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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 169, 01-09-06Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 5, No. 169, 6 September 2001Following his visit to Chechnya, SPS leader Nemtsov traveled to Magas on 5 September to meet with Ingushetia's president, Ruslan Aushev, to discuss the optimum format for talks on ending the war in Chechnya, Interfax reported. Nemtsov told Interfax after that discussion that both he and Aushev agree that Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov ought to be a party to those talks. But in view of the Russian leadership's rejection of Maskhadov as a negotiating partner, Nemtsov proposed, as he has done on previous occasions (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 10 August 2001 and "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 4, No. 29, 13 August 2001) that the Chechen people elect delegates to represent them at peace talks. Neither Aushev nor Nemtsov named any Russian politician whom they consider qualified to represent Moscow in peace talks, but they agreed that ideally the Russian representative "should not be someone who took part in hostilities against Chechnya." LFCONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIAN POLITICAL PARTIES APPEAL TO GOVERNMENT OVER INCREASED TELEPHONE CHARGESThe Armenian Revolutionary Federation--Dashnaktsutiun appealed on 5 September to the Armenian government to seek a solution to its dispute with the Greek owners of Armenia's telecommunications monopoly Armentel over the controversial per-minute charges the latter has introduced, Noyan Tapan reported. Speaking at a roundtable discussion of Armentel the same day, Union of Constitutional Rights Deputy Chairman Hayk Babukhanian urged the population not to pay the increased charges, as did Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Vaghinak Kocharian. Kocharian said that the Armenian government plans to take legal action against Armentel to force it to abandon the increased charges. LF[02] NAGORNO-KARABAKH HOLDS LOCAL ELECTIONSResidents of unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic went to the polls on 5 September to elect new local government bodies, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported. A total of almost 2000 candidates contested legislative and executive posts in 223 towns and villages. In Stepanakert, five rival candidates challenged Hamik Avanesian, who is affiliated with the ruling Democratic Artsakh Party, for the post of mayor. The unrecognized enclave's president, Arkadii Ghukasian, told journalists after casting his ballot that voting was "legitimate and democratic." No major irregularities were reported. Azerbaijani officials have condemned the ballot as illegal, while the Council of Europe has argued that it creates an additional obstacle to resolving the Karabakh conflict. But the U.S. State Department said last week that the elections will not have an impact on the ongoing search for a solution to the conflict. LF[03] AZERBAIJANI MINISTER DISCUSSES SECURITY ISSUES IN IRANDuring talks in Tehran on 5 September with Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Hassan Rowhani, Azerbaijani National Security Minister Namig Abbasov acknowledged that relations between the two countries are strained and must be improved, AP reported, quoting IRNA. Rowhani for his part expressed Tehran's desire for "good neighborly" relations, stressing that Azerbaijan lies within the zone of Iran's national security interests and that interference by third parties into Iranian-Azerbaijani relations cannot be justified. LF[04] SENTENCE PASSED ON FORMER KAZAKH PREMIERKazakhstan's Supreme Court sentenced Akezhan Kazhegeldin in absentia on 6 September to 10 years imprisonment on charges of abuse of his official position, tax evasion, and illegal possession of arms, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported. The prosecution had demanded a 12-year sentence (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 15, 16, and 29 August 2001). Kazhegeldin's property in Kazakhstan has been confiscated, and he has been ordered to pay 1 billion tenges ($6.8 million) in compensation for "damage inflicted on the state." Kazhegeldin has lived in Europe and the U.S. since leaving Kazakhstan in 1999. The prosecution has sent special letters of warning to several current and former senior Kazakh government officials whose testimony failed to substantiate the charges against Kazhegeldin. LF[05] KAZAKHSTAN, LATVIA DISCUSS POTENTIAL FOR OIL EXPORTS...Latvian Prime Minister Andris Berzins arrived in Kazakhstan on 5 September on a three-day official visit and met the same day in Astana with President Nursultan Nazarbaev, Russian agencies reported. The two men discussed the prospects for exporting oil from Kazakhstan via Russia and Latvia. Berzins said Latvia could initially ship between 3-5 million tons of Kazakh crude, provided agreement is reached with Russia on rail and pipeline tariffs. An agreement reached last year on supplying Kazakh crude for refining in Lithuania has been held up by failure to reach such a transit agreement (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 December 2000 and 16 February 2001). The two men also discussed expanding cooperation in the textile sector and the manufacture of shoes and furniture. LF[06] ...PLAN TO EXPAND ECONOMIC COOPERATIONBerzins's visit coincided with the first session of the Kazakhstan-Latvia intergovernmental commission for trade and economic cooperation, which opened in Astana on 5 September and is being jointly chaired by Latvian Economics Minister Aigars Kalvitis and Kazakh Trade and Economics Minister Zhaqsybek Kulekeev, ITAR-TASS and Caspian News Agency reported. The two sides noted that bilateral trade turnover last year increased by 50 percent to reach $74 million. Much of that increase was due to exports of cotton from Kazakhstan to Latvian textile plants. LF[07] IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS KYRGYZSTANVisiting Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi held talks in Bishkek on 5 September with Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev and with his Kyrgyz counterpart Muratbek Imanaliev, Interfax and Caspian News Agency reported. Kharrazi also discussed with Kyrgyz First Deputy Prime Minister Nikolai Tanaev the prospects for expanding bilateral economic cooperation. Kharrazi told journalists after those meetings that Iran seeks closer ties with the Central Asian states, especially in the areas of economic cooperation and strengthening regional security. He identified Afghanistan, international terrorism, and drug trafficking as major threats to regional security. LF[08] TAJIK PRESIDENT ACKNOWLEDGES DEBT TO RUSSIAIn an extensive interview published in "Trud" on 5 September and pegged to the 10th anniversary of Tajikistan's independence, Imomali Rakhmonov admitted that it is not certain whether Tajikistan would have survived 10 years as an independent state without Russian assistance. He added that preserving "Tajikistan's sovereignty and self-sufficiency depends first and foremost on geopolitical priorities." As he has done in several earlier interviews this year, Rakhmonov also expressed his hope of raising economic cooperation with Russia to the level of military cooperation. He denied that the opposition or the independent media in Tajikistan are subjected to any restrictions. LF[09] SEVEN MEN CHARGED WITH MURDER OF TAJIK OFFICIALSeven former Tajik opposition fighters were charged in Dushanbe on 5 September with the April murder of First Deputy Interior Minister Khabib Sanginov, also a former member of the opposition, AP reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 April 2001). Investigators have established that the seven men acquired the weapons they used to kill Sanginov and his bodyguard from Nazarali Yarmatov, an opposition fighter who is now on the staff of the Emergency Situations Ministry, which is headed by former opposition field commander Mirzo Zieev. LF[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[10] LEOTARD WANTS EU FORCE FOR MACEDONIAFormer French Defense Minister Francois Leotard, the EU's envoy for Macedonia, wants a 1,500-strong EU force to deploy there after NATO's Operation Essential Harvest is completed, the "Financial Times" reported on 6 September. The daily adds that, if approved, "it would be the first deployment of an EU military force independent of the U.S. in the Balkans, though it would still need U.S. logistics. The Macedonians will need to invite the force to operate." Leotard stressed that "the EU, for the first time in the history of the Balkans, [will be able] to show it was able to cope with a crisis." The plan is one of several that EU foreign ministers will discuss over the 8-9 September weekend near Brussels. One unnamed EU official told the British daily that "this is not EU policy. This is Leotard's private view. The whole issue of the follow-up to Essential Harvest [NATO's 30-day operation to collect weapons from Albanian rebels] has yet to be decided." PM[11] OTHER PLANS FOR MACEDONIA?Another plan under consideration by some EU officials is to set up a "coalition of the willing" among those countries willing to send troops to provide security for OSCE monitors, who will be observing the implementation of the political settlement, Reuters reported from Brussels on 5 September. Elsewhere, a NATO spokesman said that the alliance "is not...considering a new mission or making plans for an extension" of the current one. U.S. envoy to Macedonia James Pardew recently suggested that NATO might indeed consider a continuing role in Macedonia (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 September 2001). Whatever the nature of the international presence, Germany and France intend to be involved. The "Financial Times" reported that German and French leaders agreed in Berlin that NATO's arms- gathering mission will be completed by 26 September as scheduled, and that they are "willing to remain involved beyond then." German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said: "We also agreed that France and Germany will work closely over what will come...[later, including] the necessary things that go beyond Essential Harvest." PM[12] PARDEW: RUSSIA AGREES TO INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE IN MACEDONIAU.S. special envoy to Macedonia James Pardew said in Moscow on 6 September that he and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov have agreed on the need for a continued international presence in Macedonia, Reuters reported. "We talked about the matter and agreed on the need for an extended international presence in Macedonia for a period of time. The nature of that was not defined. But I think the ministry agreed with us that there is a need for an extended international presence to stabilize the situation." Pardew noted that the Russians agreed that "an increased civil presence requires adequate security from the [Macedonian] government or from some form of international security force." Pardew said his meeting was "very, very good," and that Ivanov's analysis of the Balkan situation is "very sophisticated." Pardew added that "We talked about how Russia could be helpful in ensuring long-term peace in the region. We want to work closely with Russia to move forward on this common interest" (see "RFE/RL Newsline, " 5 September 2001 and "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 31 July 2001). PM[13] IVANOV GIVES FAMILIAR MESSAGE ON BALKANSIvanov told a press conference in Moscow on 6 September that "we are witnessing attempts by certain forces to further destabilize the situation and undermine the legitimate Macedonian government's moves to normalize the situation. And we know where those forces are based -- Kosovo. Their policy is aimed at undermining stability in the whole of the Balkans," AP reported. He added that "the main goal of the world community is to prevent the development of the situation in Macedonia from leading to destabilization of the situation and not to worsen the already difficult situation in the Balkans." Moscow's policy (and that of Belgrade) is to portray NATO's work in Kosova as incompetent at best in order to embarrass and discredit the Atlantic alliance. Both Russia and Serbia want an international Balkan conference in hopes of regaining influence in the region at the expense of NATO countries. PM[14] MACEDONIAN PARLIAMENT RESUMES DEBATESpeaker Stojan Andov reconvened the legislature on 6 September at 12:00 noon, AP reported. Only about 12 additional deputies are scheduled to speak before the vote of confidence in the peace plan, which could come later in the afternoon (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 and 5 September 2001). The vote requires 80 out of 120 votes to pass. The most important question is whether enough of the deputies who have criticized the plan will actually vote "no" and block the measure. PM[15] EU ENCOURAGES MACEDONIANS TO BACK SETTLEMENTGerman Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said in Skopje on 5 September that Western countries see Macedonia as a "partner" and not as a "protectorate," dpa reported. He added that "any [attempt to secure a] division [of the country along ethnic lines] under the guise of NATO will never find our support." Top EU officials Chris Patten and Javier Solana are due to meet with Macedonian leaders on 6 September (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 September 2001). The two men will encourage support for the settlement by promising to organize a donors conference. Brussels is also offering a $27 million damage and infrastructure repair package, $44 million in state budget support, and $37.7 million as part of a broader cooperation package, AP reported. PM[16] RED CROSS TALLIES DISPLACED PERSONS IN MACEDONIAOfficials of the Macedonian Red Cross said in Skopje on 5 September that the number of internally displaced persons now stands at 75,878, dpa reported. Some 47,148 are from the Tetovo region, 16,266 from Kumanovo, 8, 278 from Skopje and Aracinovo, and 4,186 from Skopska Crna Gora. Elsewhere, displaced persons ended their nine-day blockade of the border crossing to Serbia at Tabanovce after talks with government officials (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 September 2001). PM[17] FOREIGN MINISTER TOPS MACEDONIAN POLLA recent poll conducted by a Macedonian NGO of "citizens" suggests that Social Democratic Foreign Minister Ilinka Mitreva is the most popular politician, with a rating of 66.4 percent, Deutsche Welle's "Monitor" reported on 5 September. President Boris Trajkovski follows with 58.5 percent. Social Democratic leader Branko Crvenkovski is in third place with a 54.8 percent favorable rating. At the other end of the scale, ethnic Albanian leader Arben Xhaferi received a negative rating from 79.7 percent of the respondents. Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski is disliked by 63.6 percent. The least popular foreign politicians are Javier Solana with a 71.2 percent negative rating, followed by NATO Secretary-General Lord George Robertson with 60.4 percent. PM[18] ARE SERBIAN WAR CRIMINALS 'PROTECTED' IN REPUBLIKA SRPSKA?Beriz Belkic, the Muslim representative on the Bosnian joint presidency, told RFE/RL's South Slavic Service from Sarajevo on 5 September that The Hague chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte told him that Radovan Karadzic enjoys official protection from the top Bosnian Serb leadership (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 September 2001). She told Belkic that Republika Srpska President Mirko Sarovic and Interior Minister Dragomir Jovicic are "directly responsible" for this state of affairs. Also in the Bosnian capital, Del Ponte said that the Bosnian Serb and Herzegovinian Croat authorities are "not cooperating" with the tribunal, Reuters reported. She noted that 38 suspects are still at large in the former Yugoslavia, 27 of whom have been publicly indicted and 11 secretly. Del Ponte added, "I am sure that if I can put in place my own tracking team, I will locate fugitives in the Republika Srpska, if the government is not cooperating." PM[19] HARTMANN: KARADZIC, MLADIC ON THE MOVEDel Ponte's spokeswoman Florence Hartmann told RFE/RL on 6 September that Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic travel frequently between Bosnia, Serbia, and Montenegro. RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported the previous day from Banja Luka that U.S. officials have told Bosnian Serb authorities that they cannot expect serious economic growth as long as Karadzic remains at large. The officials added that the best thing for all concerned would be for Karadzic to turn himself in to The Hague voluntarily. PM[20] ALBANIAN PRIME MINISTER GETS MANDATEPresident Rexhep Meidani has asked Prime Minister Ilir Meta of the Socialist Party to form a new government, Reuters reported from Tirana on 5 September (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 September 2001). The Socialists won 73 out of 140 parliamentary seats in the 24 June elections and have 13 additional votes from coalition partners. PM[21] ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT WELCOMES EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTIONThe cabinet headed by Adrian Nastase on 5 September said it is "satisfied" with the outcome of the debates in the European Parliament on Romania's progress in EU accession talks and welcomed the resolution on Romania (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 September 2001) that was formally approved that day, Romanian Radio reported on 6 September. The cabinet also greeted the acknowledgment by the European Parliament of the "important contribution that Romania can bring to regional security" if admitted to NATO in 2002. Speaking to a forum of Romanian diplomats in Bucharest earlier that day, Foreign Minister Mircea Geoana said that the resolution reflects Romania's progress and that he is confident that the European Commission's report due in November will take note of further progress. Geoana called on the diplomats to work "more pragmatically" than in the past toward achieving Romania's integration goals. MS[22] ROMANIA POSTPONES STATUS LAW CONSULTATIONS WITH HUNGARYA Foreign Ministry spokesman in Bucharest on 5 September said Romania has requested the postponement to later this month of the scheduled talks with Hungary, which were due to open this week, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. The spokesman gave Geoana's "very heavy agenda" as the reason for the request. The talks were to focus on the regulations about to be issued by the Hungarian government on the implementation of the Status Law. Addressing the Romanian diplomats gathered in Bucharest (see above), President Ion Iliescu on 5 September said Transylvania "is not a territory on which there is joint Romanian-Hungarian sovereignty," and only Romanian laws apply to citizens living there. Iliescu again called the Status Law "discriminatory and anti-European." Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania Chairman Bela Marko on 5 September said his party wants the pending Police Law to specify that members of the police serving in localities with ethnic minority populations of more than 20 percent must be conversant in the languages of those minorities. MS[23] TRANSDNIESTER SUSPENDS NEGOTIATIONS WITH CHISINAUThe Transdniester Supreme Soviet on 5 September decide to "suspend" negotiations with Chisinau in response to what it called the "Moldovan customs blockade," RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. The separatists' "foreign minister" was cited by ITAR-TASS as saying, "We will agree to resume the dialogue only after the problem has been solved with the help of the guarantors -- Russia, Ukraine, and the OSCE." In an interview with ITAR- TASS on 5 September, Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin said the separatist leadership is "seeking any pretext to dodge the Moldovan leadership's proposal to grant the Transdniester a special status." Voronin said this status would satisfy residents on both sides of Dniester River and preserve everybody's rights. He said that "there is no economic blockade of the Transdniester region," and explained that new custom seals were introduced as a result of Moldova's accession to the World Trade Organization. This "caused a painful reaction" in Tiraspol because its leaders "will no longer be able to carry out illegal operations which earned them up to $1 billion," Voronin said. MS[24] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT APPEALS TO TRANSDNIESTRIANSUpon returning from Moscow on 5 September, Voronin appealed to the residents of the breakaway region, speaking in Russian on Moldovan radio, Romanian Radio reported the next day. In the unprecedented direct appeal, he reiterated the readiness of Chisinau to grant a special autonomous status to Transdniester and called on the region's population to support those proposals. While denying that Chisinau has instituted an economic blockade, Voronin said that under its present leadership the Transdniester has been turned into "a CIS and a European black hole" that allows "international mafia clans" to indulge in illegal transactions with oil, alcohol, drugs, and armaments and make "enormous profits." He said the present leadership in Tiraspol is under the influence of these traffickers, who are interested in maintaining tension between the two sides. Voronin called on the Transdniestrians to ignore "the smear campaign" launched by the Tiraspol authorities against Moldova and to "display wisdom and do everything for Moldova's reunification into a single state where national minorities will not be discriminated against in any form." MS[25] MOLDOVA CALLS ON CIS MEMBERS TO STOP TRANSDNIESTER CONTACTSThe Foreign Ministry called on all CIS members to abstain from contacts with the Transdniester leadership "at any" level, as well as to refrain from "other actions that may negatively influence" negotiations with the separatists, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. The Moldovan appeal was handed to participants in a CIS foreign ministers' meeting in Moscow on 5 September. Foreign Minister Nicolae Dudau, who is attending the meeting, called on CIS countries to contribute to "creating favorable conditions" for the settlement of the conflict. Dudau also met with his Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov to discuss the pending bilateral treaty between the two countries. MS[26] TIRASPOL ACCUSES MOLDOVAN MILITARY OBSERVER OF ESPIONAGEThe Transdniester authorities have recently detained Major Iurie Ceibas, a member of the Moldovan military observers team of the Joint Control Commission (JCC), Infotag reported on 5 September. George Roman, JCC co- chairman, said the incident was discussed on 4 September at a meeting of the commission. The Transdniester delegation at the JCC said Ceibas was detained in the central square of Tiraspol on 2 September during the celebrations of the Transdniestrian "11th independence anniversary." The delegation said Ceibas was dressed in civilian clothes and carried a tape recorder and a camera during the military parade there. The Moldovan delegation said that in line with an earlier agreement, military observers committing offenses must be prosecuted by the authorities of the side they represent, and demanded that Ceibas be transferred to the jurisdiction of Moldovan prosecutors. MS[27] TRANSDNIESTER SETS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION DATEThe separatist authorities on 5 September officially set the date for the presidential elections there for 9 December, Infotag reported. The ballot will be cast for the post of head of state and vice president and will be held under a single-constituency system, with 418,000 citizens entitled to vote. A referendum last year established the new presidential system, which also makes it possible for separatist leader Igor Smirnov to run for a third term as "president." MS[28] MOLDOVAN GOVERNMENT BACK TO OLD POSITIONS ON BESSARABIAN CHURCH CONFLICTThe government on 5 September wrote to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg that the hearing set for 2 October at the court will have a "negative impact" on attempts to solve the conflict on the Bessarabian Church through negotiations conducted within the Orthodox Church itself, Infotag reported. The government said that four rounds of talks have been conducted since 1997 and the next round, to be held with the participation of Russian Patriarch Aleksii II and Romanian Patriarch Teoctist, is scheduled for "the near future." Successive Moldovan governments have refused to register the Bessarabian Church, which is subordinate to the Bucharest Patriarchate, and the cabinet was supposed to let the court know by 1 September what measures it envisages for settling the conflict. MS[29] UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT ADDRESSES BULGARIAN PARLIAMENTVisiting Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, addressing the Bulgarian parliament on 5 September, said that although his country is "today" not considering admission to NATO, it believes that "every state has the right to decide for itself" on the matter, international agencies reported. Kuchma said Ukraine views NATO enlargement as "the expansion of stability and strengthening of democracy on the European continent" and added: "I would like to congratulate Bulgaria for its choice of foreign policy priorities, which include NATO membership, and to wish Bulgaria success at the [2002] NATO summit." He also said Bulgaria and Ukraine "share the common goal" of achieving EU integration. MS[30] BULGARIAN PREMIER READY TO TRAVEL TO LIBYAPrime Minister Simeon Saxecoburggotski is ready to travel to Libya to seek the acquittal of the six Bulgarians who are on trial in Tripoli for allegedly willfully infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV, AP reported on 5 September, citing parliamentary speaker Ognyan Gerdzhikov. Gerdzhikov, who recently returned from a visit to Libya, said the premier will go to Tripoli before the court is expected to give its verdict on 22 September, but would do so only if the Libyan leadership "clearly signals" that it wants the visit to take place. MS[C] END NOTE[31] NGOS DECLARATION AGAINST RACISM PROMPTS COUNTERPROPOSAL[The following is a statement and counterproposal to the NGO Forum Declaration and Program of Action that was adopted in Durban, South Africa, at the World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) Forum, which concluded on 1 September. This counterproposal written by nongovernmental organization (NGO) delegates from Eastern and Central Europe and the former Soviet Union was released on 2 September and has been signed by 77 NGOS from 37 countries as of 5 September.]We, WCAR NGO Forum delegates of 36 nongovernmental organizations from 19 countries of Eastern and Central Europe and the former Soviet Union, state that we do not support the documents allegedly adopted by the WCAR NGO Forum and come forth with a forward-looking positive proposal. First and foremost, we declare that the process of compilation and adoption of the NGO Forum Declaration and Program of Action was neither transparent nor democratic and permeated with procedural violations. The draft documents were not submitted to the delegates in a timely manner; the rules of procedure were unclear and repeatedly changed; the discussion was heavily restricted. Finally, the delegates were not given an opportunity to vote on the draft documents in their entirety. This enables us to affirm that the documents cannot be considered adopted by the NGO Forum and are not consensus documents. We believe that as a result of this flawed process, the contents of the documents include unacceptable concepts and language. We are particularly concerned with certain ideas included in the chapters "Globalization," "Palestine," "Reparations," and a number of other paragraphs in the documents. We must emphasize that the language of the chapter "Palestine" as well the deliberate distortions made to the chapter "Anti-Semitism," are extremely intolerant, disrespectful and contrary to the very spirit of the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance. Nevertheless, despite the negative results of the NGO Forum, we strongly believe that the international NGO community should not give up but continue to work on the basis of the positive aspects of the entire preparatory process to the World Conference and the Forum itself. In particularly, the following achievements represent a sound foundation for future consolidated efforts: reinforcement of the available international legal mechanisms of protection against racism and discrimination; development of national antidiscrimination legislation and institutions; creation of national plans of action; recognition of the slave-trade as a crime against humanity; acknowledgement of the consequences of colonialism; inclusion on the agenda of such issues as denial of racism; double discrimination; religious intolerance; state racism; ethnic cleansing; racism not rooted in the slave-trade; sexual orientation; migrants and internally displaced persons; indigenous peoples; and specific groups of victims such as Roma, Chechens, Tibetans, and Dalits. We intend to immediately move on to implementation of the above achievements and call upon the international NGO community to join in these efforts. *** P.S. On top of all the troubles of the NGO Forum, at the closing ceremony, the delegates had to listen for over two hours to a speech by Fidel Castro. We are offended by the fact that one of the worst dictators in the contemporary world, particularly notorious for gross violations of human rights, was invited to address this world gathering of nongovernmental organizations. Listening to Fidel speak, we only had to wonder why the organizers had failed to invite Alyaksandr Lukashenka, Turkmenbashi [Saparmurat Niyazov], Saddam Hussein, or a Taliban regime representative. For more information, contact Yuri Dzhibladze at [email protected] 06-09-01 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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