 RFE/RL Caucasus Report 10/29/2010 5:54:54 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 . |
 Turks Asked To Leave Armenia Over Border Crossing Claim Two Turkish party leaders have been asked to leave Armenia after being questioned by National Security Service officials about their claims to have crossed the closed Armenian-Turkish border earlier this month. More  Armenia Delays Karabakh Vote An opposition faction in the Armenian parliament has postponed a vote on controversial legislation obliging Yerevan to formally recognize the independence of Azerbaijan's breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region. More  Self-Immolation Incident Highlights Desperation Of Georgian IDPs A woman was hospitalized with severe burns on October 27 after setting fire to herself outside the Georgian Ministry for Displaced Persons in Tbilisi. Nana Pipia, 46, is one of several dozen internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Abkhazia who set up camp outside the ministry building on October 25 to demand that minister Koba Subeliani either step down or re-house them in Tbilisi. More  Death Toll In Grozny Parliament Attack May Have Been Far Higher More than 20 police and security personnel were killed and more than 40 injured in the October 19 attack by a small group of suicide bombers on the Chechen parliament building in Grozny, a Chechen security official has admitted. The official casualty toll made public immediately after the attack was three dead and 17 injured. More  Armenian President's Office Denies Biden Comment On Genocide Recognition A spokesman for Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian has denied that Sarkisian asked U.S. Vice President Joe Biden not to "force" the issue of Armenian genocide while negotiations on the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations were in progress. More  Jailed Azerbaijani Journalist Continues Hunger Strike Jailed Azerbaijani journalist Eynulla Fatullayev is ignoring calls for him to end the hunger strike he began last week. More  Armenia, Iran Pursue Economic Ties Armenia and Iran pledged to boost economic ties as Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian paid a visit to Tehran this week. More  Azerbaijani State TV Airs Opposition Sex Video Two weeks before parliamentary elections, the pro-government television channel Lider has aired a secretly filmed video of an opposition newspaper editor and a woman having sex. More Iran's Regional Money Bags The disclosure that Iran has been passing large sums of money in plastic bags to an aide of the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, has caused consternation in Washington, where it is seen as evidence of the Islamic republic's malign influence. More  Deputy Prosecutor Lambasts Caucasus' Police On October 25, Russia's Deputy Prosecutor Ivan Sydoruk lambasted law enforcement, military, and security personnel in the North Caucasus, affirming that unprofessionalism, inefficiency, and corruption within their ranks is playing into the hands of the Islamic insurgency. More  Balkar Militant Leader Promises Not To Target Officers Who Quit Police Asker Djappuyev (nom de guerre Amir Abdullakh), leader of the Kabardino-Balkar-Karachai (KBK) jamaat of the North Caucasus insurgency, has warned his fighters that there will be no breathing space with the advent of winter. More  Georgian Minister Rejects Chechen Allegation Of Support For Insurgency Georgian Minister for Reintegration Temur Yakobashvili has rejected as "without foundation" Chechen Republic head Ramzan Kadyrov's allegation that Georgian authorities provide a safe haven and support for the Chechen insurgency. More |
