From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng  (Original Message)    Sent: 2/21/2006 4:41 PM
February 1st 2006 · Prague Watchdog      
    
    
Calendar of Events - February 2006

This schedule of major events related to the conflict in Chechnya is continuously updated. Announcements for planned or expected events or any other suggestions are most welcome (e-mail: mail at watchdog.cz).
February 1     Moscow (Russia)
Top representatives of leading Russian NGOs will hold a news conference on how the Russian leadership and authorities attack civil society. The event will take place at 11:30 a.m. at the Independent Press Center (Tverskoi Boulevard 20). More.
February 3     Nizhny Novgorod (Russia)
The local court will pronounce its verdict on the case of human rights defender and journalist Stanislav Dmitriyevsky, who was accused of inciting ethnic and racial hatred after his paper published Chechen resistance leaders' peace appeals.
February 3     Moscow (Russia)
The "For Human Rights" movement will organize a rally in support of Stanislav Dmitriyevsky, editor-in-chief of the Pravo-zashchita newspaper, who is being tried in Nizhny Novgorod. The event will take place at 11:00-13:00 at Pushkinskaya Square. More.
February 8-9     Spain
Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Spain to meet with King Juan Carlos and Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to discuss fight against terrorism and Russia's relations with the EU.
February 14-15     Moscow (Russia)
French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin will visit Moscow.
February 15     Moscow (Russia)
A new trial in the murder of US journalist Paul Khlebnikov, the chief editor of the Russian version of the Forbes magazine, who was shot dead on July 9, 2004, will start at the Moscow City Court. Charges were brought against Chechen nationals. The first jury trial, which started on January 10, ended when the judge fell ill and had to be replaced. More.
February 17     Moscow (Russia)
A rock concert entitled "Russia without fascism, war and violence" will take place in Dom kultury Gorbunova (Novozavodskaya 27). The event, which is organized mostly by Russian NGOs, will start at 19:00. More.
February 19-25     Russia
Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, will visit Russia. Her itinerary includes Moscow, St Petersburg, Grozny, and Beslan.
February 22     Leuwen (Belgium)
The showing of the film "Voices of Dissent" will take place at 19.30 in Bibliotheek Tweebronnen, rijschoolstraat 4. More.
February 23     The Deportation Day
The 62th anniversary of Stalin-era deportations of 650,000 Chechens and Ingushes to Soviet Central Asia and Siberia in 1944. Commemoration and anti-war protest events will take place in various parts of the world.

Austria (February 18): A rally will take place near the International Conference Center of Vienna Hofburg, the place of OSCE-meetings, on Heldenplatz, from 12.00 to 14.00. Then the participants will move to Ballhausplatz, where the Austrian government is presiding the European Union in the first half of 2006.

Belgium (February 18): The Association of Chechens in Belgium will organize a commemorative event in Brussels.

On February 23, a conference on the conditions of Chechen refugees in Europe after the implementation of the Dublin regulations will take place at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, building H 13 08 at 19.30. The lecturers include Tina Ismailova, a representative of Chechen refugees in Belgium, and Miriam Jevikova of UNHCR. More.

Also on February 23, the film "3 comrades" by Masya Novikova will be shown at 19.30 in Sint Margrietraat 9 in Ghent. Chechen food will be served. More.

Denmark: A rally against the war in Chechnya will probably take place at 19.30 in Bornholm.

Finland: The Finnish-Chechnya Society will organize a demonstration in Helsinki. The participants will gather at 16.00 at the Mannerheim Statue and then march along the Parliament to the Russian Embassy. Eventually, they will meet at the International Press Club to watch films and have discussions.

France: The Chechnya Committee of Paris will hold a vigil with candles near the Centre Beaubourg, rue St-Merri, from 6 to 8 pm (subject to change).

Germany (February 18): A commemorative rally will take place in Berlin.

In Hannover, the Society for Threatened Peoples will on February 23 hold a vigil in protest against deportations of Chechen refugees from Germany. The event will start at 10.30 on Kroepke Square. Then the participants will walk through the city center to the regional parliament ("Landtag") where they will address the parliamentarians and politicians who are responsible for the refugee politics.

Great Britain: Events will take place in Bradford, Cambridge, London and Southhampton. More

Ireland: The showing of the film "Chechnya: The Dirty War", made by Mariusz Pilis and Marcin Mamon, will take place at Lecture Hall 2041, Arts Building, Trinity College Dublin at 18.00.

Italy: A demonstration against the war in Chechnya and Russian President Vladimir Putin will take place in Torino at 18.00-20.00. The event is organized by the Italian Radical Party. More.

Norway: The Chechen Society of Norway will hold a demonstration in Oslo. Further information is available from Magomed at makhubaj@student.sv.uio.no

Sweden: A demonstration will take place in Stockholm's Old Town, "Gamla Stan." The participants will gather at Mynttorget, just below the Royal Castle between 16.00 and 18.00. Further information probably available from the Swedish Committee for Chechnya

Turkey: The Caucasus Foundation will commemorate the Deportation Day in Istanbul. Another commemoration rally will take place in Ankara.

USA: In Boston, MA, a demonstration will start at 16.00, on 3 Copley Square. Pictures and stories from those who remember the deportation will be presented and Chechen food will be served. Further info available from Bill Pearce (in English) at glyndwr23@aol.com or Victoria Poupko (in Russian) at vpoupko@speakeasy.org.

In Washington, DC, the American Committee for Peace in Chechnya will organize a panel discussion to commemorate the deportation and to discuss the regional implications of the spread of violence throughout the North Caucasus. The event will take place at Rayburn House Office Building Room 2105 (Capitol Hill) at 14.30-16.00. More.

In New York, Diana Tsutiyeva will read from her grandmother Nura Chagayeva’s memoirs about the deportation, life in exile and the return home. The event will take place at Harriman Institute/Columbia University, Room 1219 (420 West 118th Street New York) at 14.00. More.

In Berkeley, CA, Professor Michaela Pohl (Vassar College) and Chechen human rights lawyer Musa Khasanov (Public Interest Law Initiative fellow) will talk about historic legacies and contemporary developments in Chechnya. The event will take place at Vista Community College, Room 1 (2020 Milvia Street) at 18.30 on February 24. More.



Further info at www.worldchechnyaday.org.
February 28 - March 10     Nantes (France)
The week of solidarity with Chechnya. This event, which is organized by Cosmopolis in partnership with the House of the Citizens of the World (La Maison des Citoyens du Monde), will take place at 18 rue Scribe and will include presentations, videos, discussions, testimonies, an exposition of drawings from Chechen children, a rally and several cultural and culinary events. More.
February 28     Moscow (Russia) (to be confirmed)
10th anniversary Russia's accession to the Council of Europe. More.
Compiled by Prague Watchdog.
http://www.watchdog.cz/index.php?action=coe&lang=1&year=2006&month=2