Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Caucasus Report 4/27/2012 8:00:31 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 .

 

Armenia 'To Respond' To Border Deaths Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian has condemned the fatal shootings of three Armenian soldiers near the border with Azerbaijan, hinting that the gunfire came from Azerbaijan. More   RFE/RL Reporter Slams Azerbaijani Prosecutors For Releasing Probe Details RFE/RL Azerbaijani Service investigative reporter Khadija Ismayilova, who has been the target of a smear campaign she says is aimed at shutting down her journalism, has lashed out at prosecutors. Ismayilova says the authorities broke the law on April 25 when they released the names and other details of potential witnesses in the case. More   3 Armenia Soldiers Killed On Border Armenian officials say three Armenian servicemen were killed when gunmen shot at a military vehicle along the border with Azerbaijan on April 27. More   Saakashvili Ready To 'Resign' For Separatist Regions Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili says he is willing to resign if Russian troops withdraw from Georgia's two separatist regions. Saakashvili says he is even ready to mutilate himself in return for Abkhazia and South Ossetia. More   Morningstar Named U.S. Azerbaijan Envoy U.S. President Barack Obama is to nominate Richard Morningstar as ambassador to Azerbaijan. More   Chechen Leaders Slam Proposed Creation Of Shari'a Courts Chechen Republic head Ramzan Kadyrov and Chechen mufti Sultan-hadji Mirzayev have both harshly criticized the proposal by Chechen legal scholar Dagir Khasavov to establish Shari'a courts in Russia for the benefit of those Russian Muslims who do not want to “get bogged down in the Russian legal system,” which they do not trust. More   Georgia Refuses Extradition Request Kyrgyzstan's Prosecutor-General says Georgia has refused Bishkek's extradition request for a former chief of the country's presidential secretariat. More   Scuffle Erupts In Georgian Parliament Over Armenian Genocide Issue A scuffle broke out in the Georgian parliament on April 24 after a deputy suggested that the country consider recognizing the World War I-era Armenian massacres as genocide. Unfortunately, the session was attended by a group of schoolchildren who had come for a lesson on civic education. More   Abkhazia: EU Envoy Persona Non Grata Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia has declared the head of the European Union's Monitoring Mission in Georgia "persona non grata." More   Ankvab Assailants Said To Confess Officials in Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia say that suspects arrested in connection with the attempted assassination of separatist leader Aleksandr Ankvab have confessed. More   Georgian Soldier Killed In Afghanistan A Georgian soldier has been killed in Afghanistan, the 16th to die while serving alongside NATO-led forces fighting the Taliban. More   Azerbaijani Opposition Steps Up Demands In the run-up to next month’s Eurovision Song Contest in Baku, the Azerbaijani authorities have relaxed the draconian restrictions on public demonstrations that have been in place since November 2006, i.e. before the reelection of President Ilham Aliyev for a second presidential term. More   Baku: Israeli Visit 'Not Against' Iran Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry says Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's visit to Baku is focused only on "bilateral relations and is not directed against" Iran or any other country. More   Armenia Marks Genocide Day Armenia is marking Genocide Remembrance Day in honor of the estimated 1.5 million Armenians killed during World War I. More   Israeli Foreign Minister Visiting Baku Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is in Baku for a two-day visit to discuss Israeli-Azeri cooperation. More   North Caucasus Insurgency Leader Predicts 'Results' From Spring Offensive A new 20-minute video has been posted on YouTube in which self-styled Caucasus Emirate head Doku Umarov talked about the current state of the insurgency in the North Caucasus. More   Call For Azeri President To Quit Several thousand supporters of the political opposition in Azerbaijan have staged a rally in Baku to demand freedom for political prisoners and the resignation of President Ilham Aliyev. More   Not Just For Cutting In Armenia, people often regard forests as sources of timber to sell. But one group of activists is planting trees to show forests are just as valuable when they are left alone. More   C. Asia, Caucasus Face Obesity Risk The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned that obesity and diet-related illnesses could emerge as major health threats in Central Asia and Caucasus. More