend then the force of state can be applied," Veskovic pointed out. Last year in Bijelo Polje [town in northern Montenegro] there were two cases of Wahhabis attacking Islam priests. The first cases happened in May, when an imam was attacked in the local centre of Lozna during a divine service. Before that groups of young men with beards started with provocations during funerals, asking that the service be held according to some new method of theirs. After "the close encounter" with the Wahhabis the imam had to be treated in the Bijelo Polje hospital and the police identified the attackers. We do not know whether they were punished for their actions. A similar case happened in the Rasovo mosque, where a Wahhabi, after being warned that he was disrupting the religious service, attacked the imam in front of the mosque after it was over.

Wahhabis' house rules

No man, barring the father, brothers or the husband, is allowed to see the face of Wahhabi's wife. When a Vijesti female journalist visited the family house of a Wahabi, she and her driver were very cordially received by the head of the household. His wife was in an adjoining room the whole the time and she was knocking every time when she wanted to give prepared food to the husband. After the guests were offered coffee, juice, cakes, black currant and mulberry fruit just picked for that occasion, the husband invited the driver to join him outside so his wife can enter the room and talk to the journalist. The husband returned soon and the guest remained outside to wait. They explained that this kind of Islam behaviour is based on the need to protect the women. "You never know when a passion between a man and a woman can be born and what can arouse it - woman's face, eyes, hair or any other part of her body. She needs to guard her beauty and reveal it only to her husband. Due to these reasons a woman and a man who is not her brother, father or husband can never be together in the same room," the husband explained

2006-11-08T14:50:00.001-05:00

Ramzan Kadyrov has taken part in the inauguration of a large trade centre opened thanks to the entrepreneur brothers Yakhikhadzhiyev. Cutting off a red tape, Kadyrov said that the present opening is a good example of successful investment in Chechnya.

Later a representative delegation took part in the opening of a new kindergarten, intended for 180 children, in the town of Gudermes. "Gudermes is becoming more and more beautiful by the day. We will remove old buildings and build new ones. And then it won't be Chechnya looking up to Europe, but the other way round - it'll be Europe looking up to Chechnya," Kadyrov added. (Groznyy Radio, "Novosti" 1700 gmt, 5 Oct 06)

2006-11-08T14:16:00.001-05:00

Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov has again spoken in favour of polygamy. According to statistics, he said, women in the republic are 30,000 more than men.

"The arithmetic is quite simple. If every man marries only one woman, what will the remaining 30,000 women do? They also want to have a family and raise children," Kadyrov said. The prime minister believes that every well-to-do Chechen must have two or three wives. In this way, he will protect those women and provide them with good life.

"But the wish of a woman should also be taken into account. She must decide if she will be reconciled to this situation or not," Kadyrov said. He added that he has one wife for the time being, but he may have a second one should there be a good candidate. (Groznyy-Inform, 28 Sep 06)

Albania: Daily Reveals Turkish Plane Hijacker's Letter to Pope, Praying For Help

2006-11-08T12:46:00.001-05:00

Tirana Gazeta Shqiptare in Albanian 04 Oct 06 p 3

[Unattributed report: "Letter Addressed to Pope From Tirana"]

"Dear Pope, I am called Hakan Ekinci. I am a Christian and do not want to do military service in a Muslim army. I ask you, as the head of Christians, to help me.

"I go to church ever since 1998 and have found the right path in Jesus. As is known, Turkey forces immigrants to convert to Muslims and my family was forced to take on the Turkish identity.

"When I was born in 1978, I had the word 'Muslim' written in my documents without being asked. In the schools of the Turkish Republic, everybody is forced to learn the Islamic ethics and the tenets of the Islamic faith, because the teaching of no other religion is allowed. While I was a student in Izmir, my teachers often punished me for my lack of interest in religious lessons. With the assistance of a friend of mine, I started going to church in Izmir. In 1999, I was baptized and became a Christian. In the past, my Macedonian forefathers were forced to change their faith under the threat of the sword. In my country I had not the right to be a Christian, either. In 1998, I was called up. I had to comply and went to the army. Thanks to Jesus' help, after 18 days I was dismissed on health grounds. Unfortunately, the devil played a trick on me in the devil's country. Regardless of my protests, I had to do military service in a Muslim army. I did what I was not supposed to do and deserted. I resisted and struggled, tried to explain my situation to my commanders, but they did not listen to me and shut me up in jail. I have suffered great pain and suffering for being a Christian. In 2005, I succeeded in having myself released from the Gumussuyu military hospital on a six months' leave and fled abroad. I went to Albania, another Muslim country, in order to obtain a visa. This Muslim country, however, entertains good relations with Turkey and may extradite me to that country. Help me, Pope... [ellipsis as published throughout] I do not want to live in a Muslim country, nor can I breathe in a Muslim city. Only you, Holy Father, can save me. That is why I am addressing myself to you. I pray you to help me in the name of Christianity and of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. I hope you will lend me a helping hand. I affectionately kiss your hands..."

2006-10-23T15:16:00.000-04:00

Искусствоведы в черном

// Погром в галерее Марата Гельмана был хорошо подготовлен

ГАЗЕТА КОММЕРСАНТЪ № 198/П (№ 3529) от 23.10.2006, ПН

В центре Москвы было совершено нападение на арт-галерею Марата Гельмана. Неизвестные срывали со стен и топтали выставленные в галерее работы художника и архитектора, уроженца Грузии Александра Джикии, а также избили самого галериста. По основной версии следствия, нападение совершили националисты. Их акция могла быть вызвана не только выставкой картин художника с грузинской фамилией, но и историей с задержанием на таможне произведения с изображением Осамы бен Ладена, Джорджа Буша и Владимира Путина, которое господин Гельман продал английскому галеристу.

Нападение было совершено в субботу днем. С десяток молодых людей, одетых в черные вязаные шапки, черные куртки и высокие черные ботинки армейского типа, ворвались в помещение галереи на улице Малая Полянка, 7/7, строение 5. В этот момент галерея была закрыта для посетителей, а внутри находились лишь несколько сотрудников и сам Марат Гельман.
Марат Гельман создал одну из первых частных художественных галерей в Москве (ныне Галерея Гельмана) в 1990 году. Однако многие проекты галериста носили политический характер – например, выставка 1996 года "Компромат" или проект 2005 года "Россия-2", призывающий художников создать "параллельный" позитивный имидж страны. В начале 1997 года был одним из организаторов кампании против установки в Москве памятника Петру I работы Зураба Церетели. В 1995 году пытался баллотироваться в Госдуму по списку блока "Поколение рубежа", вместе с Глебом Павловским был совладельцем Фонда эффективной политики, оказывал имиджмейкерские услуги Александру Лебедю и другим политикам. В 1999 году руководил предвыборным штабом Союза правых сил на парламентских выборах. С июня 2002 до декабря 2003 года был заместителем генерального директора ОРТ, курировал аналитическую дирекцию и PR-службу. Параллельно в качестве политтехнолога работал над проектом новой левой партии.
Нападавшие, разбившись на несколько групп, разбежались по помещениям галереи. Одни молча сорвали со стен и растоптали 40 работ грузинского художника Александра Джикии. Другая группа разгромила офис галериста, повредив мебель, всю оргтехнику и городской телефон. Сотрудников галереи нападавшие поставили лицом к стене, отобрали у них мобильные телефоны и разбили их. В одном из офисных помещений нападавшие избили и самого галериста. Его повалили на пол и били ногами. Одной из сотрудниц галереи удалось сбежать и вызвать милицию. Однако когда подъехали оперативники, нападавшие уже скрылись. Врачи 1-й городской больницы зафиксировали у Марата Гельмана сотрясение мозга, перелом носа, а также множественные ссадины на лице и теле.
Как рассказал Ъ сам господин Гельман, погромщики действовали "без истерии" и выглядели не как "хулиганы или фанатики", а как "профи, бойцы". Как пояснил галерист, выставочные помещения оборудованы системой видеонаблюдения, но в момент погрома она была отключена: в этот день галерея не работала и посетителей никто не ожидал. По той же причине там не было и охраны. Сам господин Гельман появился в галерее утром, чтобы дать интервью информационному агентству Reuters. Поводом для интервью стал инцидент, происшедший в прошлую пятницу. Английский коллекционер и галерист Мэтью Боун был задержан на таможне аэропорта Шереметьево-2 с произведениями группы художников "Синие носы", приобретенными им в галерее господина Гельмана. 9 ноября господин Боун собирается открыть выставку российских художников в своей галерее в Лондоне. Подозрения таможенников вызвали несколько произведений, но особенно картина из серии "Маски-шоу", представляющая сидящих на диване трех мужчин в семейных трусах и картонных масках Осамы бен Ладена, Джорджа Буша и Владимира Путина. Таможня задержала работу, решив, что она нарушает 130-ю статью УК ("Оскорбление должностных лиц"), и сняла английского галериста с рейса. После бесед с таможенниками галерист в тот же день улетел в Лондон, а работа осталась в Шереметьево. В Галерее Гельмана говорят, что речь идет о недоразумении и работа должна быть выдана им сегодня, после того как сотрудникам таможни будут предъявлены каталоги выставок, на которых работа уже демонстрировалась.
Таможенный скандал и предстоящее интервью с иностранными журналистами господин Гельман подробно описал в своем интернет-дневнике, доступ на который открыт для всех пользователей интернета.
По словам господина Гельмана, погромщики появились в галерее через пятнадцать минут после того, как ушли журналисты. По мнению галериста, нападавшие могли вычислить день его появления в галерее по дате назначенного интервью в его интернет-дневнике, а время они узнали у сотрудников галереи. В тот день не представлявшиеся люди неоднократно звонили с вопросами, когда появится господин Гельман.
Марат Гельман не связывает погром с национальностью художника Джикия, поскольку его выставка совершенно спокойно прошла в галерее Artplay (картины Александра Джикия выставлялись там до 15 октября). Не связывает он нападение и напрямую с задержанием английского галериста. "Скорее всего этот неожиданно возникший сюжет (огласка в СМИ таможенного скандала –Ъ) подтолкнул националистов осуществить давно задуманное",– предполагает господин Гельман.
По данным одного из авторов группы "Синие носы", Александра Шабурова, таможню насторожила не столько работа с изображением Владимира Путина, сколько произведение, изображающее шахидку с развевающейся, как у Мэрилин Монро на известной фотографии, юбкой. Историю же с президентом Путиным как он считает, раздули западные СМИ, "которые по-прежнему думают, что в России бродят белые медведи, за каждым из которых идут пять агентов КГБ". Сам художник не думает, что работа из серии "Маски-шоу" оскорбляет достоинство президента. "Она о том, что наша частная жизнь подменяется медиа, что в России, как и во всем информационном обществе, фигуры из телевизора становятся ближе, чем наши реальные соседи и знакомые. Это просто констатация факта. Конечно, здесь есть юмор и взгляд со стороны,– считает художник Шабуров.– Но нельзя же это приравнять к оскорблению".
По поводу нападения, господин Шабуров согласился с предположениями самого потерпевшего. "Половина преступлений у нас происходит потому, что люди общаются с неподобающими компаниями. А интернет – как раз то место, где ты постоянно тусуешься с людьми, с которыми бы никогда не стал общаться в реальной жизни – там же полно всяких экстремистов и просто больных. В интернете все видят и знают своих врагов и открыто друг друга ненавидят",– считает один из "синих носов". Постоянными читателями интернет-странички Гельмана, по словам господина Шабурова, являются не только его друзья, но и его идейные противники, с которыми галерист до недавнего времени дебатировал только посредством интернета.
ИРИНА Ъ-КУЛИК, АНДРЕЙ Ъ-САЛЬНИКОВ

2006-10-23T13:35:00.000-04:00

Израиль не признал Романа Абрамовича

// в качестве посла доброй воли Владимира Путина

ГАЗЕТА КОММЕРСАНТЪ № 196 (№ 3527) от 19.10.2006, ЧТ

Вчера президент России Владимир Путин встретился с премьер-министром Израиля Эхудом Ольмертом, выразил искреннее сочувствие израильскому президенту Моше Кацаву, оказавшемуся в трудной ситуации после упреков со стороны общественности в серийных изнасилованиях, а также предложил услуги бизнесмена Романа Абрамовича в выселении израильского суда с территории Русского подворья в Иерусалиме. Идею братской помощи, впрочем, израильская сторона не поддержала, зато, как с тревогой отметил специальный корреспондент Ъ АНДРЕЙ Ъ-КОЛЕСНИКОВ, намекнула на новый виток гонки вооружений.

Израильтяне привезли в Москву большую делегацию переговорщиков и журналистов. За столом в Представительском кабинете сначала не хватило места даже послу Израиля в России Аркади Мил-Ману, но он очень просил, чтобы его сделали участником переговорного процесса хотя бы в качестве переводчика. Российский протокол в конце концов согласился, и его как переводчика пометили в списке участников российско-израильских переговоров, который я видел собственными глазами.
Впрочем, когда участники встречи сели за стол и господин Путин попросил каждого представиться, Аркади Мил-Ман неожиданно сказал, что он – посол Государства Израиль в Российской Федерации (а не переводчик) и тем самым, как считают сотрудники российского протокола, подвел их, потому что участие послов во встрече не было предусмотрено (посол России в Израиле в Кремль вчера вообще не приехал).
Остальные переговорщики были, кажется, неприятно удивлены, что им надо публично представляться (господин Путин к тому же предупредил, что надо делать это по кругу, слева направо). Они не делали этого так давно (а может, и вовсе никогда), что, отвечая, по-моему, на ходу, лихорадочно вспоминали, кто же они такие.
Леонид Рейман, сидевший вторым по счету после настоящего дипломированного российского переводчика Алексея Дробинина, сказал, что он – "министр по связи" (и не сказал, что и "по информации" тоже).
– И мой друг! – зато добавил премьер-министр Израиля.
Затем помощником президента России, поколебавшись, представился Сергей Приходько. Он, кажется, хотел добавить, каким именно помощником президента работает в Кремле (вообще-то помощников у господина Путина хоть отбавляй), но тут президент России показал на господина Дробинина и предложил сначала высказаться ему. Алексей Дробинин сделал это безукоризненно. И тогда Леонид Рейман решил, наверное, что будет лучше (прежде всего для него) представиться во второй раз. После него это сделал и неутомимый господин Приходько.
Часовая стрелка дошла до секретаря Совбеза Игоря Иванова.
– Иванов,– сказал он и умолк, считая, очевидно, что этого более чем достаточно.
Между тем прозвучало это как минимум самонадеянно.
– Да, действительно, Ивановых у нас не так много,– сказал господин Путин.
Если уж на то пошло, то за этим столом был вообще только один Иванов. Но именно ему следовало все-таки представиться: если не ошибаюсь, далеко не все из присутствующих в Представительском кабинете знали, что за должность у этого человека, который когда-то служил министром иностранных дел России (даже это, уверен, знали не все).
Не представляться мог позволить себе, допустим, Сергей Лавров, но именно он сделал это исчерпывающе.
Израильтяне с недоумением наблюдали за этой поразительной процедурой, аналогов которой в дипломатической практике еще не было. Впрочем, и они, попереглядывавшись, сделали это (тогда-то и отличился Аркади Мил-Ман).
В результате вообще не представился за столом только один человек. Это был Владимир Путин.
Он, правда, сказал:
– Шалом!
В своей короткой речи президент России вспомнил, что со времени его последней встречи с премьер-министром Израиля (тогда это был Ариэль Шарон, которого Владимир Путин вспомнил добрым тихим словом) прошли полтора года, которые вместили в себя очень драматичные события (о них, видимо, и предстояло поговорить).
Эхуд Ольмерт рассказал, что Ариэль Шарон очень ценил отношения с Владимиром Путиным, и припомнил их встречу в Иерусалиме.
– Я был тогда на обеде,– на всякий случай сказал он, ибо у господина Ольмерта не было, конечно, никакой уверенности в том, что Владимир Путин его на этом обеде запомнил.– И я помню те важные вещи, которые вы говорили, и я помню о вашем личном обязательстве, что никогда больше отношения России со странами Ближнего Востока не будут односторонними. Я очень ценю эти слова.
Господин Ольмерт тем самым дал понять, что обязательство господина Путина считается в силе.
Владимир Путин после этого, очевидно, решил, что микрофоны выключены (пресса уже покидала зал) и произнес следующее:
– Привет передайте своему президенту! Оказался очень мощный мужик! Десять женщин изнасиловал! Я никогда не ожидал от него! Он нас всех удивил! Мы все ему завидуем!
Это именно тот случай, когда не веришь своим ушам. Господин Путин, разумеется, хотел морально поддержать господина Ольмерта, оказавшегося благодаря президенту Моше Кацаву в трудной ситуации. Еще больше, видимо, господин Путин хотел бы поддержать самого господина Кацава, но тот не присутствовал за столом переговоров – даже в качестве переводчика.
Переговоры в закрытом режиме продолжались около трех часов. По информации Ъ, российская сторона сама подняла на них вопрос об утечке вооружения, которое РФ поставляет Сирии, в умелые руки активистов "Хезболлы", так успешно воевавшей против Израиля еще и потому, что в распоряжении ее активистов были российского производства пусковые установки с тепловизорами, противотанковые системы "Корнет-Э", "Конкурс-М", "Фагот", "Метис-М", РПГ-29. Российские противотанковые комплексы вообще зарекомендовали себя в этой войне безотказно, и считается, что именно благодаря им не ожидавшие такого технологичного сопротивления израильтяне потеряли много танков. Израильтяне даже демонстрировали российским специалистам образцы этой техники с хорошо заметными заводскими номерами.
Высокопоставленный источник Ъ в российской делегации сообщил, что израильтяне вчера не спрашивали россиян о неприятном, но наши переговорщики посчитали своим долгом уже не в первый раз проинформировать их о том, что после тщательной проверки в Москве выяснилось: да, такое вооружение могло попасть в руки боевиков "Хезболлы", но через вторые руки, от нечестных офицеров вооруженных сил Сирии, в тот момент, когда в 2005 году сирийцы поспешно и бессистемно выходили из Ливана.
Но главное, подчеркнул источник Ъ, вчера израильтянам были продемонстрированы документы, доказывающие, что еще большей популярностью у "Хезболлы" пользуется американское и даже израильское оружие, а российское по частоте, так сказать, употребления находится далеко не на первом месте.
Впрочем, как показалось, израильтян эта тема вообще не очень заинтересовала. Не проявили они энтузиазма и в обсуждении другой темы, способной, впрочем, пленить читателей Ъ. Речь идет о Сергиевском подворье в Иерусалиме (так называемом Русском подворье). В зданиях, принадлежащих русской Духовной миссии, уже давно с комфортом расположился израильский суд, и руководство Израиля много лет не понимает, где найти денег на его переселение. По информации Ъ, господин Путин неожиданно предложил доверить решение этого вопроса одному российскому бизнесмену, который в состоянии найти выход из тупика.
Речь идет о Романе Абрамовиче. Он, по мнению российских переговорщиков, может помочь купить суду новое помещение в хорошем месте и предложит свои услуги в переселении судейских. Было сказано, что российский бизнесмен может приехать в Иерусалим с хорошими полномочиями. Впрочем, Эхуд Ольмерт дал понять, что хотел бы удержать переговорный процесс по этому делу в государственных рамках, и решить вопрос наиболее эффективным способом (то есть так, как у нас привыкли) не удалось.
В заявлениях для прессы, которые оба лидера сделали после переговоров, они, разумеется, не говорили обо всем этом. Господин Ольмерт рассказывал, как его беспокоит иранская тема.
– Мы не можем позволить себе,– говорил он,– чтобы Иран овладел разрушительными видами вооружений. Израиль никогда не смирится с такой ситуацией. Если лидер Ирана заявляет, что он сделает все, чтобы уничтожить нашу страну, мы должны подготовиться к этому.
То есть израильская военщина начинает новый виток гонки вооружений.

2006-10-13T16:42:00.000-04:00

CEP20061003950282 (Internet) Kavkaz-Tsentr News Agency WWW-Text in Russian 1900 GMT 02 Oct 06

Six Russian troops reportedly killed in Chechnya

Excerpt from report by Kavkaz-Tsentr news agency website

2 October: A mobile group of mojahedin attacked occupiers' positions in Zavodskoy district of Dzhokhar [Groznyy] on the night of 1 October, a source in the Chechen command has said. Two aggressors were killed and at least four were wounded in the attack. A checkpoint in the city's Staropromyslovskiy district was attacked on the same night. According to radio interceptions, three infidels [referring to Russian troops] were wounded.

A mobile group of mojahedin attacked a patrol unit of infidels in Zavodskoy district of the capital on the night of 2 October. There are no casualties among the mojahedin.

[Passage omitted: a report from Russian sources]

The Chechen sources also reported that an air strike was carried out on Chechnya's Vedenskiy District on the night of 1 October. A few bombs were presumably dropped near the village of Zhanni-Vedeno.

Also an artillery strike was carried out on the forest area near [the village of] Avtury on the night of 1 October. There is no information about casualties among civilians.

The mojahedin detained two collaborators in Dzhokhar's Zhukovskiy street on 2 October, Daymohk news agency quoted the headquarters of the Staro-Sunzhenskiy sabotage group as saying. After the seizure of weapons and IDs, the national traitors were shot dead.

[Description of Source: (Internet) Kavkaz-Tsentr News Agency WWW-Text in Russian -- Chechen website reportedly close to rebel leader Udugov; located at www.kavkazcenter.com

2006-10-13T15:04:00.000-04:00

Terrorism: Lions of Islam Group Announces Its Formation in "The Land of the Wicked"
On 27 September, a jihadist website carried a message from the media division of The Lions of Islam Group, in which the Group announces its formation, through a seven-minute and 26-second video. It is not clear in which country the Group is forming and getting training, but in the message the country is referred to as the land of the infidels.

A translation of the statement follows:
"In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
Praise be to God, the supporter of Islam and the Muslims, and prayers and peace be upon the imam of the mujahidin, and the leader of the noble fighters, and upon all his family and companions.
[Koranic verse omitted]
Good news for the Muslim brothers in the countries of the infidels. A new group, The Lions of Islam Group, has been formed, and has already inflicted damage on the occupying infidels in the Land of the Two Rivers. With the will of God, and the help of the mujahidin recruits, our determination and power against the cunning infidels will increase. We shall weaken them and defeat them, God willing.
God is great. God is great.
Honor belongs to God, His messenger and the mujahidin.
[Links to the video]
The Media Division
The Lions of Islam Group"

Description of video:
The video begins with a Koranic verse, followed by images of wounded and dead children and civilians. The song in the background promises, "They are coming." The text of the above written statement, announcing the formation of the group appears on the screen. Next, six masked men are shown standing in an area sparsely populated with trees. The men stand in front of a black flag on which the name of the group, "The Lions of Islam in the Land of the Wicked," appears.
A man in white garb standing in the middle of the armed men begins to read the statement of the group. His accent sounds Egyptian. After offering his salutations and quoting a verse from the Koran, he announces, "Brothers in faith. We bring to you the good news of the formation of the new group, "The Army of Islam in the Land of the Wicked [as published]", which, God willing, is a tiny step toward raising the voice of jihad in the lands of the infidels, and planting the love for jihad in the hearts of the Muslims in the lands of the infidels."
The unidentified masked man begins to read the goals of the group:
"1-Cleanse the lands of the Muslims in Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan, Kashmir, and others from the filthiness of the Crusaders and the Jews.
2- Provide our mujahidin brothers in the Land of the Two Rivers with every possible means, and support them with money, supplies, and weapons to silence the word of the infidels and lift the word of the believers.
3- Look for mujahidin with sincere intentions, train them in carrying weapons and fighting the infidels, and send them to the lands of the Muslims to support our mujahidin brothers there."
The scene shifts to the training field where these men are receiving military training. As part of the training, we see the same six men running toward an old bus [the make of which could not be identified], and storming in. Simulating an attack, one of them orders the passengers to put their hands up as he storms the bus with the gun in his hand. Another disabled car is seen standing on one side of the bus, which is also used by the men in their training. This practice is followed by a lesson in planting explosives in a vehicle.
Taking us back to the previous scene, the man continues to read the group's statement: "We announce to the world the formation of this group under the leadership of our brother Abu-Umar al-Shishani [the name indicates that the leader is from Chechnya], and call on all the Muslims, especially those who are living in the countries of the infidels, to the following:
"First: To increase their supplication to God Almighty to bring victory to this Army of Islam [Koranic verse omitted] and to bring defeat to the lines of the worshippers of the cross, and to the infidels and hypocrites who support them. And to pray that God drives them [the unbelievers] to fall into the hands of the mujahidin, so that they [the mujahidin] can do with them what God has ordered in His Holy Book.
Second: We call upon all the zealous Muslims living in the lands of the unbelievers, to join us and not to rely on the remoteness of the war from where they are. By God, the One and Only, the Crusaders will swallow you as soon as they finish swallowing the Muslim countries, one after the other. Do not assume that you are free from their craftiness.
Third: To offer every assistance and aid to this new organization to enable it, with God's will, to become a thorn in the throats of the infidels, and a backbreaker in their homeland."
This is followed by an English translation of the goals contained in the verbal statement

2006-10-13T14:14:00.000-04:00

Freed Jordan MP vows jihad against Jews, Americans:

Jordanian MP Muhammad Abu-Faris, one of two Islamist MPs pardoned by King Abdallah after being convicted for offering condolences to the relatives of Iraq's Al-Qa'idah chief Abu-Mus'ab al-Zarqawi, has vowed to continue jihad against Americans and Jews. Parliamentary authorities recommended he be banned from parliament. Speaking on Al-Jazeera, he said: "Enlightening the Ummah and mobilizing it for jihad and combat against the Jews and Americans wherever they occupy Muslim lands is the height of political action. We practiced this when we were MPs; we did so before we became MPs and we will continue to do so when we are out of Parliament." (Al-Jazeera TV 2006gmt 30 Sept)

2006-09-20T11:49:00.000-04:00

On 16 September, a jihadist website posted a statement issued by Jaysh al-Mujahidin [Al-Mujahidin Army] in reaction to the recent statements of Pope Benedict XVI on Islam.
The following is a translation of the statement.
Statement by the Shari'ah Commission of Jaysh al-Mujahidin on the Statements on the Pope of the Vatican
In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
Never will the Jews or the Christians be satisfied with thee unless thou follow their form of religion. Say: "The Guidance of Allah,-that is the (only) Guidance." Wert thou to follow their desires after the knowledge which hath reached thee, then wouldst thou find neither Protector nor helper against Allah. [Koranic verses]
We, and many others, have not been surprised by the statements of the Pope and his attempt to attack and cast doubt on the religion of God, which God accepted for his slaves. God says:
If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah), never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter He will be in the ranks of those who have lost (All spiritual good). [Koranic verses]
The developments that have taken place since the collapse of the Islamic state in Andalusia at the hands of the Crusaders, including the Inquisition, the Crusader wars, the events in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq, have all shown that Zionized Christianity and rancorous Crusaders, who believe in the Trinity and adhere to the myth of the Son of God (High is Allah above what they associate with Him!), are a poisonous dagger and a treacherous sword. Those people, along with their agents and stooges, and world Judaism and all the anti-Islam forces of darkness behind them, have been slaughtering the sons of the creed of monotheism and the bearers of the banner of "there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah." Those people have always been hostile to us and allied with our enemies.
By supporting the Jews in Palestine, this clique managed to settle in the place to which the prophet, God's mercy and blessings be upon him, traveled on his night journey, and its environs. By turning a blind eye to the crimes of the Communists, and in fact helping them, the Muslim people in the land of the Balkan were slaughtered, their honor was violated, and their mosques were destroyed. The calamity that has hit Afghanistan and Iraq these days is the treacherous knife of the cross. So, this is their truth and this is their habit. They antagonize our religion and they respect neither ties of kinship nor covenant. Hatred has already appeared from their mouths, through their Pope. What their hearts conceal is far worse. No wonder if they utter a word or express a position. Had they not been concerned about their interests, the Pope and his priests would have bared their teeth.
Did not Allah check one set of people by means of another, there would surely have been pulled down monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, in which the name of Allah is commemorated in abundant measure. Allah will certainly aid those who aid his (cause);- for verily Allah is full of Strength, Exalted in Might, (able to enforce His Will). [Koranic verses]
They fear the giant of Islam and his might, which they have experienced throughout history.
Thou wilt indeed find them, of all people, most greedy of life,-even more than the idolaters: Each one of them wishes He could be given a life of a thousand years: But the grant of such life will not save him from (due) punishment. For Allah sees well all that they do. [Koranic verses]
The fabricated clamor by the statements of the Pope may be intended to serve many objectives, including leveling accusations at this religion and drawing the attention of laymen to certain suspicions that they raise because they saw how Islam is spreading fast in their countries and many of them are embracing it. We tell the rancorous Pope and others like him:
Fain would they extinguish Allah's light with thei r mouths, but Allah will not allow but that His light should be perfected, even though the Unbelievers may detest (it). [Koranic verses]
We remind him of the tradition of Prophet Muhammad, God's peace and prayer be upon him, when he said: "This matter (Islam) will keep spreading as far as the night and day reach, until Allah will not leave a house made of mud or hair, but will make this religion enter it, while bringing might to a mighty person (a Muslim) and humiliation to a disgraced person (who rejects Islam); might with which Allah elevates Islam (and its people), and disgrace with which Allah humiliates disbelief (and its people)."
In conclusion, we say:
By the Lord of the universe their cross
In the heart of Rome shall be crushed
The soldiers of Muhammad will conquer Rome
By the God of Muhammad this promise will be fulfilled
They shall witness a lethal attack on their Vatican
That will make the Pope and patriarchs cry
God is great. Honor belongs to Allah, His messenger, and the believers.
[Signed] The Shari'ah Commission of Jaysh al-Mujahidin
[Dated] 21 Sha'ban 1427 hegira [corresponding to 14 September]

2006-09-15T13:21:00.000-04:00

Residents of Dagestan are tired of tasteless shows, meaningless humours and asexual creatures who have swamped Russian pop music, the imams of Makhachkala said, when commenting on their list of 20 Russian pop stars who are viewed as personae non grata in Dagestan.

The imam of the central mosque in Makhachkala, Magomed-Rasul Saaduyev, said that the Dagestani board of imams had asked some artists and performers "to seriously think before making trips to Makhachkala".

This "black" list includes such pop singers as Filipp Kirkorov, Sergey Penkin and Boris Moiseyev. Their nontraditional sexual orientation is the reason why Muslim believers do not want to see them in their republic. However, the organizers of concerts do not understand why this list includes such bands as Refleks. Nevertheless, the organizers agreed with the clerical leaders of the republic and cancelled the concerts, including by Refleks, despite financial losses. (RGVK Dagestan, "Vremya Novostey", 1830 gmt, 9 Sep 06)

2006-09-15T11:49:00.000-04:00

Rebel militia leader re-emerges to "declare war" on Georgian forces in Kodori

CEP20060910950075 Tbilisi Imedi TV in Georgian 1700 GMT 10 Sep 06

Rebel militia leader re-emerges to "declare war" on Georgian forces in Kodori

Georgian Imedi TV has broadcast fragments of a 10-minute video statement released by rebel militia leader Emzar Kvitsiani. This is the first new television footage of Kvitsiani shown since 30 July, shortly after the Georgian government deployed forces in the Kodori Gorge to suppress a rebellion by Kvitsiani's once loyal militia. In the video Kvitsiani says he is still in the gorge and has "declared war" on Georgian forces there. The Georgian authorities say that Kvitsiani fled the gorge at the end of July, first to Sukhumi, in separatist-controlled Abkhazia, and then to Russia.

Kvitsiani is shown wearing camouflage and a large crucifix, lit by a single candle, and flanked by armed men. Imedi says Georgian security services refused to comment on the new video, which was delivered anonymously to their offices.

"I would like to warn pilots and officers, I would like to warn those to whom I am close and I know, to leave the Kodori Gorge. I have already declared a hunt for helicopters and police officers.

"I wanted to stop all this but to no avail, because you were bloodthirsty. I think there will soon be oceans of blood in your own families which you will not be able to mop up. Therefore it would be better for women and children to leave the gorge.

"We have declared a war and we are prepared for war. Many volunteers have already contacted us, including from the North Caucasus where the Karachay say they have a 300-year debt to us Svans.

"Free our captives immediately. They are not prisoners, they are captives. Moreover, those lads who were captured were the ones who did not agree with me about the revolt."

The video also included a message for Kvitsiani's sister, Nora, who is currently in custody: "I would like to apologize to my sister, Norachka, for the situation she is currently in. However, I am proud of you Nora. You are the one Georgian heroine. Just wait a little while and I will certainly free you. The only reason I feel sorry for you is that you think I am on the run, but know this: You will soon be freed."

Kvitsiani also defended Irakli Batiashvili, the leader of the Forward Georgia movement who is currently in prison awaiting trial on treason charges. Batiashvili was arrested shortly after the Interior Ministry released recordings of a telephone conversation with Kvitsiani in which he apparently supported his revolt.

"I spoke again to Irakli Batiashvili later on. He phoned me and asked me to reconsider, not do it. Batiashvili begged me not to do it. However, the recording of that conversation seems not to have appeared," Kvitsiani said.

Zurab Samushia, the former leader of the White Eagle pro-Georgian militia, which fought in Abkhazia, told "Droeba" that it would be very difficult for Georgia to fight a partisan war in Kodori. Samushia, who once fought alongside Kvitsiani in the early 1990s, says Kvitsiani's actions are "wrong, but he is not a traitor".

Levan Berdzenishvili, a leading member of the opposition Republican Party, told Imedi that he believes Kvitsiani is being backed by the Russian intelligence services.

"If it were not for the talk about Orthodox Christianity, the crucifix and his other accessories, this would look just like an Al-Qa'idah video. Emzar Kvitsiani seems to be intent on proving that the Georgian government was right when it labelled him a traitor. When he threatens to bring in foreigners from the North Caucasus to fight, is that not treachery? There is no longer any doubt that he is linked to and controlled by Russia," he said.

Berdzenishvili liked Kvitsiani's activities to those of exiled pro-Russian opposition leader Igor Giorgadze, some of whose supporters were arrested on 6 September accused of conspiring to overthrow the government

"It is possible that one of them is run by an FSB major, while the other is run by an FSB colonel - their offices are probably next to each other and they are competing," Berdzenishvili said, referring to Kvitsiani and Giorgadze."

[Description of Source: Tbilisi Imedi TV in Georgian -- Commercial TV station owned by a group of investors led by Georgian-born fugitive Russian businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili. The company's website (www.imedi.ge) claims that their broadcasts reach "about 75 percent" of the country's population.]

2006-09-15T11:26:00.000-04:00

GMP20060908342026 Jihadist Websites -- OSC Report in Arabic 08 Sep 06

Terrorism: Participant Posts Russian Video Game Showing Suicide Operations, Beheading of American

On 3 September, a jihadist website posted a message with links to a Russian video game about suicide and military operations aimed at children. The participant praised the video and asked viewers to "spread this wonderful technological achievement around." The 15-minute, 3-second video had Russian captions and a song in Arabic and posted the horrific picture of Mr. Burg, an American who was killed and beheaded two years ago in Iraq.

A translation of the message and a description of the video follow:

"Peace and God's blessings be upon you dear brothers in Islam.

[Koranic verse omitted]

Praise be to God. Peace and prayers be upon the prophet of God.

Brothers in Islam, I brought you an unexpected cartoon film [video game] about the operations of suicide, sniping, and fierce battles against the infidels as strange as it sounds.

All you have to do is load this wonderful technological achievement and thank God.

I think when your son watches this film, he will ask you for a suicide operation or say find me a way to go with them.

Listen to what my son says, objecting to his mother when she runs the flash of the Mecca Sniper film of the mujahidin in Iraq. With God's blessings, he is only two and half years old and I am mixed up.

Peace be upon you, the best of prophets, Muhammad, his family, and companions."

A description of the video follows:

The 15-minute, 3-second video starts with a picture of a young man covering his face and holding the head of Mr. Burg, an American who was killed two years ago in Baghdad. A caption follows in Russian with the green flag of Saudi Arabia in the background. A Saudi jihadist song is played along with the Russian game which lasts for 15 minutes before it ends the same way it starts. The game itself is very violent and consists of shootings, sniping, and other attacks.

2006-08-01T20:37:00.000-04:00

31/7/2006

"Мемориал": помощник премьера Чечни выставил на всеобщее обозрение голову своего врага

"28 июля 2006 года сотрудникам ПЦ "Мемориал" позвонил волонтер и сообщил, что в центре с. Курчалой висит отрезанная человеческая голова. Выехавшие на следующий день в Курчалой сотрудники "Мемориала" увидели в центре села рядом со шлагбаумом, у поста сотрудников Курчалоевского РОВД, на газопроводной трубе вывешенные окровавленные камуфляжные брюки. На трубе были видны следы крови", - говорится в заявлении.

"Ночью 27 июля около 24 часов на западной окраине с. Курчалой два боевика напоролись на засаду, организованную сотрудниками местных силовых структур. Завязался бой, в результате которого один из боевиков был убит, а второй пленен. Затем около 20 легковых автомашин подъехали к центру села, где находятся административные здания РОВД, и вооруженные люди установили на газовой трубе голову убитого боевика, а под ней повесили его брюки. Жители ближайших домов видели эту картину и опознали, что голова принадлежала местному жителю Душаеву Хож-Ахмеду Умаровичу", - сообщают правозащитники со ссылкой на местных жителей и сотрудников правоохранительных органов.

"Руководил всем этим средневековым действом помощник Председателя Правительства Гаибов Идрис Абдулаевич. Жители ближайших домов слышали, как Гаибов звонил Рамзану Кадырову и доложил, что они убили "черта" №1" из Курчалоя и вывесили его голову ("чертями" они называют ваххабитов). Силовики провели у публично выставленной отрезанной головы больше двух часов, снимая на фотокамеры в мобильниках и видеокамеры эту жуткую картину. Утром следующего дня сотрудники Курчалоевского РОВД сняли человеческую голову с трубы, но окровавленные брюки остались висеть", - сообщают сотрудники Правозащитного центра "Мемориал".

Подъехав к месту гибели боевиков, сотрудники "Мемориала" увидели, что там уже работали оперативники из МВД и сотрудники прокуратуры. По словам местных жителей, туда же доставили труп убитого боевика. На теле была голова - ее зачем-то пришили к обезглавленному трупу. Местные жители перед этим слышали, как один из милицейских офицеров спрашивал своего подчиненного, закончили уже там пришивать голову? По имеющийся у ПЦ "Мемориал" информации, плененный боевик - это житель села Автуры Шалинского района Адам Бадаев. Обезглавленный Душаев был командиром группы, а Адам - его заместителем.

"Можно предполагать, что глумление Индриса Гаибова над телом Дашаева было своеобразным актом мести. Согласно некоторым источникам, именно Дашаев ранее, 10 июня, убил и обезглавил племянника Идриса Гаибова, Адама Гаибова", - гворится в заявлении правозащитников.

"В прошлом году, в сентябре, мы сообщали о похожем случае. Тогда кадыровцы выставили голову убитого ими боевика в селе Цоцин-Юрт. Теперь очевидно, что почин рядовых "борцов с терроризмом" одобрен на высшем уровне", - резюмируют сотрудники "Мемориала".

2006-07-27T15:11:00.000-04:00

Страсбургский суд удовлетворил иск матери пропавшего в Чечне Хаджимурата Яндиева против России, по сути, признав, что чеченец был расстрелян по приказу генерала Александра Баранова. Суд постановил, что тем самым Россия нарушила право человека на жизнь. Это первое международное решение по делу об исчезновениях людей в Чечне.

В четверг Европейский суд по правам человека признал российское государство виновным в нарушении фундаментального права человека – «права на жизнь». Решение принято по делу Хаджимурата Яндиева, 25-летнего чеченца, пропавшего без вести в 2000 году при чрезвычайно трагических обстоятельствах.

В деле, которое рассматривал Страсбургский суд, фигурировала уникальная видеозапись, которая в итоге и доказала, что чеченец был казнен без суда и следствия по приказу высокопоставленного офицера российской арми

История исчезновения Яндиева была уникальной с самого начала. Как уже рассказывала «Газета.Ru», в августе 1999 года он бросил учебу в университете и уехал в Чечню, как утверждает мать, для того, чтобы найти своего отца. Осенью 1999 года в Чечне начались боевые действия, так называемая «вторая кампания». После захвата Грозного федеральными войсками в конце января – начале февраля 2000 года большая группа чеченских боевиков пыталась прорваться из города в сторону гор. Многие из них подорвались на минах и лечились, как, например, Шамиль Басаев, в больнице села Алхан-Кала, которое было захвачено российскими войсками в первые дни февраля 2000 года.

2 февраля 2000 года Базоркина увидела своего сына в телевизионных новостях. Его показывали в сюжете о плененных в районе Алхан-Калы боевиках. Никаких деталей о том, что с ними случилось, не было. Базоркина стала искать эту видеозапись. В итоге она раздобыла видеокассету, запись на которой сделал репортер CNN, который вошел в село вместе с федералами.

На ее сыне была камуфляжная униформа, а правая ступня была обернута в полиэтиленовый пакет. Яндиев стоял возле автобуса с ранеными, солдаты дважды ударили его в больную ногу, отчего он вздрогнул. Офицер с генеральскими погонами, допрашивавший Яндиева, закончил его следующей фразой: «Уведите его к черту, прикончите его, дерьмо. Вот и весь приказ… Давай уведи его, прикончи, пристрели к черту…».

С тех пор Яндиева никто не видел, и информации о его судьбе не поступало. Скандальный сюжет на российском телевидении тоже, конечно же, не демонстрировался.

Автор видеозаписи позднее приехал к Базоркиной в Ингушетию и опознал допрашивающего офицера как генерал-полковника Александра Баранова, командовавшего воинским подразделением, занявшим село Алхан-Кала.

Александр Баранов спустя месяц после описываемого эпизода стал и. о. начальника штаба ОГВ в Чечне, а в июне 2000 года получил от президента Владимира Путина награду Героя России. Позже он руководил войсками Приволжско-Уральского военного округа. Летом 2004 года Баранов был назначен командующим Северо-Кавказским военным округом и занимает эту должность до сих пор. Уголовного преследования Баранова никогда не было

Базоркина быстро выяснила, что в российских тюрьмах ее сына нет, и обратилась в военную прокуратуру. Однако в возбуждении уголовного дела ей отказали, поскольку «тело Яндиева не было найдено, а из видеозаписи не следует, что он был убит, на ней нет таких фактов». В декабре 2000 года военный прокурор, который вел дело, постановил, что военные не несут ответственность за действия, заснятые на пленке. В июле 2001 года в связи с тем, что два человека дали показания следствию, расследование уголовного дела о похищении Яндиева вновь началось, но в феврале 2004 года было закрыто. Базоркина ждать итогов следствия не стала, и еще в апреле 2001 года обратилась в Европейский суд по правам человека. 15 сентября 2005 года ее жалоба была принята к рассмотрению, более того – ей был дан статус приоритетной (то есть жалоба должна была быть рассмотрена в максимально краткие сроки). Базоркина предъявила России обвинения сразу по шести статьям Европейской конвенции по правам человека. По мнению матери пропавшего, российские власти нарушили в отношении ее сына статьи 2 (право на жизнь), 3 (запрещение пыток), 5 (право на свободу и личную неприкосновенность), 6 (право на справедливое судебное разбирательство), 8 (право на уважение частной и семейной жизни) и 13 (право на эффективное средство правовой защиты).

Это было первое дело против России по факту исчезновения людей в Чечне, потому приговор, вынесенный в четверг, носит безусловно прецедентный характер.

Во-первых, суд признал РФ виновной в нарушении права человека на жизнь. Во-вторых, Россия также виновна в нарушении запрета на незаконное лишение свободы и отказе в эффективном расследовании по факту исчезновения человека. То есть по трем пунктам обвинения суд с Базоркиной согласился.

По решению Страсбургского суда, Россия обязана выплатить Базоркиной 35 тысяч евро за негуманное обращение с нею, «выраженное в атмосфере неопределенности судьбы ее сына».

«Я надеюсь, что теперь российские власти приложат все усилия, чтобы выяснить правду о судьбе моего сына, и предадут правосудию тех, кто ответственен за это (его пропажу. – «Газета.Ru»)», – заявила Базоркина после оглашения решения.

По сути решения суда, российские власти теперь должны будут сделать все возможное и для расследования других дел о пропаже людей, иначе, опираясь на прецедент, в Страсбург может хлынуть поток подобных исков. Всего, по подсчетам российских правозащитников, в Чечне с 1999 года пропало от 3 до 5 тысяч человек. Исполнительный директор «Правовой инициативы в России» Оле Солванг заявил, что «решение суда имеет огромное значение для сотен лежащих в Европейском суде дел по исчезновению чеченцев».

Впрочем, на деле Россия сегодняшним решением суда ни к чему не принуждается, потому что прямого действия вердикт не имеет.

Замруководителя правозащитной организации «Комитет против пыток» Ольга Садовская напомнила, что «в России уже есть так называемый «налог на пытки». Налог заключается в том, что «Российская Федерация выплачивает компенсации за нарушения статьи 3 (Европейской конвенции о запрете пыток. – «Газета.Ru»), но ничего не делает для изменения законодательства». «Видимо, точно так же может быть введен и «налог на исчезновения», а реально едва ли что-то изменится», – считает Садовская. В свою очередь, глава российского отделения международной комиссии юристов «Центр содействия международной защите» Каринна Москаленко верит, что нынешнее решение суда поможет хотя бы обратить всеобщее внимание на проблему похищений. «Есть очень много исчезновений, которые не расследуются, и на этот прецедент все очень внимательно будут смотреть. Коль скоро государство не обеспечивает эффективного расследования, то это тоже нарушение прав человека. Наступит момент, когда государству даже материально будет выгоднее соблюдать права человека, чем нарушать их. Когда тебя обязывают платить за нарушение права на жизнь, то это значит, что в твоем государстве что-то неладно», – заявила Москаленко «Газете.Ru».

Решение Европейского суда вступит в силу через три месяца, если стороны не обжалуют его в вышестоящей инстанции.

27 ИЮЛЯ 19:16

2006-07-27T14:59:00.000-04:00

26/7/2006
Причиной катастрофы А320 под Сочи названа ошибка экипажа

Причиной гибели самолета А320 авиакомпании "Армавиа" над Черным морем являются неадекватные действия командира экипажа. К такому заключению пришли члены Межгосударственного авиационного комитета (МАК) после подведения итогов расследования гибели армянского лайнера, сообщили в главном управлении гражданской авиации Армении (ГУГА).

В результате расследования стало ясно, что в процессе посадки самолет, находившийся на высоте 340 метров, прекратил снижение и начал осуществлять разворот вправо с одновременным набором высоты, передает РИА "Новости".

В ходе разворота, после короткого набора высоты, командир корабля отключил систему автопилотажа и в условиях полной потери контроля над горизонтальной и вертикальной наклонностями начал сажать самолет. На фоне неадекватных действий командира экипажа полностью отсутствовал контроль над параметрами, необходимыми для осуществления посадки со стороны второго пилота, сообщили в управлении.

Кроме того, выяснилось, что дальнейшие действия экипажа были не скоординированы и недостаточны для вывода самолета из процесса снижения.

Согласно заключению МAК, сбоя двигателей и систем самолета зарегистрировано не было, уровень топлива в баках был достаточен для благоприятного окончания полета.

Межгосударственный авиационный комитет завершил работы по расшифровке записей, зарегистрированных параметрическим самописцем самолета A320, а также синхронизацию бортовых и наземных средств объективного контроля 17 июня.

А320 компании "Армавиа" потерпел катастрофу над Черным морем в ночь на 3 мая при заходе на посадку в аэропорт Адлера. Все находящиеся на борту самолета 113 человек , включая экипаж, погибли.

Напомним, что в ночь на 3 мая недалеко от Сочи потерпел крушение самолет авиакомпании "Армавиа" А-320, совершавший рейс Ереван-Сочи. На его борту находились 113 человек: 8 членов экипажа и 105 пассажиров, в том числе пятеро детей. Все они погибли. На борту разбившегося лайнера находились 26 граждан России.

2006-07-25T14:26:00.000-04:00

A military court has sentenced warrant officer V.G. Chernomaz to 10 years in prison for killing a resident of the village of Dyshne-Vedeno southeast of Groznyy, Ayub Salatkhanov, in 2000. The investigation into the case lasted for five years. He was detained in 2005. Thanks to the efforts of the Chechen branch of the anti-torture committee and impartiality of the military court, Chernomaz was found guilty and will serve his sentence in a high security prison. (Groznenskiy Rabochiy, 13 Jul 06)

2006-07-25T14:22:00.000-04:00

Questions to the vice-president of the CRI. Shamil Basayev, put by the editor of the Polish Pipeline Journal, Witold St. Michalowski.

[St. Michalowski] Why do you think Russian propaganda has succeeded in creating an image of international terrorists out of you and your comrades?

Russia needs image of Chechen terrorism

[Basayev] Because this is the image required by today's international coalition of atheists who have declared a war on Islam. If this were merely Moscow's wish, then this image would not extend beyond the Russian television channels. The West (by which I mean the USA, by and large) had to offer its services to Russia in order to get something in exchange. But that's just one side of the coin. The reason they are trying to paint us as "terrorists" is an ideological one, because today nobody can deny that Western and Russian propaganda are doing everything they can to try to convince their people that Islam means terrorism. And terrorism is justification for the war against Islam. So it is not just I, but any Muslim who has taken up arms to fight injustice, violence and atheism, who is labelled a "terrorist". We are terrorists to them, and they are terrorists to us.

[St. Michalowski] When I and other journalists visited you in Dzhokhar [Groznyy] in 1999, the Russian special services and military had tried to assassinate you. Do you think this was a policy to kill all of you or just you?

[Basayev] It was to kill those who oppose their aggression or anyone who might be a witness to their foul crimes - that is human nature for Russia's rulers.

[St. Michalowski] There are gold mines situated in the Republic of Tuva, not far from the Mongolian border. A group of friends and I visited one Tuvan and on the wall of a pitiful room in his house hung portraits of the Buddhist monk Dalai Lama and the Chechen hero Shamil Basayev. What would you like to say to the oppressed peoples of Siberia and the Volga region?

[Basayev] Siberia and the Volga region experienced one of the most terrible genocides in the history of mankind. For example, among those who took part in the operation in Beslan was an ethnic Guran [from Lake Baykal region]. These people, who lived in Siberia, virtually disappeared because the Russians simply wiped them out. Russia must answer for its crimes, and they will answer in time. We have good contacts with many people from these regions who are already today ready to take up arms. In Siberia and the Volga region there are legitimate communities whose rights must be restored and Moscow's criminals and thieves must be punished. We are working in that direction.

US policy in Afghanistan and Iraq

[St. Michalowski] What do you think about America's attack on Afghanistan?

[Basayev] America had believed herself to be big and strong and has decided that the time has come to prove this. Afghanistan was chosen because the Afghans have restored Shari'ah Law. The kind of ideology which the USA professes predetermined this attack. Islam is deadly dangerous to tyrants, and the USA is an international democratic tyrant. The ideology of today's atheist West has no time for peaceful coexistence with Islam.

[St. Michalowski] What is your assessment of America's invasion of Iraq?

[Basayev] As American (and Israeli) stupidity, and God's mercy to Muslims.

[St. Michalowski] I once asked you - in 1995 - why you didn't block the supplies of gas to the Russian military garrisons in the North Caucasus, and you said that ordinary Russian citizens would suffer. In view of Russia's gas blackmail in relation to western Europe, have you changed your opinion on this?

[Basayev] At the time we still had illusions and thought that if we obeyed the rules we would help the enemy to keep within certain frameworks of the war. Today we have no such illusions.

[St. Michalowski] The high prices for oil and gas enable Russia to spend large sums on the latest nuclear weapons. What do you think of this?

Oil and gas money funding Caucasian war

[Basayev] Rusnya [derogatory term for Russia] spends money not just on nuclear weapons. She is using this money to wage war in the Caucasus and is again poking its nose in the former Soviet colonies, trying to show it is equal to the USA and Europe. The fruit may look ripe and attractive, but inside it is rotten. Back in 1993 [former Chechen rebel leader] Dzhokhar Dudayev called upon the world community to take control of Rusnya's nuclear facilities and weapons. This appeal is still relevant today. The West will weep bitter tears for its short-sighted attitude.

[St. Michalowski] Russian and international politicians used to say that the reason for Russia's military aggression against Chechnya was the Baku-Groznyy-Tikhoretsk oil pipeline, which no longer operates today with the commissioning of the new Baku-Ceyhan pipeline. What do you think were the real reasons for the Russian-Chechen war?

[Basayev] Fairy tales about oil and the pipeline are for the ordinary man in the street who needs simple and plausible explanations. The real reason for the war is Rusnya's imperial ambitions and the fear of an Islamic state emerging in the Caucasus. General Yermolov, who warned the Tsar that the Chechens would be a bad influence on his subjects because of their love of freedom, also wrote about the reasons for the war. The Russian serfs, like many Russian soldiers, escaped to Imam Shamil from Russian slavery. Little has changed since then. The Islamic state of Imam Shamil was a just state in which everyone had a sense of their own dignity. If alongside Russia were to appear a country where justice and the dignity of the people were fundamental to it, Russia in its present form would not last long and its criminal rulers would be severely punished.

[St. Michalowski] French demographers are predicting that in 50 years' time Russia's population will be reduced to the size of the Arab Republic of Yemen. What do you think will happen to Russia in 50 years' time?

[Basayev] Only God knows what will happen in the next 50 years. We shall do all we can to ensure that bloody Rusnya ceases to exist in its present form long before that.

[St. Michalowski] What do you think of Russia's plans to supply Siberian gas and oil to China?

[Basayev] Moscow thinks it will get something back from China by doing this. But this is hardly likely to please China.

[St. Michalowski] Do you think that accepting Islam will save the Russian people from degradation?

[Basayev] Islam saves both the individual and whole peoples. The Russians are no exception. Islam does not need one people and one person. These peoples need Islam because this is the religion of our Lord, given as a favour to the world.

[St. Michalowski] Do you still have a love of bees?

[Basayev] Bees are the sign of God, and what's more I love honey.

[St. Michalowski] What would you like to say to our magazine and to the Polish people who support the national-liberation struggle of the Chechen people against the Russian empire?

[Basayev] Never forget those crimes which Russia committed against your people and your state. And remember this when you hear about our struggle.

2006-07-25T14:12:00.000-04:00

Sarajevo Dnevni Avaz in Bosnian/croatian/serbian 18 Jul 06 p 4

[Report by "E.S.": "Death Threats Against Naser Oric and Haris Silajdzic"]

A "group of Bosnian Serbs from Bratunac" now living in Chicago sent a letter to Dnevni Avaz containing death threats directed against Naser Oric [wartime Srebrenica commander indicted for war crimes], Haris Silajdzic [Party for B-H leader], and Ejup Ganic [ex-vice president of Bosnia].

We hereby publish the entire text of the letter, or rather the corrected version, because the original is full of grammatical errors.

"We want to make it clear to criminal Oric that we will take the law into our own hands, because the Hague tribunal has failed to serve justice. This is a message from us who survived it all in 1992-1993. Tell him that we will not spare even his child, in the same way he treated our children. We have our people there to do away not only with Oric, but also with Ganic and Silajdzic, who has been defaming the Serb Republic for years and is working toward its disappearance. But, he will disappear much sooner than the Serb Republic," says the letter dated 7 July, which arrived from the United States at our editorial office yesterday.

2006-07-25T14:10:00.000-04:00

Chechen rebels open two new fronts in response to Moscow's "amnesty" offer

Text of report by Chechen news agency Daymohk website

19 July: In the name of God, the Merciful and Compassionate.

In connection with the publication by the Foreign Ministry of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria [CRI] of the manifesto "For peace in Chechnya", which caused mixed reaction and different speculations, including about the sovereignty of the CRI, the CRI president's administration recalls that in line with the CRI Constitution, the state sovereignty and independence of the CRI are indivisible and unshakable and do not relate to powers of bodies of state authorities.

Any actions casting a doubt on the state sovereignty of the CRI or any attempts to discuss the CRI's sovereignty are a crime against the state.

The fact that some formulations in the manifesto were not thought out gave rise to different speculations and an incorrect interpretation of the official position of the CRI leadership on issues of war and peace.

In this connection, we recall that the CRI leadership has clearly identified its position on this issue.

The CRI leadership does not intend to offer peace and talks to the aggressor until realistic conditions are ripe for this and the opposing side proves that it is ready for peace.

The CRI president's administration also recalls that the Great Majlis ul-Shura of the CRI was held in the summer of 2002, attended by representatives of all branches of power ([former] CRI President Aslan Maskhadov, CRI Parliament Chairman Dardail Khiryayev, members of parliament, members of the government, the leadership of the Supreme Shariah Court and commanders of the fronts and sectors of the CRI Armed Forces), public organizations and jamaats [communities]. A number of amendments and additions were made to the CRI Constitution during the six weeks of the work of the Great Majlis ul-Shura (Constitutional Assembly). Following these amendments, Article 1 of the CRI Constitution says:

"The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria is a sovereign, independent, Islamic and law-governed state established as a result of the self-determination of the Chechen people. The source of all decisions made are the Koran and Sunna."

Thus, any actions of the CRI leadership on all issues of war and peace will emanate from Article 1 of the CRI Constitution and be based on the said provision in the CRI Constitution.

The CRI president's administration officially states that all statements by Moscow on "end of war", on the so-called "amnesty", appeals to the Chechen Armed Forces and the Forces of Caucasus Mojahedin "to lay down arms" and other propagandist speculations are yet another unpromising attempt by the Kremlin regime to cover the actual state of affairs both in Ichkeria and in the Caucasus as a whole with a lie.

The CRI Armed Forces and the Forces of the Caucasus Front are organized and confident as never before. A decree by the CRI president has established two new fronts - the Ural and Volga fronts. This is actually the response of the CRI leadership and the Caucasus mojahedin to the calls "to lay down arms" and "amnesty".

[signed] The CRI president's administration

2006-07-25T11:14:00.000-04:00

24/7/2006
Президент Грузии: Квициани может расчитывать только на место в тюрьме

Несмотря на то, бывший представитель двух президентов (екс и действующего) был согласен пойти на переговоры с премьер министром Грузии Зурабом Ногаидели, президент Грузии Саакашвили сегодня четко заявил, что надеяться на понимание Квициани не приходится.

Саакашвили готов разговаривать с Эмзаром Квициани только об условиях содержание в тюрьме. "Я готов с ним говорить, только в том случае, если он сдаст оружие, и то, только о том, какие нары у него будут в пятой тбилисской тюрьме", заявил журналистам сегодня Михаил Саакашвили.

По его словам, Квициани не имеет отношения к сванам, а обычный бандит и криминал, который в 1993 году грабил людей, вынужденных бежать из Абхазии через Кодорское ущелье.

Президент Саакашвили отметил, что дал клятву на гробнице Давида Строителя о том, что восстановит территориальную целостность страны и он эту клятву выполнит. "Я оторву руки всякому, кто позарится на целостность нашей страны и не позволю никому, ставить этот принцип под сомнение", подчеркнул он.

Свое отношение к центральным властям Грузии население Кодорского ущелья выразит завтра на специальной сходке. Как заявил сегодня лидер местных сванов Эмзар Квициани, на этой сходке в ущелье соберутся и местные старейшины.

"На этом сходе власти получат ответ от жителей Кодорского ущелья, которые никогда не сдавались врагу", сказал Квициани.

Тем не менее целый день по грузинскому телевидению крутят лица старейшин из Кодорского ущелья, которые говорят, что они не поддерживают Квициани.

В Кодорском ущелье действительно крайне тяжелые социально бытовые условия. Практически ущелье отрезано как от Грузии, так и от Абхазии.

Туда нет регулярных рейсов самолетов и вертолетов. Практически не существует дороги и каждый случай тяжелой болезни может стать летальным, так как вывести больного даже на вертолете в большинстве случаев не представляется возможным из-за нестабильных метиоусловий.

Грузинские эксперты постоянно предрекали социальный взрыв в этом уголке Грузии, но случился он, как всегда, неожиданно.

2006-07-25T11:08:00.000-04:00

17/7/2006

Россия отказывает гражданам Грузии в помощи при эвакуации из Бейрута

Находящиеся в Бейруте граждане Грузии не могут покинуть Ливан, четвертый день подряд подвергающийся бомбардировкам со стороны Израиля. Об этом сообщила "Новости-Грузия" председатель парламентского комитета по правам человека Елена Тевдорадзе.

"Граждане Грузии, находящиеся в настоящее время в Бейруте, попали в тяжелейшее положение, так как не могут покинуть страну", - отметила Тевдорадзе. "Я пока не владею информацией о том, сколько граждан Грузии находится в Бейруте. Ко мне поступила просьба о помощи только от родственников одной грузинской семьи", - сообщила при этом депутат.

"Родственники сообщили, что так как у Грузии нет дипломатического представительства в Бейруте, грузинская семья обратилась в российское консульство с просьбой помочь им выехать из страны. Но российская сторона, направившая в Бейрут транспорт для эвакуации своих граждан, отказала грузинам, так как у них было грузинское гражданство", - сказала Тевдорадзе.

Выступая в понедельник 17 июля на заседании парламента Грузии, Елена Тевдорадзе обратилась с просьбой к председателю парламента Нино Бурджанадзе запросить МИД Грузии по поводу того, сколько грузинских граждан находится в Бейруте и принять меры для того, чтобы по дипломатическим каналам передать просьбу помочь гражданам Грузии другим европейским странам, имеющим представительства в Ливане.

"Мы не находимся на грани военных действий с какой-либо страной, и я думаю, что какими бы сложными не были бы в частности грузино-российские отношения, проблем в оказании гуманитарной помощи не должно возникать", - заявила в ответ Бурджанадзе. "Для МИД Грузии наверное не будет трудным обратиться если не к России, так к другим государствам, которые согласятся на оказание помощи гражданам Грузии, которые оказались в зоне военных действий", - отметила глава парламента Грузии.

Ранее в МИД РФ подчеркнули, что российская сторона готова оказать помощь в эвакуации граждан стран СНГ и из Ливана. "Российская сторона окажет помощь в эвакуации граждан из стран СНГ, находящихся в этой стране. Отказов в помощи не будет", - цитирует дипломата РИА "Новости".

2006-07-17T10:57:00.000-04:00

Georgia says Russia planning "military intervention" in South Ossetia

Text of report by Georgian TV station Rustavi-2 on 14 July

[Presenter] We begin the programme with a live broadcast from the Foreign Ministry where [Gela] Bezhuashvili's department is issuing another statement about the terrorist attack in Tskhinvali [South Ossetia]. Deputy Foreign Minister Merab Antadze is addressing the briefing.

[Antadze] Welcome. You probably know that there was yet another explosion in Tskhinvali today. There are casualties.

I say with full responsibility that such actions are categorically unacceptable to us. We express our support and sympathy for the families affected by the explosions.

We are trying with every means at our disposal to investigate this incident and take measures to ensure those responsible for this terrible act are punished.

It is deeply concerning not only that the business interests of certain individuals within the South Ossetian de-facto government are settled in this manner - we have grounds to say that in this case that was the motive behind the incident - but it is also deeply concerning that Russia, together with the Tskhinvali separatist regime, is planning and carrying out such actions and acts of provocation in the Tskhinvali region to achieve its own aims.

Their aim is already clear to everyone. Next there will be military escalation, acts of provocation such as this and then, with the justification of protecting Russian citizens, there will be Russian military intervention in Georgia.

It is unfortunate but the situation is extremely tense. Recent hysterical statements in the [Russian] media claiming that Georgia is preparing for military action are designed to justify the actions which Russia has planned and which are aimed, as I have said, at provoking serious military confrontation. The most recent statement on this issue was Russian Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov's statement in which he said that in the conflict zone, the Tskhinvali region, 90 per cent of residents are Russian citizens and Russia will take every appropriate measure, in this case it means military action, to defend the rights of Russian citizens.

Naturally, the question arises of how these people acquired citizenship of a neighbouring country, how 90 per cent of the local population became Russian citizens so quickly. The answer to that is clear. These are illegal actions, actions which can be described as annexation.

Today the Georgian Foreign Ministry issued another statement in which it appealed to [word indistinct] to refrain from military rhetoric and such actions. We have also appealed to the international community with a request that they apply serious pressure to ensure that the situation in the region does not escalate and to prevent an unwanted course of events.

2006-07-17T10:54:00.000-04:00

Georgian minister suggests "criminal" motives behind South Ossetia bomb blast

Text of report by Georgian Imedi TV on 14 July

[Presenter] [MP] Givi Targamadze and [Foreign Minister] Gela Bezhuashvili have commented on the terrorist attack in South Ossetia.

[Targamadze, chairman of the parliamentary defence and security committee] The [Russian] FSB's plan is being systematically implemented. Part of that is claiming to have anonymous information from within the Georgian government. This seems to be their real plan aimed at carrying out major acts of provocation, including these terrorist attacks and attempts.

In addition, Russian armed forces are conducting major exercises on the North Ossetian side of the Roki Tunnel. We have received information today confirming that about 20 pieces of heavy armour have already been taken into South Ossetia. Naturally, no unit of the Georgian armed forces is involved in such acts of provocation.

[Bezhuashvili] As for today's incident, we are studying the details. It is very unfortunate, as we have been informed, that a child was killed and several people were wounded.

As far as we are currently aware, the person against whom this attack was aimed [South Ossetian MP Bala Bestuta] is involved in illegal trade and is a well-known criminal in the region. He controlled some kind of transport, so it cannot be ruled out that this was an ordinary, criminal matter.

2006-07-17T10:46:00.000-04:00

Russians use chemical weapons against rebels - website

Excerpt from report by Kavkaz-Tsentr news agency website

13 July: Infidels used chemical weapons against mojahedin during a clash between a group of mojahedin and infidels in Khasavyurt on 12 July, Kavkaz-Tsentr news agency's source in Dagestan has said.

Eyewitnesses said the Dagestani fighters, who were defending themselves in a house, were attacked using a liquid gas. When shooting ended and the fighting stopped, the eyewitnesses saw three bodies being taken out to the street. Most probably, those were mojahedin. The infidels who took out the bodies of the Dagestani fighters were wearing special protective clothing.

Moreover, all clothing had been removed from the killed mojahedin. It was packed into plastic bags and taken away. Several infidels, who were not wearing special clothing and were near the bodies of the mojahedin, were also asked to remove their clothing and hand it over to the people in protective clothing.

The clash in Khasavyurt took place on the morning of 12 July.

ФСБ путается в собственных версиях

2006-07-11T17:09:00.000-04:00

ФСБ запуталась в своих версиях взрыва КАМАЗа со взрывчаткой близ Экажево ночью 10 июля, в результате чего погиб Шамиль Басаева и еще 3 моджахедов. Главарь ФСБ Патрушев настаивает на том, что Басаеву передали заранее подготовленный к взрыву тротил. Причем передали его из-за границы.

По версии центрального ТВ России, озвученной накануне, машина со взрывчаткой была подорвана ракетной атакой с воздуха. Эта версия, просуществовала пару часов в день гибели чеченского командира, и была вновь реанимирована на следующий день. Теперь о ней говорят некие анонимы из «силовых структур на Северном Кавказе», которые утверждают, что удар был нанесен по сигналу мобильного телефона.

Однако по версии издания Комсомольская Правда, которое ссылается так же на источники ФСБ, на самом деле был заминирован сам КАМАЗ. Якобы завербованный агент ФСБ, за сумму в 500 тысяч долларов, подвесил к машине мину, которая была сдетонирована в нужный момент.

Напомним, что взрыв машины, в результате которой погиб Шамиль Басаев и 3 его товарищей, произошел в 0 часов 30 минут 10 июля. Только через 15 часов после взрыва и через 9 часов, после того, как местные марионетки и кафиры изучили останки погибших людей, оккупанты узнали, что среди погибших и Шамиль Басаев.

Информацию о том, что взрыв автомашины произошел самопроизвольно и кафиры не имеют к этому несчастному случаю никакого отношения, подтвердила и чеченская сторона.

Время публикации: 9 июля 2006 г., 20:41

2006-07-11T16:55:00.000-04:00

Турецкая газета Vakit опубликовала интервью с президентом ЧРИ, Амиром ГКО-Маджлисуль Шура Доккой Умаровым. Автор публикации журналист Адем Озкоше, в преамбуле интервью пишет:

Джохар Дудаев, потом Зелимхан Яндарбиев, Аслан Масхадов и, наконец, Абдул-Халим Садулев. Лучшие из лучших, лидеры Чеченского народа шагнули к Шахидству. Но на место ушедших приходят новые лидеры, которые не дают упасть знамени Газавата.

Весь мир стал свидетелем того, как чеченский народ, показывая пример другим мусульманским народам, ведет беспримерную борьбу за свою Религию и Независимость. Ставшие Шахидами (иншаАллах) чеченские лидеры оставляют наследие, которым будут восхищаться потомки и брать их в пример.

После того как погиб Абдул-Халим Садулаев, его место занял опытный военный Докка Умаров, которому от имени читателей газеты Vakit и были заданы вопросы.

Вопрос: Какова обстановка на Кавказе сегодня?

Д.Умаров: Мы долго удерживали войну в своих границах, рассчитывая на благоразумие России. Теперь ситуация коренным образом изменилась. Сегодня любой регион Кавказа — это зона военных действий. Нашей последней операцией «Возмездие» была серия ударов в Ингушетии, осуществленная совместно с моджахедами Ингушского сектора. Запланированные операции прошли успешно.

Удары по оккупантами будут осуществляться по нарастающей. Наши братья еще услышат хорошие новости с Кавказа.

Вопрос: Каково положение вашей борьбы против русских? Видите ли вы продвижение к цели независимости?

Д.Умаров: Мы не воюем против русских. Русские сами находятся в униженном, рабском состоянии. Мы воюем против российского режима, оккупирующим наши земли. Наша независимость давно состоялась. Сегодня мы уничтожаем российских оккупантов и их приспешников коллаборационистов. Враг должен быть готов к неприятным сюрпризам.

Вопрос: После того, как Абдул-Халим Садулаев возглавил моджахедов, война на Кавказе приобрела новое качество и новую силу (Кавказский Фронт). Для этого существовали предпосылки?

Д.Умаров: Мусульмане сегодня знают, что Россия воюет против Ислама. Закрываются мечети, мусульманских женщин похищают и подвергают пыткам. Издеваются над верующими, унижают религию. Это и есть предпосылки.

Аслан Масхадов долгое время искал мира и был готов протянуть руку мира. Однако Москва ответила коварным убийством. Русские, таким образом, показали, что им мир не нужен.

Абдул-Халим был исламским ученым, знатоком Шариата. Опираясь на Шариат, он предупредил, что время, когда мы призывали к миру, прошло безвозвратно. Наше дело — это Джихад на пути Аллаха. Он нашел общий язык с мусульманами Кавказа и навсегда останется в памяти мусульман, как достойный и честный кавказский лидер.

Вопрос: Ощущаете ли вы поддержку людей? Каково отношение людей к моджахедам в других регионах Кавказа?

Д.Умаров: Мы — кавказские мусульмане. Это имеет для нас большое значение. Нет никаких сомнений в том, что кавказские мусульмане (не говоря уже о Чечне) поддерживают нас. Факт того, что с нами плечом к плечу с оружием в руках против русских кафиров стали представители других кавказских народов, говорит сам за себя.

Вопрос: Есть ли в ваших рядах моджахеды из других стран?

Д.Умаров: Хвала нашему Господу, мусульманская Умма большая. Искренние мусульмане помогают друг другу. Так было и во времена нашего Пророка Мухаммада (а.с.с), когда мухажиров поддержали ансары.

В трудные для нас дни нас поддержали и поддерживают искренние мусульмане во всем мире. В первую очередь мусульманская молодежь. В наших рядах есть и наши русские братья моджахеды, которые приняли Ислам. Это прекрасная сторона Ислама. Исламская братство — самое драгоценное чувство, которое дала нам наше религия.

Вопрос: Есть мнение, что США помогают чеченцам, что бы поставить Россию в трудное положение. Правдиво ли это утверждение?

Д.Умаров: Нет, все как раз наоборот. Они помогают Росси. Иногда США, и Европа используют чеченский вопрос в своих политических целях. Если им русские отказывают в чем-то, они вспоминают о Чечне. После получение того, что им нужно, они убирают Чечню с повестки дня.

Чеченский народ потерял 250 тысяч человек. Чего они еще ждут, чтобы признать это геноцидом? Мы не верим ни США, ни Европе. Мы верим только Аллаху и доверяем нашим мусульманским братьям.

Вопрос: Среди мусульман других оккупированных стран часты разногласия, что мешает им действовать совместно. Есть ли разногласия среди чеченских моджахедов?

Д.Умаров: Не только среди чеченских, но и среди кавказских моджахедов нет никаких разногласий. Кроме того, все кавказские моджахеды находятся сегодня под единым командованием и управлением.

Вопрос: Можно ли сегодня говорить о Кавказской войне, кавказском восстании?

Д.Умаров: Моджахеды прояснили сердца мусульман. Результатом этого стало укрепление братских отношений между мусульманами. На Кавказе тысячи молодых людей хотят вступить в наши ряды, чтобы вести Джихад против русских агрессоров. Мы ограничены в их приеме из-за наших материальных возможностей. Поверьте, если бы у нас было достаточно денег и оружие, мы бы за одну неделю создал бы огромную армию на Кавказе.

Но Аллах милостив. Возрождение Джихада на Кавказе — это условие освобождение Кавказа от московской оккупации. Это не просто слова, а факты. Сегодня в составе Кавказского Фронта действуют Кабардино-Балкарский, Осетинский, Ингушский, Карачаево-Черкесский сектора, фронты и сектора в Чечне, Дагестанский Фронт. (8 июля 2006 образованы два новых Фронта — Уральский и Поволжский. Ред. КЦ).

Ни у кого не должно быть сомнений в том, что Джихад на Кавказе усиливается с каждым днем.

Вопрос: Каковы ваши ожидания от турецкого народа?

Д.Умаров: Мы благодарны за помощь простого турецкого народа, который оказывает поддержку не только чеченцам, но и другим кавказским мусульманам. Мы бы хотели призвать всех наших братьев в Турции молиться за нас, делать Дуа и просить Аллаха дать нам победу над несправедливостью.

У нас нет другого выбора, как до конца пройти дорогу на пути Аллаха, победить или стать Шахидами, как стали ими (инша Аллах) наши достойные лидеры.

Ossetian rebel group calls for "well-planned" attacks - Chechen website

2006-06-26T12:26:00.000-04:00

Excerpt from report by Chechenpress news agency web site

26 June: The editorial board of Chechenpress has received a statement from the Ossetian Jamaat [community], Kataib al-Khoul [Kataeb al-Ghoul]. The statement is published as it is.

[Passage omitted: religious verses]

Three demonstrative explosions were carried out, God willing, on the territory of Ossetia today [as published] by the will of God Almighty. God, the Lord of the worlds, knows full well who carried out those explosions and the operation and what aims those people pursued. Given the current situation in Ossetia, it is most probable that the explosions were carried out by the Ossetian [directorate of the] Federal Security Service [FSB] and were part of a multi-faceted scheme aimed at fighting military jamaats.

The strange way in which the explosion outside the FSB building in Vladikavkaz was carried out speaks in favour of this theory, at the very least. According to information available to us, the kafirs [infidels - reference to Russians] in Ossetia's special services have been expecting the attacks we had promised against them and Russian troops and they are unaware about plans for these special operations, which makes them opt for active counter-measures. At the same time, among officers of Ossetia's FSB there are several experienced and active masters of provocation, one of whom is Vitaliy Zangionov. God knows better about this.

And if those blasts were carried out by Muslims with permission from God Almighty, then the mojahedin from the Kataib al-Khoul Jamaat would like to give a piece of advice to their brothers in the hope that God the Great will let them derive benefit from this advice, God willing.

An operation like today's would not yield any results but would only create unnecessary fuss and noise, God willing. In the difficult conditions, which you see in Ossetia, the best way is, God willing, to carry out a well-planned and thoroughly prepared operation aimed at inflicting heavy casualties on the personnel and hardware of the crusaders and munafiqs [REFERENCE to pro-Moscow Chechens]. Such operations do not have to be held often, but with a bit of planning and God willing, they will yield the best results.

Pay great attention to secrecy, but only hope in God our Lord, for our efforts not to mislead us. Because the outcome is up to only God Almighty. Use all types of communications extremely cautiously, be it radio communications, telephone communications or any other type of machine communications, and the best thing is to reject this altogether, as using such types of communication makes the mojahedin more vulnerable, especially in conditions of sabotage warfare on a hostile territory, God willing.

[Passage omitted: praising God]

[signed] The Ossetian Jamaat Kataib Al Khoul

[Description of Source: Tbilisi Chechenpress WWW-Text in Russian -- Official news agency of rebel Chechen government; located at www.chechenpress.com]

2005-09-12T15:13:00.000-04:00

Всемирный банк озабочен ростом цен на нефть, а импортирующие нефть страны, расположенные к югу от Сахары, особенно страдают от удорожания «черного золота», сказал в понедельник главный экономист банка Франсуа Буржиньон.
В августе цена нефти достигла рекордной отметки, превысив уровень $70 за баррель. В понедельник она держится вблизи уровня $65 за баррель. //Reuters

2005-09-12T15:09:00.000-04:00

Палестинские бульдозеры в понедельник приступили к сносу синагог. В частности, снос стен пустой синагоги начался в поселении Нецарим в секторе Газа.
Ранее толпы палестинцев подожгли четыре из 19 синагог, который Израиль решил оставить на покинутой территории. Однако позднее глава Палестинской автономии Махмуд Аббас заявил, что все синагоги будут разрушены. //Ha'aretz

2005-09-12T15:06:00.000-04:00

В Женеве в понедельник начинаются двухдневные переговоры о новой эмблеме для Международного общества Красного Креста и Красного Полумесяца.
В данный момент Женевская конвенция признает лишь две эмблемы – красный крест и красный полумесяц. Однако сейчас Красный Крест изучает возможность утверждения третьего символа, который смогут использовать страны, где неоднозначно относятся к кресту и полумесяцу – признанным символам христианской и мусульманской религий (так, в Израиле служба скорой медицинской помощи "Маген Давид Адом" использует в качестве своего символа красную звезду Давида, однако этот символ так и не был признан Женевой).
Новым символом Международного Красного Креста, скорее всего, станет красный квадрат в рамке на белом фоне, который будет назван Красным кристаллом. //BBC

2005-09-01T10:27:00.000-04:00

МОСКВА, 1 сен - РИА "Новости". Мосгорсуд возвратил дело о запрете трансляции мультсериала "Симпсоны" на одном из телеканалов в Хамовнический суд для устранения процессуальных нарушений.

"Дело снять со слушаний и возвратить в Хамовнический суд Москвы для решения вопроса о правопреемстве третьего лица - Министерства РФ по делам печати, телерадиовещания и средств массовых коммуникаций", - сказал председательствующий судья.

Правопреемником министерства по делам печати в связи с его ликвидацией является Федеральная служба по соблюдению законодательства в сфере массовых коммуникаций.

Как передает корреспондент РИА "Новости", после судебного заседания адвокат Лариса Павлова, представляющая интересы истца, пояснила, что "фактически Мосгорсуд признал, что Хамовнический суд провел заседание неграмотно".

"Была создана новая структура, но суд не обратил на это внимание. Это говорит о том, что решение суда поверхностно", - отметила Павлова.

Вместе с тем, на процессе она обратила внимание суда на необходимость явиться в суд в качестве третьих лиц представителя государственного органа - Федеральной службы по соблюдению законодательства в сфере массовых коммуникаций и органа опеки и попечительства.

В своей жалобе, поданной в Мосгорсуд, юрист Игорь Смыков просил отменить решение Хамовнического суда.

"В жалобе я прошу Мосгорсуд отменить постановление Хамовнического суда Москвы, который отказал нам в иске - запретить показ мультсериала или хотя бы перенести показ "Симпсонов" на более позднее время", - подчеркнул Смыков.

Первого апреля Хамовнический суд Москвы отказал в иске Смыкову, который утверждал, что показ мультсериала причинил ему моральный ущерб.

"Сериал является пропагандой насилия, жестокости, наркомании и гомосексуализма", - считает он.

В своем иске Смыков просил обязать телеканал, транслирующий мультфильм, перенести его показ на более позднее время, "когда у телевизора уже не может быть детской аудитории".

"Я прошу суд обязать ответчиков ввести обязательную маркировку "для взрослых", тем самым, указав, что фильм не предназначен для детей", - сказал ранее Смыков.

Кроме того, он просил взыскать с телекомпании компенсацию морального ущерба в размере 300 тысяч рублей. Смыкову было отказано во всех пунктах иска. Дело рассматривалось в суде около трех лет, в течение которых было проведено множество различных экспертиз.

2005-09-01T10:22:00.000-04:00

Прокуратура Мариуполя возбудила уголовное дело по факту ненадлежащего исполнения медицинскими работниками профессиональных обязанностей, что послужило причиной заражения двух и более лиц вирусом иммунодефицита. Дело возбуждено по признакам преступления, предусмотренного статей 131 часть 2 Уголовного кодекса Украины, сообщила пресс-секретарь Донецкой областной прокуратуры Ирина Анкудинова.
Поводом для возбуждения уголовного дела стало сообщение Мариупольского городского центра профилактики и борьбы со СПИДом о том, что у двоих новорожденных грудных детей выявлены антитела к ВИЧ, что свидетельствует об их заражении ВИЧ-инфекцией.
Во время доследственной проверки выяснилось, что 25 июня текущего года трем грудным детям перелили кровь инфицированного донора, которого еще за несколько дней до этого отстранили от донорства. //Интерфакс

2005-08-31T10:03:00.000-04:00

Тверь. 31 августа. ИНТЕРФАКС-ЦЕНТР - В тверском клубе "Зебра" в среду пройдет первый чемпионат города по "пьяным" шашкам, сообщил "Интерфаксу" администратор клуба. Соревнования будут проводиться на четырех досках. Вместо шашек будут выставлены рюмки с крепкими напитками.

"Мужчины будут вести "шашечные" бои посредством рюмок с водкой (белые шашки) и виски (черные шашки). Слабому полу предлагается наливка. Вес содержимого в одной рюмке 25 грамм", - сообщили в клубе. Собеседник добавил, что "съедая" чужую шашку, игрок обязан выпить содержимое рюмок, а проигравший оплатить спиртное обоих игроков.

2005-08-30T13:25:00.000-04:00

В ближайшее время Россия и Белоруссия выйдут на подписание документа о создании единой системы ПВО, заявил министр обороны Белоруссии Леонид Мальцев. "В ближайшее время выйдем на переговоры о создании единой ПВО России и Белоруссии", - сказал Мальцев по окончании совместных учений войск ПВО стран-участников СНГ.
Он также подтвердил, что в ближайшее время на вооружение белорусских ПВО поступит комплекс "С-300". //РИА «Новости»

2005-08-30T12:02:00.000-04:00

Москва. 29 августа. ИНТЕРФАКС - Министр обороны РФ Сергей Иванов заявил, что студенты высших учебных заведений в период учебы призываться на срочную военную службу не будут.

"Я твердо заверяю, что студент любого российского вуза, частного, государственного, какого угодно, пока он студент, он служить не будет точно, сто процентов", - сказал С.Иванов в понедельник в эфире телеканала "Россия".

2005-08-30T12:00:00.000-04:00

Великий Hовгород. 30 августа. ИHТЕРФАКС СЕВЕРО-ЗАПАД - Hовгородские спасатели сняли с козырька подъезда женщину, выбросившуюся с седьмого этажа жилого дома по улице Кочетова в Великом Hовгороде, сообщил "Интерфаксу" начальник городского управления МЧС Валерий Ярков

У 32-летней женщины зафиксированы перелом позвоночника и другие серьезные травмы. Она госпитализирована в Первую городскую больницу, где ей оказывается медицинская помощь. Врачи оценивают ее состояние как крайне тяжелое.

2005-08-30T11:59:00.000-04:00

Москва. 30 августа. ИНТЕРФАКС-МОСКВА - По подозрению в совершении серии грабежей в Москве задержан житель Подмосковья, сообщили во вторник "Интерфаксу" в пресс-службе УВД Юго-Западного административного округа столицы.

В милиции рассказали, что в последнее время в ОВД района Ясенево стали поступать заявления от женщин о грабежах в лесопарковой зоне, причем во всех случаях грабитель был голым. Воспользовавшись испугом или растерянностью своих жертв, мужчина вырывал у них сумочки. 28 августа в лесопарке милиционеры действительно задержали голого грабителя. В милиции отметили, что задержанный в 2001 году уже был судим по статье 162 УК РФ - разбой и, что примечательно, тогда он совершал грабежи также в голом виде.

2005-08-29T15:19:00.000-04:00

CEP20050829025001 Moscow Nezavisimaya Gazeta in Russian 28 Aug 05 p 3

[Report by Viktor Myasnikov: "Eurasian Triangle. Moscow and Beijing Invite Delhi To Join Them"]

The joint Russian-Chinese Peace Mission 2005 exercises which have just ended have perturbed a number of Western politicians. But they may be even more perturbed by a report of forthcoming joint maneuvers by the Russian, Chinese, and Indian armies. This was announced at the end of the Russian-Chinese Peace Mission 2005 maneuvers by State Duma deputy and former Russian Federation Security Council secretary Andrey Kokoshin. He said: "Holding joint Russian-Chinese-Indian exercises seems feasible in the very near future." Andrey Kokoshin said that "This becomes possible both within the framework of the Russia-India-China triangle that is forming and through the galvanization of the activity of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization [SCO] which India joined recently as an observer." He believes that the exercises could be linked to the maintenance of stability in Central Asia and also to the safeguarding of the security of hydrocarbon raw materials on sea routes.
Andrey Kokoshin's words were confirmed by a high-ranking Defense Ministry general, who said that the holding of exercises similar to the Peace Mission 2005 with the participation of Russia, China, and India within the framework of the SCO is currently being studied. And although India so far only has observer status in the SCO, that does not prevent it from taking part in exercises.
India and China also held joint naval exercises in the East China Sea, not far from Shanghai, in November 2003. Three Indian Navy ships in conjunction with the Chinese Navy rehearsed search and rescue operations involving field firing. This increased the level of trust between the countries and opened up further prospects for military cooperation.

2005-08-29T11:14:00.000-04:00

Москва. 28 августа. ИНТЕРФАКС - Стремление к деньгам, еще недавно всемерно порицавшееся в России, обрело, по всей видимости, определенную культурную легитимацию, утверждают в Фонде "Общественное мнение".

В результате опроса, проведенного 20 августа среди 1500 респондентов, выяснилось: 58% россиян не видят в этом ничего предосудительного и заявляют, что стремятся иметь как можно больше денег, причем среди молодежи о таком стремлении заявляют 78%.

Лишь немногим более трети респондентов (36%) говорят, что не стремятся к этому. Чаще других это люди пенсионного возраста, у которых возможности реализовать такое стремление весьма ограничены.

При этом только каждый четвертый респондент (24%) говорит, что у него есть шанс стать человеком, имеющим много денег (среди тех, кто к деньгам стремится - 32%), тогда как две трети (66%) считают, что у них подобного шанса нет.

Социологи Фонда отмечают характерную дифференциацию мнений по этому вопросу в зависимости от возраста: молодые чаще склонны усматривать для себя шанс стать людьми с деньгами, чем отрицать его (47% против 38%). В то же время среди респондентов среднего возраста только 18% считают, что такая перспектива для них не закрыта.

2005-08-29T11:13:00.000-04:00

Казань. 27 августа. ИНТЕРФАКС - Президент России Владимир Путин рассказал журналистам о том, как сыграл на тотализаторе во время скачек, проводившихся в рамках празднования 1000-летия Казани.

На вопрос журналистов, удалось ли ему выиграть, президент РФ ответил: "Дважды". Он добавил, что проиграл также дважды.

2005-08-29T11:11:00.000-04:00

Москва. 28 августа. ИНТЕРФАКС - Знаменитая "Берлинская месса" и другие произведения Арво Пярта впервые прозвучат в Москве 11 сентября в день 70-летия выдающегося композитора современности, сообщил "Интерфаксу" пресс-атташе концерта Игорь Лапшин.

В день 70-летия А.Пярта его музыка будет звучать в лучших концертных залах Германии, Швеции, Эстонии, Финляндии и еще многих стран.

Как заявил И.Лапшин, "предстоящий концерт - событие эпохальное, и не только в силу высочайшего художественного уровня творений юбиляра, но и в силу "ряда исторических коллизий".

"Вечная, гипнотическая музыка А.Пярта, давно уже названного классиком, музыка, являющаяся одной из самых востребованных в мире, в России звучала и звучит очень редко. Большинство творений эстонского гения остались для российских меломанов до сей поры неизвестными", - продолжил И.Лапшин.

При это пресс-атташе пояснил, что в Советском Союзе музыка А.Пярта была вообще запрещена после 1980 года, когда композитор, уроженец Эстонии, входившей тогда в состав СССР, "был изгнан с Родины - он был обвинен в религиозной пропаганде за сочинение "Кредо" ("Верую").

2005-08-29T11:09:00.001-04:00

Махачкала. 29 августа. ИНТЕРФАКС - Подозреваемый в убийстве двух девочек в Каякенском районе Дагестана убит местными жителями. Об этом сообщил "Интерфаксу" в понедельник оперативный дежурный Каякенского РОВД.

"Подозреваемый в убийстве двух восьмилетних девочек 38-летний Агарза Омаров убит и сожжен в собственном доме в селении Башлыкент, - сообщил дежурный.

Две восьмилетние девочки пропали в субботу. Их могилы были обнаружены в воскресенье на земельном участке, принадлежащем жителю села Башлыкент, ранее судимому в том числе за изнасилование, А.Омарову.

После этой находки местные жители блокировали дом подозреваемого и не позволили милиции задержать или арестовать его.

В ночь на понедельник дом был сожжен вместе с хозяином.

2005-08-29T11:09:00.000-04:00

Махачкала. 28 августа. ИНТЕРФАКС - Две восьмилетние девочки найдены мертвыми в селе Башлыкент Каякентского района Дагестан, сообщил в воскресенье "Интерфаксу" оперативный дежурный местного РОВД.

Девочки вышли из дома в 16:00 субботы и долго не возвращались. Вечером начались их поиски, к которым присоединилась и группа сотрудников РОВД, однако результатов они не дали.

В воскресенье утром началось прочесывание местности, и на приусадебном участке одного из домов были обнаружены две свежевырытые могилы с телами девочек. Главным подозреваемым в совершении преступления является хозяин этого домовладения.

По данным милиции, он - неоднократно судим за различные преступления, в том числе за изнасилование.

На месте преступления собралась толпа возмущенных людей. В РОВД опасаются, что сельчане устроят над подозреваемым самосуд.

2005-08-29T11:01:00.000-04:00

Москва. 29 августа. ИНТЕРФАКС-МОСКВА - В Москве сотрудник транспортной милиции в ссоре ранил знакомую из пистолета, после этого был избит подругой потерпевшей так, что оказался в больнице.

Как сообщили в понедельник "Интерфаксу" в пресс-службе столичной прокуратуры, инцидент произошел накануне днем на пустыре недалеко от дома 18 во 2-м Леснорядском переулке.

По предварительным данным, в этом месте сотрудник Волго-Вятского управления внутренних дел на транспорте распивал спиртные напитки с двумя женщинами. В ходе внезапно вспыхнувшей ссоры милиционер несколько раз выстрелил из своего табельного пистолета и причинил сквозное ранение ноги одной из женщин. Подруга пострадавшей накинулась на обидчика, избила его и отобрала пистолет.

С переломом челюсти и травмами головы страж порядка был госпитализирован в одну из московских больниц, раненая женщина также госпитализирована.

По данному факту Мещанская межрайонная прокуратура проводит проверку, начато расследование.

2005-08-29T10:59:00.000-04:00

Бочаров ручей (Сочи). 29 августа. ИНТЕРФАКС - Президент России Владимир Путин показал премьер-министру Италии Сильвио Берлускони маленького пони американской породы, которого подарил ему президент Татарстана Минтимер Шаймиев в дни празднования тысячелетия Казани.

"Назвали Вадиком", - сказал В.Путин, заметив, что подруга пони "осталась у Шаймиева".

"Будем дружить семьями", - пошутил президент.

По словам В.Путина, он намерен взять подарок президента Татарстана с собой в Москву, где Вадик будет жить в президентской резиденции в Ново-Огарево вместе с другими лошадьми.

В.Путин подчеркнул, что его любимая собака Кони очень хорошо относится к Вадику.

2005-08-29T10:14:00.000-04:00

EUP20050826950040 Rome RAI Uno Television Network in Italian 1130 GMT 26 Aug 05

Vatican-Israel row "solved" by Sharon letter, Italian TV reports

Excerpt from report by Italian TV on 26 August

[Presenter] Ties between the State of Israel and the Vatican are friendly once again after Cardinal [Secretary of State] Angelo Sodano was delivered a personal letter by the Israeli premier, [Ariel] Sharon - who considers closed the crisis which erupted after the Pope did not mention Israel among the countries struck by terrorism.

[Reporter] During prayers in Les Combes [Alpine resort where the Pope was on holiday in July], the Pope listed the countries struck by terrorism, and did not mention Israel.

The Apostolic Nuncio [Vatican ambassador] in Jerusalem, [Pietro] Sambi, was summoned by the Foreign Ministry to hear something more than just irritation.

The reply by [the Holy See spokesman Joaquin] Navarro[-Valls] was curt: the Israeli government has distorted in a preposterous manner the words uttered by Benedict XVI. The spokesman added that not all acts of terrorism were condemned because sometimes they were followed by Israeli reactions incompatible with international law. [passage omitted]

2005-08-29T10:09:00.000-04:00

GMP20050824017004 Istanbul CNN TURK Online WWW-Text in Turkish 1346 GMT 24 Aug 05

[Report by Ozlem Sogukdere: "Cards on Table Ahead of 3 October"]

Prior to 3 October, Turkey has taken a step not only regarding the struggle against terrorism and the Kurdish issue, but also regarding the controversial Armenian conference, at which allegations of an Armenian genocide were to be taken up.

The conference, entitled "The Ottoman Armenians During the Decline of the Empire" had been planned to be held at Bozazici University [Istanbul] on 24 May, but had then been postponed due to harsh reactions from both the government and the opposition.

But Bogazici University, issuing a statement yesterday, announced that the conference, with the same content, will be held between 23 and 25 September. But with one difference this time...

It was announced that the conference, which a few months ago had been denounced by Justice Minister Cemil Cicek, who had said "This amounts to stabbing the Turkish nation in the back", will be opened by Abdullah Gul, the Foreign Minister in the same government.

As for Minister Gul himself, he has said that he responded "yes" in principle to the invitation sent to him, and that he will determine whether or not he will take part in the conference depending on his schedule.

Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Namik Tan has said that, during the dates when the conference is to be held, Minister Gul will be in New York for the session of the United Nations.

2005-08-26T09:55:00.000-04:00

Copyright 2005 Moscow News
Moscow News (Russia)
August 24, 2005 By Oleg Liakhovich

Cattle-breeders in Russia's Urals will feed cows with confiscated marijuana over the cold winter months. Drug workers said they adopted the unusual form of animal husbandry after they were forced to destroy the sunflowers and maize crops that the 40 tones of marijuana had been planted among. "There is simply no other way out. You see, the fields are planted with feed crops and if we remove it all the cows will have nothing to eat," a Federal Drug Control Service spokeswoman for the Urals region of Sverdlovsk told the paper. But he stressed that he does not know what the milk will be like after such unusual fodder. Cows in Russia are traditionally fed with clover and sunflower.

While the latter is true, it is also true that hemp has been used as a livestock fodder for ages, which makes the immediately surfacing jokes somewhat lame. What is more interesting albeit hardly funny is the high chances that this latest plan will eventually put some of the happy cattle-breeders behind bars, as Russia's overstaffed and omnipresent Federal Drug Control Service has been known for its sly tactics and the frequent use of agent provocateurs and entrapments, as well as its penchant for instigating scandalous criminal cases, such as against a number of veterinarians, arrested last year for the use of ketamine for anesthesia, or raiding bookstores for dangerous "drug propaganda", i.e. books by Carlos Castaneda and Tom Wolfe. Whether or not this latest initiative on the Service's part is but another cunning plan aimed at busting more "drug dealers" remains to be seen; it would certainly correspond with their usual style - crude, dumb, and altogether ineffective. Cattle-breeders, be warned.

2005-08-23T13:54:00.000-04:00

Televangelist Calls for Chavez' Death

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) - Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson called on Monday for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, calling him a ``terrific danger'' to the United States.

Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition of America and a former presidential candidate, said on ``The 700 Club'' it was the United States' duty to stop Chavez from making Venezuela a ``launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism.''

Chavez has emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of President Bush, accusing the United States of conspiring to topple his government and possibly backing plots to assassinate him. U.S. officials have called the accusations ridiculous.

``You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it,'' Robertson said. ``It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war ... and I don't think any oil shipments will stop.''

2005-08-23T11:18:00.000-04:00

Чемпионат по сплаву по реке на надувных резиновых женщинах пройдет в субботу в Ленинградской области

Санкт-Петербург. 23 августа. ИHТЕРФАКС СЕВЕРО-ЗАПАД - Дистанцию в 600 метров по лосевским порогам на реке Вуокса предстоит преодолеть участникам ставших уже традиционными соревнований по сплаву на надувных резиновых женщинах, говорится в сообщении организаторов соревнований.

Сплав Bubble Baba Challenge-2005 пройдет 27 августа в поселке Лосево в третий раз.

В этом году расширилась география участников экстремального заплыва -заявки на участие в соревнованиях подали более 80 человек из Петербурга, Москвы, Севастополя, Северодвинска и Архангельска. Всего ожидается участие в экстремальном сплаве около 160 спортсменов.

Победитель сплава определяется по традиционному показателю - скорости прохождения дистанции.

2005-08-23T11:11:00.000-04:00

Президент Туркмении запретил "фанеру"

Ашхабад. 23 августа. ИНТЕРФАКС - Президент Туркмении Сапармурад Ниязов запретил использовать в стране фонограммы звуковой записи на песенно-музыкальных культурных мероприятиях, а также в телевизионных передачах. Соответствующий указ С.Ниязова подписал в минувший понедельник, сообщили "Интерфаксу" в пресс-службе главы туркменского государства.

По данным пресс-службы, использование фонограммы запрещено на всех культурных мероприятиях, организуемых в связи с государственными праздниками, передачах телевизионных каналов Генеральной дирекции туркменского телевидения, а также на всех мероприятиях, организуемых в государственных, общественных учреждениях и в местах массового посещения граждан, в том числе свадьбах и семейных торжествах.

Затронув эту тему на состоявшемся 22 августа заседании кабинета министров Туркмении, которое транслировалось по национальному телевидению, президент подчеркнул: "Эпоха независимости стала эпохой подлинного расцвета национальной культуры и искусства, поэтому сегодня как никогда необходимо защищать истинные культурные, в том числе и музыкально-песенные традиции туркменского народа от отрицательно влияющих на них чужеродных факторов".

2005-08-22T10:39:00.000-04:00

CEP20050819025003 Moscow Rossiyskaya Gazeta in Russian 18 Aug 05 p2

[Report by Vladimir Poletayev: "Explosions Based on the Phone Call of 'Werewolves'?" -- taken from hml version of source provided by ISP]

Terrorists have precise knowledge of the movements of motor vehicles carrying policemen.

Yesterday about 1300 hours, another powerful explosion rang out in the capital of Dagestan. Four Stavropol policemen who were in a bus passing the site of the explosion were injured.

One gets the impression that the terrorists know in advance where in Makhachkala motor vehicles carrying policemen may travel. Explosions ring out both in the center of the city and on the outskirts, as happened yesterday, right at the moment when the Ministry of Internal Affairs special transport appears. Colonel Abdulmanap Musayev, the chief of the press service of the republic police department, told the Rossiyskaya Gazeta correspondent that the PAZ [Pavlovskiy Bus Plant] bus carrying 14 OMON [special-purpose police detachment] officers of the Stavropol Kray GUVD [Main Internal Affairs Directorate] was on its way to the city of Kaspiysk to help the local city department perform anti-terrorist measures -- to catch fighters. As we learned from exclusive sources, no more than 7-10 officers of the transport service and the crime police of Dagestan's Ministry of Internal Affairs knew the motor vehicle's route. Does that mean that one of their own "leaked" the information about the bus' movement to the bandits? The Internal Security Directorate is already investigating this situation. Specialists from the FSB [Federal Security Service] have also joined in. And at the prosecutor's office, a criminal file was opened based on the fact of the explosion.

2005-08-22T10:37:00.000-04:00

CEP20050815019003 Moscow Izvestiya (Moscow Edition) in Russian 15 Aug 05 p6

[Reports by Roman Kirillov and Larisa Kallioma: "The Sister of Field Commander Doku Umarov Disappeared in Chechnya"]

In Chechnya at the end of last week, unknown persons took 45-year-old Natalya Khumadova, the sister of the well-known bandit chief, Doku Umarov, to an unknown place. Representatives of law enforcement organizations call the abduction of the family members of the bandit leaders "counter hostage seizures", which are supposedly carried out by Chechnya's militarized structures for the purpose of getting more quickly close to the bandit chiefs themselves. Meanwhile, the republic MVD [Ministry of Internal Affairs] has started an investigation into Natalya Khumadova's disappearance.

According to the information of Chechnya's law enforcement bodies, Natalya Khumadova's abduction took place on Thursday night. Unknown armed persons in camouflage uniforms entered her house No 16 on Zapadnaya Street in Urus-Martan. Threatening her with weapons, they led the woman out into the street, climbed into two automobiles, and drove out of the center of the city in an unknown direction.

The son of the sister of field commander Doku Umarov reported the abduction to the Rayon Department of Internal Affairs. Law enforcement bodies have already started an investigation into Khumadova's disappearance, but without results.

It was reported earlier that Doku Umarov's 70-year-old father, Khamad, and his wife and 6-month-old son were also taken away in May 2005 in the same way. Several months before this, armed persons sized his 43-year-old brother, Ruslan Umarov.

In regard to Natalya Khumadova's abduction, Russian civil rights defenders have already brought up Russian General Procurator Vladimir Ustinov's idea on taking the relatives of terrorists hostage.

"Although for now the circumstances of the disappearance of Umarov's sister are not known, it is possible that here we are dealing with the 'counter-hostage-seizure method'," said a representative of the civil rights center Memorial, Dmitriy Grushkin. "We believe this to be one of the most dangerous trends in Chechnya."

Meanwhile, Umarov's remaining relatives assert that "siloviki" [members of militarized agencies] came for Natalya, who are thus trying to get on the trail of the field commander or force him to surrender as Ichkerian Brigadier General Magomed Khambiyev did at one time. On an Internet site, an unnamed Umarov relative recalled the seizing of Aslan Maskhadov's sister and brothers and also told about the subsequent elimination of the leader of the separatists. This person was sure that Doku Umarov will also ignore the disappearance of his sister and not cease his subversive activities.

2005-08-22T10:28:00.000-04:00

Russia: Avian Flu Virus Registered in Six Districts of Altay Territory

CEP20050822027040 Moscow ITAR-TASS in English 0812 GMT 22 Aug 05

BARNAUL, August 22 (Itar-Tass) - The chicken flu virus was registered in
nine villages of six districts in the Altai Territory, situated in southeastern
Siberia. The infection covers 42 farmsteads and one incubator station. Farmers
also disposed of 11,522 chicken.

Under "The Plan on stopping chicken flu disease", infected districts conduct
quarantine measures, explanatory work with population, door-to-door canvassing
to find out sick and dead poultry as well as carry out shooting of wild
waterfowl to investigate them for the presence of infection. The regional
branch of the Russian Ministry for Emergencies reported on Monday that the
monitoring of the epizootic situation is conducted throughout the territory.

The territorial budget appropriated five million roubles to set off losses
of population in connection with forced killing of poultry. Deputy head of the
territorial administration Vladimir Popov noted that "preventive and special
measures on arresting and localizing the disease were carried out correctly and
in good time.

This is corroborated by relatively insignificant losses of poultry
population with minimum financial losses". However, a possibility of new
flare-ups of the disease will persist till the departure of wild birds to
southern countries for wintering. Therefore, the territorial administration
banned the summer-autumn hunting for all types of waterfowl.

"If a vaccine for chicken flu is developed by the spring of the next year,
vaccination of all poultry population will be carried out," Popov emphasized.
At the same time, it is planned to create "troublesome zones" during the period
of the spring arrival of wild waterfowl in lakes, swamps and other nesting
places. This will help to cut considerably the risk of chicken flu disease.

In Popov's opinion, the territorial budget should provide for a rise in
funds for anti-epizootic measures, establishment of additional veterinary
points, improvement of laboratory diagnosing, acquisition of disinfection and
other special equipment, clothing and other means of protection.

2005-08-22T10:27:00.000-04:00

Agriculture Watchdog: Bird Flu Identified in Russia Not Dangerous To Humans

CEP20050822027100 Moscow ITAR-TASS in English 1121 GMT 22 Aug 05

MOSCOW, August 22 (Itar-Tass) -- The H5N1 bird flu virus identified in a
number of regions of Siberia and in the Urals poses no risk to humans, the
deputy chief of Russia's agricultural watchdog, Yevgeny Nepoklonov has told the
media.

At the same time he remarked that under certain circumstances the virus can
mutate in the human body.

"However, at this point we can say with certainty that the identified virus
is not dangerous to humans," he said.

So far bird flu cases have affected private households.

"No cases of the disease have been registered at any of the country's large
poultry farms so far," Nepoklonov said.

He warned that in case of an outbreak of the disease at any large farm all
poultry would be destroyed.

2005-08-19T14:28:00.000-04:00

EUP20050819044002 Budapest Nepszabadsag in Hungarian 18 Aug 05 p 3

[Editorial by Gabor Miklos: "A Provocative Remark to Hungary"]

One of the world's best-known news television channels, the Al-Jazirah has spotlighted Hungary, doing so in a very peculiar way, we are told by people who have seen and correctly understood the 48-minute broadcast.

As Nepszabadsag has already reported, a couple of individuals speaking Hungarian appeared on the program, which offers one of the most important intellectual sources for the Arab world, and propagated Nazi ideas on air. Most of the individuals in question were not named, and neither did they state what organizations they belonged to. They only stated that they liked Hitler, hated the Jews, and liked the sacred Islam war. On top of it all, Diana Bacsfi, formerly known as a neo-Arrow Cross [Hungarian Nazi] ideologist, has also made an appearance, with her name indicated. They even took the Arab television staff to what is thought to be Szalasi's grave.

The statements made in Hungarian were supplemented by Arab commentaries that informed Al-Jazirah viewers about organizations with similar views in Hungary today. Naturally, the television channel only offered information on the issue, without taking sides. The people who have analyzed the broadcast presume that the Qatar staff simply wants to produce programs stirring shocking scandals. In addition, pronounced anti-Jewish and anti-West attitudes are a part of their approach. The sacred war against the United States and Israel is a rather popular slogan for Al-Jazirah viewers. A Central European report of this kind will only reinforce their conviction.

According to the persons who spoke to Al-Jazirah, Budapest is home to an international Jewish conspiracy, and one of the ruling parties serves Zionist interests. So someone has made a provocative remark to Hungary. We have been aware all along that Nazism and terror referring to Islam are quite compatible, but we have not yet heard such an offer. I think that the individuals speaking to Al-Jazirah virtually pinpointed Hungary as an attack target on the map. They certainly knew who the people sending messages to the world through Al-Jazirah are.

2005-08-18T10:49:00.000-04:00

EUP20050817031011 London The Independent (Internet Version-WWW) in English 17 Aug 05

[Report by Rebecca Armstrong: "Jihad: Play the Game"]

Grenades - check. Sniper rifle - check. Prayer mat - check. Gamers may be used to saving the day by taking on alien forces from another universe but a new wave of computer games are more concerned with saving the world from non-believers. With titles like Special Force and Under Siege, these games sound similar to military titles like Medal of Honour that regularly top the UK games chart for best-selling titles. Once people start playing though, it's obvious Special Force and Under Siege are very different both in quality and in content to their mainstream rivals.

Hizballah, a radical Islamic group, spent two years developing Special Force, a PC game designed to compete with games showing Arabs as enemies and Americans as triumphant heroes. Emblazoned across the cover is the invitation to: "Be a partner in the victory. Fight, resist and destroy your enemy in the name of force and victory."

Inspired by actual Hizballah missions, Special Force takes place during operations on Israeli soldiers. Players have to deal with the same conditions as real Hizballah fighters, including weather conditions, mines and the number of enemy - Israeli - troops. During training, players can practise their sniping skills on Israeli political and military figures including the Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Mahmoud Rayya, an official from the Hizballah bureau, explained at the game's launch that "this game is resisting the Israeli occupation through the media". The game sold thousands of copies in Lebanon in the first two weeks after its release and has gone on to sell at least 10,000 more since.

2005-08-17T14:40:00.000-04:00

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/44914.html

A LEADING journalist from Russia yesterday spoke of the moment she was poisoned by mysterious forces as she tried to halt the Beslan school siege last year.
In a compelling talk at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Anna Politkovskaya told of how she was nearly killed during her attempt to instigate negotiations with the Chechen rebels over the crisis in North Ossetia. More than 330 people died in the siege.
Speaking through a translator, Politkovskaya, a trenchant critic of Vladimir Putin's government, described how she was flying to Rostov-on-Don when she fell unconscious.
The reporter was trying to make contact with the Chechens she knew from several years of covering the war in their homeland in an effort to open talks to halt the bloodshed at the school.
However, as Politkovskaya sipped a cup of tea she had ordered during the flight, she collapsed. Her health may be permanently damaged by the poisoning.
"I don't know exactly who tried to finish me off and I will probably never find out until the fall of the present regime," she said at the festival, which is sponsored by The Herald and the Sunday Herald.
"However, I do understand why they did it. I had realised that, with all my contacts in Chechnya, I could try and persuade Aslan Maskhadov (the deceased former leader of the Chechen rebels) to do all he could do to ensure the situation ended peacefully."
The journalist would not blame the poisoning directly on the FSB (the Russian security services) but spoke of her belief that the force benefited from the siege, and co-operated with Chechen bombings of Moscow in 1999. The bombings were used to help justify the second Chechen war.
"I ordered that cup of tea and a few minutes later I was completely knocked out," she said. "But what happened to me could not be considered a tragedy, particularly in comparison to what happened in Beslan, it was a detail in the whole affair."
She continued: "No-one has ever seriously investigated the 1999 bombings, but I am convinced that although the bombings were carried out by Chechens, they were done with the connivance of the FSB.
"There was involvement, because they were very interested in an event of that kind happening. Beslan was also very helpful to certain forces in Russia.
"It was used to the hilt by all the various security services to clamp down on the rest of society.
"And Putin used it to clamp down on the meagre democratic gains in Russia to strengthen what he calls the 'vertical ladder of power'."

2005-08-17T11:07:00.000-04:00

CEP20050816027126 Tbilisi Chechenpress WWW-Text in Russian 1420 GMT 08 Aug 05

8 August: Seemingly hidden global processes are under way in the world against the background of the "antiterror" hysteria. But if you look carefully enough, you will see that the world is gradually polarizing.

This polarization has one interesting peculiarity - both sides are trying to attract Russia. For its part, Russia is successfully taking advantage of this. There is the so-called antiterrorist coalition and G8, on the one hand, of which Russia is a full member. On the other hand, there is the Shanghai Eight [presumably, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization], of which Russia is a member, too. Which of them will Russia prefer?

[Passage omitted: on recent developments in Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan]

George Bush has so far hoped that the honest eyes of a KGB lieutenant-colonel will not betray their eternal friendship. But the US president is unaware of how treacherous the Russian special services can be. As a result, "Pu [Russian President Vladimir Putin] has chosen Hu [Chinese leader Hu Jintao]", i.e. not his friend Bush, but the chairman of the People's Republic of China, Hu Jintao. What is the reason for this precipitate choice of Pu?

International news agencies reported recently that "a large-scale Russian-Chinese military exercise Peace Mission - 2005" is to be held in August.

[Passage omitted: the Russian military command said preparations for the exercise completed]

Subsequent events showed that the Americans did not think long about replying to Putin. Out of the whole arsenal, they pointed to "their friend Vladimir's" Achilles heel - Chechnya - by showing an interview with commander of the Chechen Resistance Shamil Basayev.

This retaliatory step by the Americans was aimed at demonstrating to the Kremlin ruler how shaky his position is in case Putin decides to continue to disobey "Uncle Sam".

Judging by their recent actions, the Americans have been consolidating their positions in Azerbaijan and Georgia. After the inglorious loss of Central Asia, the Caucasus is the last outpost of the US, which it will leave under no circumstances. If Putin makes haste by creating an "explosive mixture" of Russia, China, India and other Asian "tigers", the White House will not limit itself just to showing Chechen [rebel] leaders on American TV channels but will take more drastic measures. These might include, for instance, the delivery of portable air defense missile systems to the Chechen Resistance.

If you remember, it was the delivery of these missile systems that played a crucial role in the Soviet Union's defeat in Afghanistan. History may repeat itself. Especially now that only the Caucasus range separates the Americans from Chechen resistance fighters. For several hundred bucks decorated Georgian herdsmen on their omnipotent donkeys can deliver a couple of dozens of portable air defense missile systems to any of the Chechen gorges.

[Description of Source: Tbilisi Chechenpress WWW-Text in Russian -- official news agency of rebel Chechen government; located at www.chechenpress.com, -co.uk, and -.info]

2005-08-17T10:29:00.000-04:00

KPP20050817000096 Pyongyang KCNA in English 0805 GMT 17 Aug 05
caracas, august 15 (kcna correspondent) -- an international anti-imperialist tribunal of the 16th world festival of youth and students was held in an amphitheatre in caracas on aug. 13 and 14.present at the tribunal were venezuelan president hugo chavez frias and at least 16,000 delegates of youth and students from more than 100 countries including the dprk, honorary guests to the festival and citizens in caracas.on display there were photos showing the atrocities and crimes committed by the U.S. and japanese imperialists against the korean people.the tribunal elected venezuelan vice-president jose vicente rangel presiding judge and delegates of the dprk, cuba, britain, spain, mexico, vietnam, zimbabwe and the world federation of democratic youth judges.prior to a trial, the participants viewed display of a video tape on the aggression and wars and brutal atrocities committed by the U.S. imperialists in former yugoslavia, iraq and other regions of the world.the tribunal had hearings and made a judgment on charged crimes of the imperialists who have destroyed the global peace and security and committed ceaseless actions against humanity such as economic blockade and sanctions while resorting to aggression, war and occupation in various countries.delegates of youth and students from different countries in their accusations brought to light the criminal history of the imperialists woven with aggression and wars and bitterly condemned them for the crimes against humankind.DPRK delegates made testimonies entitled "the U.S. imperialists' hostile policy toward the DPRK and their moves for isolating and stifling it are a unilateral aggressive act against a sovereign state and a crime against humanity" and "we denounce the moral vulgarity of the japanese reactionaries who work hard to beautify japan's unheard-of war crimes, distort the history and evade its responsibility for the settlement of the past." after hearing the testimonies and looking round photographic data, delegates of cuba, venezuela, ecuador and other countries said that they came to know well about the fact that the united states is the very one who divided korea and has aggravated the military tension there and about the unimaginable massacres and plunder committed by the U.S. and japanese imperialists in korea.the participants expressed full support for the cause of the korean people, chanting such slogans as "the U.S., hand off korea at once!" and "korea is one!" the venezuelan president in a speech disclosed that the bush administration has resorted to every conceivable scheme to obliterate the bolivar revolution, stressing that the venezuelan people would advance along the road of socialism, upholding the banner of independence against the U.S. and other imperialists.he called on youth and students to escalate the anti-U.S. struggle in close unity.the court passed a judgment that the bush administration should be brought to an international court, stating that all the aggression and wars, economic blockades, and terrorist acts taking place in the world at present are attributable to the U.S. imperialists.[Description of Source: Pyongyang KCNA in English -- Official DPRK news agency. URL: http://www.kcna.co.jp]

2005-08-16T15:20:00.000-04:00

From Aquarius records:

NORTT Graven (Total Holocaust Records) cd 14.98
Our doomiest customer, "Rick from Thrasher", came in the other day to ask about an album he saw on www.doom-metal.com, some band called Nortt who were supposed to be amazing; so good in fact that according to that website, Nortt's label was almost justified in charging about thirty euros for their cd (an astronomical amount, like US$40)! We didn't of course have that absurdly-expensive opus, but we actually did have this, Nortt's previous album released for a much more reasonable price on a different label. And it is pretty darn good, if you're in the mood for some "Pure Depressive Black Funeral Doom Metal" as it says on the back cover. Nortt are a one-man band from Denmark in the black metal tradition (complete with corpse paint and everything), but their fuzzing, buzzing music is sloooowww and full of despairing piano intonations and distorted minor-key laments. The vocals and the guitars both sound like last breaths, dying gasps, exhalant spirits... It's a drone-hiss of massive, gothic proportions. Nortt definitely inhabit the same gloomy petrified forest as AQ-faves Skepticism!! Perhaps if you get this and it succeeds in bringing your most suicidal thoughts to the fore, you can make it through life a little longer by trying to search out that other incredibly expensive Nortt album...

2005-08-16T13:45:00.000-04:00

Russia: Chechen Officials Say Key Dangers Unemployment, Wahhabis

CEP20050815027098 Moscow Radio Rossii in Russian 1400 GMT 15 Aug 05

[Presenter] All illegal armed groups must be suppressed before parliamentary elections in Chechnya. This task has been set by chairman of the Chechen State Council Taus Dzhabrailov. [passage omitted: repeat of earlier reports]

2005-08-16T13:31:00.000-04:00

KPP20050815000206 Seoul Yonhap in English 2248 GMT 15 Aug 05

WASHINGTON, Aug. 15 (Yonhap) -- The United States will be watching China-Russia military exercises beginning this week, taking place for the first time amid discomfort over the two nations' growing influence in the region, a senior State Department official said Monday.

"We are watching the exercises. We will watch what happens," a senior State Department official said Monday.

"Certainly our military analysts will watch the exercises," he said.

The official said the U.S. received a briefing on the exercises.

Department spokesman Sean McCormack, at a daily briefing, said the U.S. had been "advised" about the exercises and expected they would take place "in a manner that supports the mutual goal of regional stability."

He added a note of concern, saying, "we would hope that anything that they do is not something that would be disruptive to the current atmosphere in the region."

2005-08-16T13:27:00.000-04:00

GMP20050816700001 London Al-Hayah (Internet Version-WWW) in Arabic 16 Aug 05

[Report by Muhammad Muqaddam in Algiers: "'Salafi Group' Calls for Operations in France"]

The Algerian "Salafi Group for the Call and Combat" has appealed to its supporters to carry out terrorist operations targeting Algerian officials in France, thus confirming its rejection of the amnesty initiative announced by the authorities.

In a statement published on fundamentalist websites yesterday, it called on its activists and supporters "to hunt down these criminals in France", a reference to officials in the Algerian state. The statement urged following up their movements in France and said: "Watch them and wait for them in every road (...), in the dens of corruption and entertainment and gambling places. Wait for them outside the nightclubs and stores selling alcohol." It added: "If you cannot exterminate them, then at least wage a campaign among the Muslim community to expose and uncover them and spoil their rest."

2005-08-16T13:23:00.000-04:00

Syria: Police Reportedly Clash With Demonstrating PKK Supporters

GMP20050816619004 Istanbul NTV in Turkish 0800 GMT 16 Aug 05

A clash broke out between the supporters of the terrorist organization PKK [Workers Party of Kurdistan] and the police in Syria's Ayn al-Arab town on the Turkish-Syrian border. The Arab Human Rights Organization declared that the Syrian police intervened against a demonstration by PKK supporters who were marking the 21st anniversary of the organization's launching of armed attacks. Some 30 terrorist organization members who damaged many vehicles and shops were arrested during the clash, in which the police used tear gas. The Syrian officials, in turn, failed to issue a statement on the subject.

2005-08-16T13:16:00.000-04:00

Radical Salafist Imam Ceases Activities Due To Pressure From French Authorities

EUP20050816338004 Paris Liberation (Internet Version-WWW) in French 16 Aug 05

[Report by Jacky Durand: "The Salafist Profession of Faith of a Contested Imam"]

It is a succession of corridors, of dark rooms cluttered with cables and heat pipes. In Stains (Seine-Saint-Denis), the Al-Salam mosque is housed on the ground floor and basement of a suburban building. For the past seven years, it is in these austere surroundings that Zouhair Razgallah, 38, has delivered his sermons. Surroundings that remain silent and empty between prayers. The place is reputed to be Salafist. During the past three years at least, RG [General Intelligence] memos have reported that the Stains mosque welcomes supporters of this rigorous movement that demands an original interpretation of Islam.

Unusually for this strand of Islam, the young believers agreed to speak of their faith and practice that they see as being close to that of the salefs, the companions and successors of the Prophet. They say that the Friday prayers led by Imam Zouhair Razgallah attracted crowds of worshippers. Zouhair Razgallah listens to them, a hint of a smile behind his beard. Between the mosque and his family he has made his choice. "It will be my children," he says. The man described as the "Salafist imam" has decided to no longer preach in Stains because he fears being targeted by the Interior Ministry since Nicolas Sarkozy decreed "zero tolerance" of radical imams following the London bombings. But he wanted to explain his position to a journalist. Zouhair Razgallah argues his personal cause with the aid of the audio recording of one his most recent sermons condemning violence and a work by the Committee of the Ulemas of Saudi Arabia condemning terrorism, in the French translation.

Distinction. It all began, says Zouhair Razgallah, with an interview that appeared in the 23 July issue of Le Parisien [Paris regional daily] in which Mohamed al-Saadi, director of the Stains mosque, explained that the "imam is a Salafist." "I said that the imam was a Salafist," admits Mohamed al-Saadi finally. "I said that he did not engage in politics. I did not say he was a jihadist," added the Stains mosque director in reference to the distinction made by researchers between the Sheikhist Salafists who condemn terrorism and the murder of civilians and the Jihadist Salafists who justify the use of violence. "The difficulty lies in knowing when people may move from one tendency to another and espouse violent extremism," says one investigator.

Last Friday [ 12 August] Zouhair Razgallah went elsewhere than Stains for his prayers, he says, due to "the immense media pressure" he is under. "I try to follow a traditionalist Islam, close to that of the Prophet, with no change from its source, its bases." The message has all the hallmarks of Sheikhist Salafism, that of the faithful who use the Internet or prepaid telephone cards to consult the Saudi "Shaykhs" who advise them on the interpretation of texts, on daily life, and religious practice. But the outgoing imam avoids using the word as he knows that it makes people frightened: "Today, if you want to say that someone is a fanatic you say that he is a Salafist."

...

Intellectual baggage. Over the past year Abdel Ait Omar has been meeting with young people from the Stains mosque as part of his research for the Versailles Saint-Quenten-en Yvelines University. After his master's degree, he embarked on a thesis on "the practice of Islam in French society." "One youngster said to me: 'I am lucky to have found Islam as I saw a lot of my friends killed by drugs or in fights or hold ups.' For them Islam is often a way of breaking with a very burdensome past. They also have the feeling that by learning Arabic and embarking on a spiritual quest they will acquire the intellectual baggage they failed to obtain at school."

2005-08-16T13:13:00.000-04:00

JPP20050816000085 Hong Kong AFP in English 0855 GMT 16 Aug 05

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Aug 16 (AFP) - Taliban militants threatened Tuesday to kill a kidnapped Lebanese engineer if his Turkish construction company fails to leave Afghanistan within 24 hours.

The engineer, Ahmed Reza, was abducted on Monday near Qalat, the capital of the restive southeastern Zabul province, local officials said.

"If the Turkish company he works for will not leave or prepare for leaving we will kill this engineer" by 12:00 pm (0730 GMT) on Wednesday, Abdul Latif Hakimi, the ousted regime's purported spokesman told AFP.

Some of Hakimi's claims have proved unreliable or exaggerated in the past.

A number of engineers working on construction projects in Afghanistan's restive south and east have been kidnapped by militants.

Hostage-takers killed a Turkish road worker in December last year in the eastern province of Kunar during an abortive rescue attempt by Afghan forces.

Italian aid worker Clementina Cantoni was kidnapped and then released by a criminal gang in the Afghan capital Kabul this May, although her abduction was not thought to have any link with Islamic militants.

Three United Nations workers were abducted from the centre of the capital, Kabul, and held for nearly a month before being released unharmed in late 2004.

As Afghanistan approaches landmark September parliamentary elections, Taliban loyalists and their Al-Qaeda allies have stepped up attacks on US and Afghan troops and softer targets such as aid and reconstruction workers.

2005-08-16T13:10:00.000-04:00

Russian Prosecutors Confirm Madrasah Possessed Wahhabi Literature

CEP20050816027029 Moscow ITAR-TASS in Russian 0740 GMT 16 Aug 05

Buguruslan (Orenburg Region), 16 August: Expert analysis has established that literature seized from a madrasah in Buguruslan last autumn is extremist in nature, the press service of the Orenburg Region prosecutor's office told Russian news agency ITAR-TASS today.

On the basis of expert findings, the Buguruslanskiy interdistrict prosecutor's office has opened a criminal case under the heading "incitement of ethnic, racial and religious hatred".

Prosecutors said that explosives and Arab and Russian literature had been found in the Al-Furkon madrasah. The books were sent for expert analysis, which took several months.

2005-08-16T13:08:00.000-04:00

Russian Ex-Guantanamo Prisoner Reported Abducted in North Caucasus

CEP20050816027035 Moscow Ekho Moskvy News Agency in Russian 0839 GMT 16 Aug 05

[No dateline, as received] Former Guantanamo prisoner Rasul Kudayev has been abducted in Nalchik [in Kabarda-Balkaria], the head of the Russian Islamic Committee, Geydar Dzhemal, has told Ekho Moskvy radio.

"People wearing balaclavas and dressed in camouflage seized Kudayev in the presence of his mother and sister and took him to an unknown destination," Dzhemal said.

"This is an example of how Latin-American-style abductions take place in this country. They are carried out without any sanction, warrant or legal grounds but at the same time are incited by the official security structures," he went on to add.

"I think that Kudayev may be subjected to torture. He is a very sick man and if he is tortured, he may not survive," Dzhemal concluded.

2005-08-16T13:00:00.000-04:00

GROZNY. Aug 16 (Interfax-AVN) - By staging the latest series of terrorist attacks and committing other crimes across Chechnya, guerillas tried to show that they still have sufficient capabilities to destabilize the situation in the republic, Chechen Prime Minister Sergei Abramov said.

"Illegal armed groups have repeatedly threatened that this summer will be 'hot'. Tough measures that have been taken by federal forces and law enforcement agencies of the Chechen republic have helped eliminate the most odious leaders, eliminate and detain a large number of militants and thus stop them from trying to influence the situation," Abramov told Interfax by phone on Monday.

The prime minister offered his comment in response to Monday's terrorist attack in downtown Grozny and the latest events in Roshni-Chu and Vedeno.

The situation in Chechnya remains stable, Abramov said. "There is no panic among the local population," he said.

"These terrorist attacks and robbery-related assaults also suggest that illegal armed groups continue to receive plenty of money. Militants may receive some of these funds from the shadow sector of the economy," he said.

"Our information suggests that shadow wine and vodka producers alone have avoided paying more than 600 million rubles ($21.11 million) in taxes. Shadow enterprises in other sectors are also operating with certain amounts," Abramov said.

Chechen First Deputy Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov was appointed to oversee the republic's crackdown on the shadow sector of the economy at a Monday government session, he said.

2005-08-16T12:45:00.000-04:00

Russia: Chechen Leaders Explain Thinking Behind Anti-Terrorist Jihad

CEP20050816011001 Moscow Gazeta in Russian 16 Aug 05 p 2

[Nadezhda Kevorkova report: "'Wahhabists' Turn Up in Chechnya. Republic's Authorities Find Way Not To Fall Out with Saudi Arabia"]

Chechen Mufti Sultan Mirzayev [some other sources spell name as Merzoyev] and Taus Dzhabrailov, chairman of the Chechen State Council, yesterday explained to journalists at a press conference that the jihad against Wahhabites declared 4 August in the mosque in the village of Tsentoroy constitutes the "go-ahead" for conducting an operation against terrorists who will be done away with by the time of the parliamentary elections in Chechnya.
You can only stop a war with a war," Chechnya's mufti, Sultan Mirzayev declared. "Better death than endless horror.

...

Taus Dzhabrailov, assesses the strength of the gunmen themselves at 800-1,000 of which 100-150 are mercenaries from elsewhere. In the opinion of the head of the State Council no more than 10-15 persons are fighting for the freedom of Chechnya, and the rest are fighting for money. Taus Dzhabrailov rejected suspicions that the gunmen will surrender and go over to working for the Chechen police. Over five years of war, according to him, around 7,000 gunmen have laid down their arms , of which 600-700 did so this year. But over three years the forces of the Chechen police have grown by only 1,500 persons and now amount to 16,000. "So the majority of gunmen return to civilian life," said Dzhabrailov confidently, although in this civilian life what awaits them is 80 percent unemployment. He even cited a precise figure of 467,655 unemployed. Among these the gunmen are recruiting new mercenaries who fight for money. So the jihad against Wahhabites was declared in order to break this vicious circle. Certain Muslim figures have calculated that by its fatwa against the Wahhabites, Chechnya has declared war on Saudi Arabia. But Taus Dzhabrailov found an elegant formulation: "We are calling them at home not Wahhabites but Wahhabists so as to make a distinction with the religion of Saudi Arabia."

...

Dzhabrailov touched on a topic around which serious arguments have been going on since 1994 -- the number of killed. For Chechnya the question of casualties is a very important one taking account of the small population and the political aspect of mutual relations between Russia and the West. According to the head of the State Council, the total losses in the two wars are not more that 160,000, of which number 30,000-40,000 have been Chechens. At the same time rights champions, Western mass media, and gunmen cite a figure of 200,000-250,000 which amounts to a quarter of the population of the republic.
The mufti confirmed to Gazeta his readiness to fight: "For me the sharia (legislation in Islam -- Gazeta) does not forbid one to defend oneself and I will gladly shoot and hack [with a sword]." But Dzhabrailov, although not expressing an intention to participate in the jihad, said: "Those who fight against religious extremism, are the true heroes, they are the shahids and not those who, from the other side, kill totally innocent citizens." The jihad that has been declared does not extend to the federal army. Dzhabrailov told Gazeta: "The federals operate within the framework of the Constitution and have nothing to do with jihad." The official's entourage reacted immediately to this explanation, whispering: "They do indeed have something to do with jihad, and they are perishing like shahids.".

2005-08-15T16:45:00.000-04:00

WEARING a Paul Green School of Rock T-shirt, his bangs plastered to his forehead in the summer heat, Laris Kreslins pulled in front of a handsome brownstone on Rittenhouse Square, the priciest neighborhood in the city, and hopped out of his car.

"We're going to show you what a real Philly apartment looks like," he said, unlocking the door to reveal a spacious one-bedroom flat sparsely decorated with CD's and copies of music magazines. "As you can see, it has hardwood floors, lots of light and very high ceilings," he said. Then Mr. Kreslins paused and delivered what he knew would be the kicker: "Rent is $800 a month. Heat and electricity included."

...

Attracted by a thriving arts and music scene here and a cost of living that is 37 percent lower than New York's, according to city figures, a significant number of youngish artists, musicians, restaurateurs and designers are leaving New York City and heading down the turnpike for the same reasons they once moved to Brooklyn from Manhattan.

"We got priced out of Manhattan, and we moved to Brooklyn," said John Schmersal, 32, of the three-member band Enon; two of them migrated here in January. "Then we got priced out of Brooklyn. Now we're in Philadelphia."

...

Ms. Neighbor and Mr. Matz discovered Fishtown, a gentrifying blue-collar neighborhood adjacent to Northern Liberties, where, in the last five years, youthful faces with bed head have made their way among the traditionally Irish Catholic residents. They found a three-bedroom row house for $170,000.

"New York is mythologically all about vibrancy and creativity, but it's hard to work a 40-hour week and come home and be Jackson Pollock," said Mr. Matz, 32, a guitarist. He said that by living in Philadelphia he could support himself teaching public school and devote the rest of his time to his band.

A few blocks away from Ms. Neighbor's house live Laura Watt, a 38-year-old painter, and her husband, Clark Thompson, 38, a financial services technician who left his Manhattan-based bank for one in Philadelphia a year ago. They settled in a three-level condominium in a new housing development called Rag Flats in Fishtown with their two children, Gus and Lydia. At $439,000 it was pricier than any of the block's three-story row houses, but with three bedrooms, each with an outdoor deck; solar heat and electricity; a rooftop with spectacular views; and a dumbwaiter going down to the kitchen, they thought it was worth it.

"Philadelphia reminds me a lot of what Brooklyn used to be like," said Ms. Watt, who had lived in Brooklyn and Westchester County for 15 years

Philadelphia Story: The Next Borough

2005-08-15T16:15:00.000-04:00

That's not to say that Canada shrugs off the decrees of radical imams. Canada has strong laws against hate speech, and the country's commission governing television and radio allowed Al Jazeera on the air only if cable and satellite distributors monitored its programs 24 hours a day. The agency also allowed cable companies to alter or delete "abusive comments" from Al Jazeera programs.

...

Yet since the London bombings senior Canadian officials have made increasingly stronger comments about security dangers, and a poll last week showed that Canadians favor tough security measures over civil liberties. The Globe and Mail and CTV found that 72 percent of Canadians support placing video cameras in public places, and 81 percent favor "deporting or jailing anyone who publicly supports terrorist bombers." CLIFFORD KRAUSS

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/14/weekinreview/14imam.html?pagewanted=all

2005-08-15T16:04:00.000-04:00

Modern spread of Wahhabism

Wahhabism is the official form of Islam in Saudi Arabia. In 1924 the Wahhabi al-Saud dynasty conquered Mecca and Medina, cities holy to Muslims, creating the Saudi state. The spread of Wahhabi Islam has been facilitated by Saudi oil revenues; Saudi laypeople, government officials and clerics have donated many tens of millions of dollars to create Wahhabi-oriented religious schools, newspapers and outreach organizations.

Some Wahhabis believe that many Muslim Brotherhood scholars — Sayyid Qutb and Yusuf al-Qaradawi are sometimes cited — are corrupted due to their innovations in Islam, and their call to revolution and rebellion against the rulers of Muslim countries. For the same reason, they hold that Osama bin Laden is not a Wahhabi, but a Qutbee (follower of Sayyid Qutb), due to his rebellion against the rulers of Saudi Arabia.

Wahhabis ban pictures, photographs, musical instruments, singing, video, and celebrating Muhammad's birthday, among many other things, based on their interpretation of the ahadith (classical collections of sayings and traditions of Muhammad). Many Wahhabi men grow their beards and wear their traditional dresses above their ankles. These practices have come to be associated with the more radical Islamist factions, particularly following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the later rise of the Taliban.

Many contend that Wahhabism is or has become a dominant form of Islam through proselytization driven by Saudi funding; others contend that its influence is less widespread and that the practice and observance of Wahhabism and the political manifestations that flow therefrom are more nuanced than its most doctrinaire interpretations.

2005-08-15T15:59:00.000-04:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

(Redirected from Kuffar)

See kaffir lime for the condiment
See kaffir for the derogatory Afrikaans term for native Africans.

Kafir (or kāfir; plural Kuffar, kuffār) is an Arabic word meaning "denier" or "concealer." The Turkish form is Gavur. In a religious context it means a non-Muslim, and it is often used to mean "unbeliever" or "infidel". The noun kufr means "not believing in God" or "blasphemy, atheism." In Fiqh, the term amounts to the equivalent of Christian excommunication. The verb, "to declare someone a kafir" is takfir. For example, the novelist Salman Rushdie was declared a kafir in the Fatwa of Ayatollah Khomeini.

According to some scholars in Islam, the correct use of the word kafir in Islamic theology does not include either Christians, Samaritans, Jews, and all "Sabians" who are covered by the term Ahl-al-Kitab, or "People of the Book," because they are considered recipients of divine revelation from Allah. However, other scholars, such as those backing militant Islamists, often do not make the distinction in their rhetoric and do often use it to include these religious communities, or any enemy.

2005-08-15T11:45:00.002-04:00

GMP20050813020001 Nicosia Cyprus Mail in English 13 Aug 05 p 5

[Report by Stefanos Evripidou: "Cyprus ponders travel advisory for Turkey"]

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is mulling over whether to issue a travel advisory on Turkey, said a ministry official yesterday.

After the recent spate of terrorist attacks in Turkey as well as the thwarted attack against Israeli tourists, the ministry hinted that a travel warning might be in order, despite the fact that no such warning was issued after the London or Egypt bomb attacks.

A ministry official told the Cyprus Mail: "We are still examining along with our EU partners whether to issue a travel advisory on Turkey."

Asked if the ministry would decide any time soon, given the importance such advice would hold to Cypriots visiting Turkey, especially Istanbul, the official replied: "It is impossible to say when we will reach a decision."

According to the official, Cyprus is not obliged to follow the decisions of any other EU country on the matter. "Each country has the right to decide independently on this but we are working with our EU partners, exchanging information, which helps us a lot in our decision," she said.

Asked to comment on Israel's withdrawal of its travel advisory to Turkey yesterday following the arrest of a Syrian-born suspect, the official said: "Of course there is that element to take into account."

A spokesman for the 'foreign ministry' in the north had a more ambivalent view of the government's motives.

"Our attitude to terrorism is very clear, we condemn it. But when bombs went off in London we didn't advise our citizens not to go there. The Greek Cypriot government has a kind of paranoia or phobia about Turkey and will use anything against it," he said.

In the meantime, travel to Turkey will likely continue, with Cypriot demand increasing to visit Orthdoxy's most holy sites.

2005-08-15T11:45:00.001-04:00

CEP20050815021003 Moscow Nezavisimaya Gazeta in Russian 15 Aug 05 p 2

[Report by Viktor Myasnikov: "Landing at the Double. Scale of Russian-Chinese Exercises Much Greater Than Officially Stated"]

According to the official plan the first-ever Russian-Chinese exercises do not begin until 18 August, but by Sunday 14 August two Russian ships -- an ASW craft and a landing vessel -- had already left the Chinese port of Qingdao to rehearse elements of the joint maneuvers, namely weapons use, a landing operation, and a joint naval review. This was announced by exercises press center head Vyacheslav Sedov. A mock shore-landing assault on the coast at Lantai is planned for 15 August.
[Passage omitted]
According to the scenario the exercises entail an antiterrorist operation, so it is surprising that so many ships are taking part. After all, international terrorists do not as yet have a navy or strike aircraft. "Peace Mission-2005" has much more the look of a rehearsal for backing up a strategic landing operation.
It is also striking that the military departments of Russia and China are doing their utmost to play down and to disguise the true scale of the exercises. The 18-19 August first phase, for instance, is being presented as a staff training lesson. China has actually shown unprecedented openness. Legislative decisions ratifying the status of Russian service people on PRC territory have been made in short order, and a company of landing troops has been deployed in Qingdao in Chinese People's Liberation Army barracks. This suggests a serious interest on the Chinese side's part in the sphere of military cooperation. The contours of a new military bloc within the framework of the Shanghai Security Organization are emerging with increasing clarity.

2005-08-15T11:45:00.000-04:00

MOSCOW. Aug 15 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent a message of congratulations to Chairman of the North Korean National Defense Commission Kim Jong Il to mark the 60th anniversary of North Korea's independence, the presidential press service announced Monday.

In his message, Putin praised the heroism of the Korean people in their long-standing struggle against colonial rule and expressed satisfaction that North Koreans remembered the important role played by Soviet troops in the Far East in the liberation of Korea.

2005-08-15T11:41:00.000-04:00

CEP20050812027223 (Internet) Kavkaz-Tsentr News Agency WWW-Text in Russian 0000 GMT 11 Aug 05

Since the victory (in the first war) which God granted us, we have observed all the laws and procedures which have applied across the world, apart from the laws of God. We declared a democratic election campaign where everyone had the right to vote, where Russian grannies from Groznyy unable to leave for Russia and those who used to be servants of the occupation forces had the same voice as the mojahedin member carrying a rifle upholding the freedom of his country.

We invited observers from all the infidel countries and the OSCE. In other words, we recognized their right to observe and to judge these elections. We made them judges, never mind the fact that their presence alone was considered a great political success. Although that same head of the OSCE Guldeman clearly and unambiguously stated as he left Russia that he did not recognize Chechnya's sovereignty. This was not the opinion of one individual, but the position of the whole European community.

At the time we wanted to become part of the system of the new world order. Nine years have passed since then. The Russian infidels, with the clear support of the European countries and other infidels, have shown such indiscriminate and cruel brutality that there should be none among us who are deluded. But (and this is surprising) our official representatives are still building a policy and wording their speeches in such a way to get the western community to recognize us.

We would not, for example, mind if Switzerland recognized us. This, by the way, is a country where 52 per cent of the population have expressed their consent that single-sex marriages should be legalized. Even one who does not have a profound knowledge of the Islamic faith should be disgusted by the attitude of such countries and such societies, never mind inviting them as observers and judges. But this is the same European community which we should hold in contempt and despise. They did not even think it necessary to explain their position of political idiocy when, whilst recognizing the legitimacy of the Chechen president and the legality of his election, they did not recognize the legality of the Chechen state. [Passage omitted: reference to Koran]

We built our state, "on a model accepted throughout the world". In other words, we believed it normal to imitate the Jahilliat state model based on atheist (Satanist) ideology. Perhaps, if we had drunk vodka and eaten pork we would have committed a lesser sin. But God knows best! We elected a president and a parliament, formed a cabinet of ministers and appointed a prosecutor. The president we elected (may God have pity on him and on us) declared that the courts would be half Shari'ah and half secular. Parliament legalized almost all the former Soviet holidays under other titles. It seemed that the most abnormal thing was the creation of the so-called Chechen army which was a copy of the Russian army. Even a respect for "patterned berets" was cultivated.

In other words, we cultivated not just an army but also an ideology of an army of non-believers whom God humbled and punished with our hands. As expected, during their very first test at the beginning of the second war all these "berets" disappeared, and after the first week of the war you could have found room for the whole official army of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in the Mercedes of the Chechen defence minister. Whereas in the first war the state in the guise of its structures stayed together for about a month from the moment combat operations started, in the second war these structures broke up within a week. The onslaught of the enemy was in the main countered by forces of the mojahedin who had nothing to do with the Chechen army.

The fact that a state based on the Jahilliat system cannot withstand an onslaught was clearly seen, too, in the example of Iraq. This state was a "subject of international law" and had a 600,000-strong army which was very well equipped with weapons. This state and this army crumbled, and in Iraq today there are quite different people who are waging a war against the occupation forces.

These obvious facts should have prompted us to a certain reflection about things. Perhaps it is of the greatest blessing that we did not become a "subject of international law"?! After all, if these fighters for the rights of sexual perverts had accepted us, then things would have been much worse. Our ignorance of the false path we had chosen would have been fortified and we would have considered it normal to worship God in a mosque, but in real life worship "international law". May God save us from such destructive delusions! [Passage omitted: quotes from Koran, relationships between Muslims and their attitude to the law]

Our foreign policy and diplomacy

Since we have already touched upon this subject, we should at least briefly sum up the results of our activity in a European (western) direction and the degree of effectiveness of our efforts. Europeans adhere to the principles of "realpolitik". In realpolitik such basic categories of human ethics as "truth", "justice", "good" and "evil" are of subordinate, secondary importance. Realpolitik is based on materialism and on a so-called rational approach to reality. The infidels have always adhered to realpolitik and it is not an invention of recent times.

If we look at the realpolitik of the Europeans we can see that they have no intention of complicating relations with Russia just because the latter is destroying the Chechens, because, in the first place, Russia, as a source of energy and with its sales markets for European goods is much more important to them than any violations of notorious "human rights". Second, there is no point in annoying and again entering into a confrontation with a nuclear power for immaterial reasons. The third, and main reason is that the destruction of the Muslims cannot be a material reason and arouse pity in the soul of the infidels, because this is clearly stated in the Koran.

The Chechens are of particular interest to the Europeans. First, to put occasional political pressure on the Russian leadership by playing the so-called "Chechen card"; second, for recruiting agents of influence from among Chechen representatives in Europe, and third, in order to obtain information about the real state of the forces of the mojahedin and to expose areas where we are vulnerable.

With this in mind, permanent contact is maintained with Chechen representatives abroad and numerous human-rights campaigners and representatives of humanitarian missions and journalists are sent to Chechnya. Fourth, in order to create this kind of information-psychological background, where the struggle of the Chechen people is made to look illegal and foolish and the activities of the Chechen leadership are motivated by extremist ambitions leading to a "humanitarian disaster".

We have no objection to our representatives abroad embarking on a path of realpolitik. But in order to do so they must proceed from the following concepts: first, they must always remember that God alone is the greatest real being and everything that happens does so only through His will. Second, we Muslims are aware that we will achieve victory in the war against the non-believers not by force of arms and numbers of troops, but by the grace of God who will reward us because there are God-fearing Muslims among us. Third, we can outwit the non-believers in exactly the same political way not because of the resourcefulness of our minds (although this is not a hindrance), but because we are God-fearing.
First and foremost, we must place all our hopes in God and observe the Islamic faith. Fourth, we must not simply place our hopes in God but we are obliged to know our religion. We derive true information about the nature of non-believers and hypocrites, their aspirations, their tactics and about what they hide in their hearts and what they show, in what aspects they are united and in what they are divided, from the Koran and the Sunna. Only in this way can we shape our realpolitik in our relations with those who are without faith.

[Signed] The Islamic Centre of Strategic Research and Political Technology