Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Caucasus Report 6/17/2011 8:44:07 PM A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about the countries of the South Caucasus and Russia's North Caucasus region. For more stories on the Caucasus, please visit and bookmark our Caucasus page .

 

Azerbaijani Activist's Mother Arrested The mother of jailed youth activist Bakhtiyar Haciyev was briefly detained on June 17 after leaving her membership card from the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party (YAP) on the grave of former President Heydar Aliyev to protest the jail term given her son. More   Russian Energy Giants Invest In Armenia Armenian officials say Russian energy companies have pledged to invest a total of 26.7 billion drams ($71.2 million) in the natural gas and electricity distribution networks they own in Armenia in 2011. More   U.S. Urges Better Azeri Rights Record A visiting U.S. State Department official said in Baku that Washington is urging Azerbaijan to improve its rights record and "open up" its political process. More   Armenia, Georgia Churches Fail To Agree The historic meeting of Armenian and Georgian religious leaders in Georgia did not result in any concrete agreements on disputes between the quasi-official churches after nearly one week of talks. More   U.S. Journalist, British Activist Assaulted In Azerbaijan An American journalist and British human rights activist were reportedly attacked and beaten in Baku late on June 15. More   South Ossetian Supreme Court Nixes Proposed Referendum On Third Presidential Term The campaign launched last month to enable Eduard Kokoity, de facto president of Georgia's breakaway republic of South Ossetia, to serve a third consecutive presidential term has suffered two setbacks within two days. More   Armenian, Georgian Churches In Detente The Armenian Apostolic Church says its supreme head, Catholicos Garegin II, has reached agreements with Georgia's political and spiritual leaders that will help resolve its long-running disputes with the Georgian Orthodox Church. More   Armenia Confirms Progress In Karabakh Talks Yerevan says Armenia and Azerbaijan could soon reach a framework agreement on their lingering dispute over the breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh, but that any deal would have to be approved by Karabakh's ethnic Armenian leadership. More   Verdict In Chechen Leader Libel Case Memorial Human Rights Center leader Oleg Orlov has been found not guilty of insulting Chechen Republic head Ramzan Kadyrov. More   Chechen Leadership In Exile Reaffirms Support For Anti-Umarov Resistance Faction Meeting in Paris in mid-May, the government and parliament in exile of the Chechen Republic Ichkeria (ChRI), overthrown as a result of the Russian military intervention in the fall of 1999, formally reaffirmed their support for the Chechen resistance commanders who last summer rescinded their oath of allegiance to Caucasus Emirate head Doku Umarov. More   Convicted Murderer Slain In Moscow Buried With Military Honors A Russian military expert says the military honors performed at the funeral today of convicted murderer and former Russian Army Colonel Yury Budanov violate the law. More   Georgia's Cycle Of Violence Reflects Dysfunctional Politics What will it take to get Georgian politics off the streets and into the parliament? Last month's violent protests and the ensuing police crackdown has left a bitter aftertaste for many Georgians. Will the latest round of violence lead to a catharsis? More   Armenia, Azerbaijan Say Closer To Deal Armenia and Azerbaijan have reported significant progress toward the resolution of the dispute over the breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh following a meeting of their foreign ministers in Moscow. More   Armenian Church Head Visits Georgia The head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Garegin II, has begun a weeklong visit to Georgia which the church hopes will help resolve disputes with the Georgian government and Georgian Orthodox Church over the country's Armenian religious heritage. More   And Vanuatu Makes Five Vanuatu, an island nation in the South Pacific that is a member of the United Nations, has clarified its position on Abkhazia -- recognition. More   Tom De Waal: The Chances For Peace In Nagorno-Karabakh With an upcoming summit in Kazan on June 25, the festering Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is back in the spotlight. More   Convicted Colonel Killed In Moscow A Russian ex-army officer jailed for the murder of an 18-year-old girl in Chechnya in 2000 has been shot dead in Moscow. More