Editor: Eugene Imas

Country News Digest Vol.4, Issue #10

03/24/14-03/28/14

Contributors: -Risa Chubinsky -Glyn Cozart -Joseph Gates -Thomas Hyde -Katya Quinn-Judge

On March 27 US cochair of the OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick reported that Azerbaijani Preisdent Ilham Aliyev met with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on the sidelines of the recent Nuclear Security Summit at The Hague from March 24-25. Neither administration has published an official statement regarding the meeting, and the discussions during the meeting are unknown. Arka News Agency Articles: RFE/RL

Azerbaijan

Country News Digest

Russia

Satellite images and local accounts report that between 40,000 and 88,000 Russian military troops are massed along the eastern Ukrainian border. President Putin has stated that they are there for training exercises., but some international governments fear they are there for strategic reasons. Russia also rejected the UN resolution this week that called the Crimean referendum invalid and counterproductive. Articles: CNN Time

Former president of Georgia Saakashvili was summoned by the general prosecutor for questioning in connection with several controversial chapters of his presidential tenure. These include his regimes alleged illegal appropriation of the Imedi television station in 2008, a purportedly botched investigation into the death of then-Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania, and the halving of the sentences of four former Interior Ministry employees convicted of a murder.

Georgia

Civil.ge

Articles:

Former Prime Minister Tymoshenko has formally announced her candidacy in the upcoming Ukrainian presidential elections. She is a popular but controversial figure, and was accused of using derogatory language towards Russia about the annexation of Crimea this week in a private phone call. A complicating factor in the elections will likely be an IMF loan of $18 billion. The loan will be paid out over two years and will force the country to undergo strict austerity measures.

Ukraine

RT

New York Times

Articles:

Guardian

6,000 people gathered in Yerevan opposing pension reforms that require every Armenian citizen born after 1974 to pay 5% of his wages into private pension funds. Protesters voiced fears about management of the funds, and the lack of guarantees that the money would be paid out upon retirement, while Parliament Speaker Abrahamian said they would address shortcomings but that any review would not be a response to public pressure.

Armenia

Yahoo!

Articles:

President Lukashenko told reporters in Minsk on Sunday that Crimea was now firmly Russian territory, regardless of whether one wished to recognize it as such. He also stated that Crimeas accession to Russia is not what is dangerous - what matters is the precedent [it sets]. He expressed concerns that Crimeas annexation had encouraged small and mediumsized states to fear for their territorial integrity, and that these fears could in turn spur nuclear proliferation.

Belarus

Azatutyun

Democratic Belarus

Articles:

RT

Prime Minister Erdogan has entered into a feud with Twitter, blocking access to the site because of its role in spreading wiretapped recordings that have damaged the perception of his government. While users were able to get around the initial restrictions for several days, internet service providers are now blocking the IP addresses used by the site, making access much more difficult.

Turkey

On Tuesday, authorities in the breakaway region of Transnistria claimed to have shot down a Ukrainian drone flying above their territory. A representative of Moldovas security service reportedly laughed off the claim, saying that Transnistria had no air capacity worth mentioning. Ukraines defense ministry has said that the Transnistrian authorities report does not conform to reality.

Moldova

Guardian

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Al Jazeera

AFP

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Belta

Kyrgyzstans parliament on Wednesday introduced its own homosexual propaganda law, which would prohibit promoting nontraditional sexual relationships for minors . This law extends beyond Russias own bill, making statements that create a positive attitude toward unconventional sexual orientation as a crime punishable by a jail sentence for up to a year. Human Rights Watch Articles: Buzzfeed

Kyrgyzstan

Country News Digest

On Tuesday, Taliban militants stormed a Kabul election commission office, killing five people, including two police officers, two election commission workers and a provincial council candidate. At least eight others were injured. The militants were killed after a five-hour gunbattle with Afghan security services. This attack comes less than two weeks before Afghanistans presidential elections. Articles: CNN Reuters

Afghanistan

After a visit to Astana, the UN Special Rapporteur on modern day slavery urged the country to tackle a wider range of forms of slavery. She asked authorities to ensure that ... slavery-like practices including domestic servitude, forced labour, and forced early marriage are designated as crimes in a new draft criminal code. She praised Kazakhstans progress in protecting foreign laborers and their families, particularly through the simplification of procedures for obtaining work permits.

Kazakhstan

UN

Articles:

This week Tehran is seeking action from the international community over the abduction of Iranian border guards by extremists in Pakistan in February. Iranian Foreign Minster Mohammad Javad Zarif on Wednesday appealed to UN chief Ban Ki-Moon to lobby for their release, and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani phoned Pakistani Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif to help secure their safe release.

Iran

Azattyq

Iranian

Articles:

Washington Post

Sub-zero temperatures and iced-over mountain rivers have produced a water shortage in Tajikistans key hydroelectric reservoir, forcing authorities to enforce steep electricity rationing. Representatives of the national energy company say rural areas have had four hours of electricity per day since March 22, while there are reports of as little as a half hour of electricity per day in some areas.

Tajikistan

Turkmenistans national airline company, Turkmenistan Airlines, announced on Thursday that it will begin providing direct flights from Ashgabat to Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City), and Canada (Toronto). These flights are expected to start after Turkmenistan receives Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft, which can seat over 300 people.

Turkmenistan

Asia Plus

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Ozodi

AzerNews

Articles:

Cihan

Investigators announced that Gulnara Karimova, president Karimovs daughter, is being investigated by Swedish prosecutors for taking bribes to let Nordic telecom company TeliaSonera enter the Uzbek market. She has already been named by the Swiss authorities, and Dutch and US authorities have also begun their own investigations. Prosecutors said evidence suggested that Karimova orchestrated the entire situation and profited the most from the bribes. Articles: Reuters RFE/RL

Uzbekistan

Mongolian officials and Rio Tinto are not close to resolving the dispute that has limited expansion of the Oyu Tolgoi mining project for months. Business officials from Rio Tintos majority stakeholder Turqoise Hill announced this week that they had made headway on some issues, but that others could not be resolved until a feasibility study is concluded later in the year.

Mongolia

Sydney Morning Herald

Articles:

Reuters

Taavi Rivas was sworn in as Prime Minister of Estonia on Wednesday, taking over for Andrus Ansip. Rivas represents a coalition government of the center-right Reform Party and the center-left Social Democratic party. At 34, he is the youngest prime minister in the EU. He will serve as prime minister until new governmental elections in eleven months. Articles: ERR ABC

Country News Digest

Estonia

On Monday the Czech cabinet agreed to join the EUs fiscal compact on budget stability, a change of position from the cabinet compared with the previous center-right government. The compact has tough and legally binding fiscal rules, requiring signatories to keep their budget balance or surplus within a limited structural deficit. The Czech Republic will adopt further targets when it joins the euro. Articles: Euractiv EU Observer

Czech Republic

Reacting to Russian troop exercises near its borders, Lithuania has urged NATO to take measures to shore up its defense of the Baltic region. Lithuanias Defense Ministry commented that Russia is still unlikely to attack any NATO member, but that it will continue to monitor war games that it is conducting in the Kaliningrad region.

Lithuania

Facing increasing gas prices from Russia, Ukraine has turned to Slovakia for help in reducing its natural gas dependency on its neighbor to the East. Officials from Ukraine and Slovakia met at the European Commission to discuss the technical aspects involved in reversing the flow of gas, which has traditionally been exported from Ukraine to Slovakia.

Slovakia

IB Times

Articles: Lithuania Tribune

Bloomberg

Articles: Business New Europe

Latvias president, speaker of parliament, and prime criticized any attempt to incite inter-ethnic tension within the country in a joint statement released this week. Worried that the sizeable Russian speaking minority living in Latvia relies mostly on news broadcasts coming from Russia, the officials implored Latvian residents to critically review the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.

Latvia

Political analysts are predicting a landslide victory for Viktor Orbans Fidesz party in next months parliamentary elections. The OSCE has expressed concern over the impending election, cautioning that changes to the electoral system, an imbalance of media coverage, and a possibly partisan electoral commission could undermine the legitimacy of the elections.

Hungary

Reuters

Articles:

BBC

Reuters

Articles:

Global Post

On Tuesday hundreds gathered in the western town of Zagan to commemorate the 70 year anniversary of the Great Escape, where 50 allied prisoners of war were killed after attempting to escape from the German Stalag Luft III prisoner camp. As part of the commemoration 50 members of Britains Royal Air Force (RAF) marched to commemorate those killed.

Poland

On Thursday media reported that the board of the World Bank is soon expected to approve a 250-million euro ($345 million) loan to Romania in order help improve its healthcare infrastructures through reforms. The loan will be used to modernize hospitals, improve governance and management in healthcare, and give funds to research initiatives.

Romania

BBC

Articles:

Fox News

Bloomberg

Articles: Diplomat Bucharest

On Thursday, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Vigenin met with his Israeli counterpart Lieberman to discuss enhancing bilateral relations. They discussed potential bilateral political consultations as well as the Intergovernmental Committee For Economic Partnership. Vigenin is seeking Israeli investments in high technology, medical equipment, and agriculture to support Bulgarias economic development. Articles: Standart News Novinite

Country News Digest

Croatia

Bulgaria

Parliamentary opposition called Wednesday for the urgent drafting of a nationwide waste management strategy. 120,000 tons of garbage had accumulated outside of Varazdin, a tourism center with underground water reserves, and that waste was flowing unimpeded among other urban centers through major waterways. Opposition members called Varazdins waste problem an environmental bomb for the region. Articles: Dalje Jutarnji List On Tuesday, NATO Secretary General Rasmussen met with Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Dukanovic, to discuss the countrys to discuss the countrys potential membership in the alliance in September. Rasmussen praised Montenegros efforts in implementing reforms, and said that the proposed Membership Action Plan accurately targeted the remaining obstacles to membership, such as corruption and organized crime.

On Friday Prime Minister Edi Rama announced plans to pay out 13.1m in reparations to former political prisoners over the course of 2014. A law passed in 2007 under Ramas predecessor mandated that those imprisoned for political reasons under Enver Hoxhas 40-year dictatorship are entitled to 14.3 for each day spent in prison. Only a portion of the reparations have been distributed since 2007, prompting several public protests.

Albania

Montenegro

Koha Jone

Articles:

Balkan Insight

NATO

Articles:

Europe Online

On March 26 Serbias Interior Ministry announced the arrest of Jasna Matic, the former telecommunications minister and head of Serbia Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SIEPA) for suspicions of corruption and abuse of power during her tenure. Along with three others, Matic is estimated to have signed fictitious contracts worth $1.4 million from 2006-2013.

Serbia

Tuesday marked the fifteenth anniversary of the launch of the NATO campaign in Serbia leading to Kosovar independence. The anniversary led to a series of reports commenting on the legacy of the campaign, including the effectiveness of the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, and links between Kosovos situation to that of Crimeas.

Kosovo

Europe Online

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Sofia Globe

Deutsche Welle

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B92

Monday marked the official start to campaigns for Macedonian presidential elections scheduled for next month. Elections are to be held on April 13, after which voters will again cast ballots for the two best ranked candidates to determine a winner. The campaign for early general parliamentary elections is also scheduled to begin in a few days.

Macedonia

Turkish Weekly

Articles:

Sofia Globe

Slovenias Minister of Health, Alenka Trop Skaza, resigned on Tuesday after only a month in office. She is the second minister of health to resign in the last six months and the fifth minister to resign since Prime Minister Alenka Bratuseks government took over last March. Skaza was accused by the media of corruption based on her husbands construction company, which she has denied. Instead, she cited the pressure of the allegations as the reason she has resigned. Articles: Reuters STA

Slovenia

Country News Digest

A mass grave was discovered Bosnia & this week in the Bosnian Herzegovina village of Oborci and is believed to contain the bodies of 147 Bosnian muslims supposedly killed by Bosnian Serbs in 1992. The victims are thought to be Bosnian muslims from the northwest village of Kozarac. Digging to recover the remains is expected to begin soon.

Reuters

Articles:

Blic

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