RFE/RL Caucasus Report
4/1/2011 6:12:58 PM
A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about the countries of the South Caucasus and Russia's North Caucasus region.
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Baku Criticized For Opposition Arrests
Human rights groups and the U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijani say they are concerned by a government crackdown on opposition leaders and rights activists ahead of a planned opposition protest in Baku. More 
World Court Ends Georgia-Russia Case
The United Nations' highest court has thrown out a complaint by Georgia accusing Russia and pro-Russian separatist militias of ethnic cleansing in two breakaway Georgian provinces. More 
Russian Census Results Show Continuing Demographic Crisis
The Russian government this week released the first preliminary results from last year's census, so far confirming a long-running demographic crisis and sparking debate about the latest headcount's accuracy and the government's response. More 
Sarkisian Presses Obama On 'Genocide'
Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian says he has asked U.S. President Barack Obama to explicitly describe the World War I-era mass killings of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey as genocide. More 
Activists Detained In Baku Ahead Of Opposition Rally
Several opposition activists have been detained in Azerbaijan ahead of a planned antigovernment rally. More 
Armenian Pol Ends Hunger Strike
Armenian opposition leader Raffi Hovannisian has ended his 15-day hunger strike after appeals from supporters and what he called a positive change in the public mood. More 
'Mommy, I Couldn't Hold Back My Tears'
Readers who have been following the saga of the "Vasilios N," the Georgian-flagged cargo ship whose crew recently escaped from Libya after being held in Misurata for 11 months, know the story is as much a family drama as it is a seafaring one. More 
Nagorno-Karabakh Tries To Make A Mark In Washington
The breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh unilaterally declared independence in 1991, a move not recognized by any country to date. But in hopes of raising its profile, the territory's de facto government has opened an office in Washington to push for official recognition. More 
Umarov Charged With Moscow Attack
Russia has charged Chechen warlord Doku Umarov with organizing an attack on Moscow's Domodedovo Airport that killed 37 people in January. The announcement came a day after security forces claimed to have slain 17 rebels in the North Caucasus in an operation President Dmitry Medvedev said dealt a "heavy blow" to the insurgents. More 
After 11-Month Ordeal, Crew Of Georgian Ship Recalls Harrowing Libyan Escape
A Georgian ship languished for 11 months in the Libyan port of Misurata, as its stranded sailors slowly starved. But then the fighting began -- giving them a now-or-never chance to break free. More 
OSCE Condemns Baku Reporter Attack
Dunja Mijatovic, the media freedom representative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), described the weekend attack on Seymur Haziyev as "inadmissible" and urged that the perpetrators of that and previous alleged attacks against Haziyev be prosecuted. More 
EU Set To Retool Policy Toward Neighbors
In the wake of an ongoing crackdown in Belarus and a dizzying political transformation in North Africa, the European Union is retooling its approach to its immediate neighborhood. More 
Azeri Columnist Claims Abduction
Seymur Haziyev, a columnist for the opposition "Azadliq" newspaper, told RFE/RL the incident took place in Jeyranbatan, some 20 kilometers from Baku, as he was returning home from work after midnight on March 26. More |
