 RFE/RL Headlines June 22, 2009 A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| News  Police Break Up Rally Iranian opposition supporters again gathered in downtown Tehran today in the latest protest against the results of the country’s disputed presidential election. Riot police quickly moved in, however, firing tear gas and dispersing protesters. More Iraq Urged To Adopt Anticorruption Measures A U.S. official in Baghdad has urged the Iraqi government to step up efforts to prosecute foreigners convicted of using corruption to secure deals in Iraq, RFE/RL’s Radio Free Iraq reports. More  Kyrgyz Opposiition Party Claims Harassment A campaign rally by the presidential candidate from Kyrgyzstan’s opposition Ak Shumkar (White Falcon) party in Kyzl-Kiya has been disrupted by police, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported. More  EU Official Says No ‘Zero-Sum Games’ With Belarus The European Union's external relations commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, has said Belarus does not need to choose between the European Union and Russia, RFE/RL’s Belarus Service reports. More About 500 high school students and their parents have protested in front of the Education Ministry, RFE/RL's Azerbaijan Service reports. More Unknown individuals opened fire on Belarusian border guards from Ukrainian territory on June 22, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports. More  Almaty Train-Producing Factory Workers Protest Workers at the Almaty Train-Producing Factory have held an unsanctioned protest action to demand unpaid wages for May, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More The Defense Ministry confirmed the deployment, saying the unit will be located at a disused military base from the period of the Tajik Civil War in the mid-1990s. More  Trial Of Former Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Starts Alikbek Jekshenkulov is charged with involvement in the murder of a Turkish businessman and abuse of office while serving as Kyrgyzstan's foreign mininster. More  Military Court 'Approved' Kazatomprom Arrest RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports that the chief of the Investigations Department of the Kazakh National Security Committee, Abylaikhan Gabbasov, has told journalists that the former head of Kazakhstan's uranium-producing company was arrested with the approval of the Akmola Military Court. More Car owners in the Far Eastern Russian city of Vladivostok plan a new wave of protests against increased customs taxes on imported used cars, RFE/RL's Russian service reports. More  Armenian Oppositionists Freed In Amnesty The former Soviet republic passed an amnesty bill on June 19, after accusations by European rights bodies of politically motivated arrests. Eight opposition protesters and two police officers died in the clashes. More Headlight Protest People are leaving the headlights of their cars on. More  Hashemi Rafsanjani Behind The Scenes? Rumors are rife that influential Iranian ex-President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is working hard behind the scenes to help resolve Iran's postelection crisis, possibly with an eye to a radical long-term solution. More A graphic video ostensibly shot on the streets of central Tehran during the postelection protests has quickly become an Internet symbol of the protesters' struggle against what they say was a rigged presidential vote on June 12. More  June 20 Voicemails To Radio Farda Listeners phone in despite the official clampdown on telephones, Internet, and independent media. More  Afghan Gandhi? While thousands of Western troops are deployed to Afghanistan to provide security for the August 20 presidential election, there is one Afghan candidate who is not deterred by any security fears. More  Saparmurad Ovezberdiev Dies Aged 71 A veteran correspondent in RFE/RL's Turkmen Service passed away on June 19. Turkmen writer and poet Saparmurad Ovezberdiev died after a long battle with cancer. He was 71. More Inspired by the tragic video of Neda, a young Iranian woman apparently killed during protests on the streets of Tehran, a Canadian singer and songwriter named Johnny Maudlin has written a song called "Neda (You Will Not Defeat The People)." More  Nazarbaev's 20 Years In Power Nursultan Nazarbaev has led Kazakhstan, Central Asia's largest and richest country, for 20 years without interruption. For some, Nazarbaev is an autocrat who has suppressed freedom and democracy, but for many he remains a guarantor of prosperity and stability. More  Taking Matters Into Their Own Hands The tragic image of "Neda," shot and bleeding on a Tehran street, has underscored the widespread participation of women in protests against Iran's disputed presidential vote. From street demonstrators to politicians' wives, Iranian women are being heard loud and clear. More  Afghan, Pakistani Tribal Areas 'Must' Work Regionally As a senior official of Pakistan's States and Frontier Regions Ministry, Imran Zeb Khan oversees Islamabad's political and administrative policies regarding the country's western border regions. Seen as a base for Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and other extremist groups, those areas are now the focus of much international attention. Khan talks to RFE/RL correspondent Abubakar Siddique in Berlin about some of the most critical issues in the region. More  Music Rights Advocate: 'It's Really Sad...What We Have Seen In Afghanistan' Marie Korpe is the executive director of Freemuse, which advocates for freedom of expression for artists and against music censorship around the world. She recently spoke to RFE/RL correspondent Abubakar Siddique about the challenges facing musicians and other artists in Afghanistan and Pakistan. More  Ethnomusicologist Discusses Taliban Vs. Musicians Renowned British ethnomusicologist John Baily speaks to RFE/RL about the Taliban's campaign against music and musicians in Afghanistan and Pakistan. "It isn't actually correct to say the Taliban have banned music," he notes. More  Peshawar Musicians, Singers, Artists 'In Panic' Peshawar has earned endearing names like "Lotus Land" and "City of Flowers" in its 1,000-year history. But the bustling center of Pakistani culture now represents the threat faced by artists throughout the country. Pakistani musician "Zeek" Afridi and 45-year old Punjabi musician Salman Ahmed come from different backgrounds, but both see art and culture as a potentially lethal force against extremism. More  Attack Against President Latest In Troubling Trend A resistance website reported the attack on Ingushetia President Yunusbek Yevkurov two hours after it occurred, but no one has claimed responsibility. However, its timing and the modus operandi suggest it was the work of the North Caucasus resistance. More |
