RFE/RL: QUOTATION OF THE WEEK
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posted by FerrasB on May, 2005 as Imperialism
QUOTATION OF THE WEEK.
"By installing its own cadre of corrupt politicians and brutal commanders, the Kremlin continues to destroy the prospects for peace in Chechnya, while compromising the security of its own people from Makhachkala to Moscow." -- American Committee for Peace in Chechnya (ACPC) Executive Director Glen Howard, quoted in an ACPC press release on 13 May.
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RFE/RL: GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT SPEARHEADS CAMPAIGN FOR CLOSURE OF RUSSIAN MILITARY
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posted by FerrasB on as Imperialism
20 May 2005, Volume 8, Number 17 GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT SPEARHEADS CAMPAIGN FOR CLOSURE OF RUSSIAN MILITARY BASES. If -- and it is a very large "if" -- Russia and Georgia finally reach a consensus at their talks in Tbilisi on 23 May on the final timeframe for the closure of Russia's two remaining military bases in Georgia, the Georgian parliament will be in a position to claim much of the credit. Conversely, the legislature will also risk being branded responsible if such an agreement again proves elusive. Since agreeing at the November 1999 OSCE summit in Istanbul to close two of its four military bases in Georgia by mid-2001, the Russian leadership gradually and grudgingly, under pressure from the international community and successive Georgian leaderships, reduced the time it claims is needed to close the two remaining bases -- in Batumi and Akhalkalaki -- from 15 years, which Georgia rejected (see "RFE/RL Newsline," ... >> full
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Moscow Times: The Military's New Clothes
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posted by FerrasB on as Imperialism
The Military's New Clothes Tuesday, May 24, 2005 By Alexander Golts As the duke in the famous film about Baron von Munchhausen put it, you cannot go to war if your soldiers are dressed in last season's jackets. President Vladimir Putin and the Defense Ministry seem to share his opinion. They are not concerned about hazing in the armed forces, widespread desertion, the junior officers who resign their commissions as soon as they graduate from the academy or the General Staff's outdated, World War II-era military strategy. The main thing is to outfit our boys in top-notch uniforms. To this end, Putin recently signed a decree regulating military uniforms, rank insignia for military personnel and departmental insignia. Under the new regulations, officers' caps will be reduced in size and Caucasus-style Astrakhan hats will be revived for colonels and generals. The new regulations won't do much good, however, and the significant sums that will be ... >> full
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Moscow Times: Court Issues Free Pass To Kill Civilians
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posted by FerrasB on as Imperialism
Court Issues Free Pass to Kill Civilians Tuesday, May 24, 2005. Editorial A 12-member jury of the North Caucasus Military District Court in Rostov-on-Don decided last week that Captain Eduard Ulman and three subordinates were simply obeying orders when they killed six Chechen civilians in January 2002 and should not be held responsible. The group was patrolling a road in the hope of ambushing rebels when a van carrying five men and one woman appeared. The commandos opened fire on the van, they said, because the driver refused to stop. One passenger was killed and two wounded. After discovering that the passengers were all local residents and unarmed, Ulman radioed command for instructions on how to proceed and was told to finish off the survivors, the defendants testified. They did so, then placed the bodies in the van and burned it to cover up their trail. Prosecutors' argument that military regulations do not allow the execution ... >> full
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Moscow Times: Putin Lashes Out At Baltics And Georgia
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posted by FerrasB on as Imperialism
Tuesday, May 24, 2005. Putin Lashes Out at Baltics and Georgia By Oksana Yablokova Staff Writer President Vladimir Putin on Monday lashed out at the Baltic states over disputed territorial issues and at Georgia over its demands for a speedy withdrawal of Soviet-era military bases. Putin, in wide-ranging remarks during a meeting with Komsomolskaya Pravda's editorial staff to celebrate the newspaper's 80th anniversary, ruled out the possibility of holding negotiations about the return of Baltic territories seized by the Soviet Union. "They are going to get a big goose egg rather than Pytalovo district," Putin said, referring to a Pskov region border district in northwestern Russia. Moscow's relations with the Baltic states have been strained in recent months amid disputes over borders and past history. Latvian politicians have voiced land claims, while the leaders of Lithuania and Estonia skipped Victory Day celebrations in Moscow on May 9. The Baltic nations maintain that the Nazi defeat 60 ... >> full
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