Jean-Christophe Peuch

Also by Jean-Christophe Peuch

• August 11, 2004

  Georgia: Government Trumpets Victory Over Budget Revenues Amid Legal Concerns

  Members of former President Shevardnadze's family have been forced to pay huge fines (file photo) Georgian lawmakers on 13 August are due to vote on a revised budget that sees a substantial increase in public spending. The New Rightists-Industrialists coalition, which represents the opposition minority in the legislature, has already said it will oppose the draft. But little resistance, if any, is expected from the vast majority of lawmakers who belong to the ruling coalition. At first glance, it seems there would be little reason to challenge the government on economic issues. Yet, many outside parliament dispute the soundness of the government's policy. More importantly, they question the legality of how budget revenues are collected.

• August 05, 2004

  Georgia: Tensions Flare In Separatist Provinces

  Georgian President Saakashvili (file photo) Prague, 5 August 2004 (RFE/RL) -- Relations between Moscow and Tbilisi came under strain earlier this week when Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili threatened to sink any Russian ship that approaches the breakaway region of Abkhazia.

• July 29, 2004

  Turkey/Iran: Kurdish Issues Dominate Turkish Prime Minister's Visit To Iran

  Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan wraps up a visit to Tehran today. Yesterday, he said he expects Iran to outlaw the former Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) as a "terrorist" group. Such an agreement would, in theory, represent a breakthrough in bilateral ties, as both countries have in the past accused each other of sheltering Kurdish rebels.

• July 28, 2004

  Russia: Meskhetians Setting Off Into New Exile But Vow To Continue Fighting

  Earlier this year, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) launched a U.S.-sponsored resettlement program designed to help Meskhetians from Russia's Krasnodar region emigrate. The first group of 84 Meskhetians arrived in the United States in mid-July with the hope of obtaining permanent resident status and, eventually, U.S. citizenship. For these Meskhetians, this might well be the end of their journey. But the plight of those thousands who remain in the Krasnodar region is likely to continue until they, too, finally depart, after clearing last-minute hurdles set up by local authorities.

• July 23, 2004

  Georgia: Frustration Grows Among Azeri Community

  While Georgia is striving to restore control over its northern separatist province of South Ossetia, tension is brewing in its predominantly Azeri southern districts. Local residents blame the Georgian president for failing to deliver on pre-election pledges to improve social conditions in the region. The situation has sparked concerns in neighboring Azerbaijan, where voices are rising in defense of Georgia's largest Muslim minority.

• June 24, 2004

  Azerbaijan: Authorities Strive To Keep Islam Under Control

  Strategically located between Iran, Turkey, and Russia's Muslim Northern Caucasus republics, Azerbaijan has seen an upsurge in Islamic activity in the past decade. Depending on their geopolitical interests, authorities have adopted various attitudes toward foreign religious activists. Using a mix of coercion and tolerance, they have succeeded in keeping Islamic activities under control.

• June 23, 2004

  Russia: Ingushetia Mourns Its Dead Amid Renewed Concerns For Regional Stability

  (file photo) Twenty-four hours after the militant attacks that struck the North Caucasus republic of Ingushetia, there is still uncertainty as to who carried out the unprecedented raids. Reports from the area indicate many of the assailants were Ingush, raising once again the prospect of the Chechen war spilling over borders. Drawing a lesson from yesterday's assaults, the Russian leadership has decided to dispatch troop reinforcements to the area.

• June 11, 2004

  Azerbaijan: Is President Ilham Aliyev's Power Base Wobbling?

  Members of the Azerbaijani government and other state officials have been trading accusations of corruption and other misdeeds through the media for the past few weeks. Indications that political jockeying among the ruling elite may be intensifying have, in turn, fueled speculation about President Ilham Aliyev's ability to control his team.

• June 10, 2004

  Turkey: Prime Minister's Criticism Of Israel Does Not Mark Shift In Policy

  Two years after then-Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit accused Israel of conducting a policy of "genocide" against the Palestinians, relations between the two countries are once again under strain. Ecevit's successor, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has in recent days condemned as "state terror" Israel's heavy-handed policy in the Palestinian territories. The row is aggravated by the perception that the Islamic leanings of Erdogan and his cabinet make them more sympathetic to the Arab world than their secular predecessors. However, experts say there is no evidence to suggest a change of Turkey's policy toward Israel.

• June 08, 2004

  Turkey: Fethullahci Schools -- A Greenhouse For Central Asian Elites?

  The Nur ("light" in Turkish) movement is generally considered one of the most important Islamic reformist currents to have appeared in Turkey in the past century. One of this movement's subcommunities, founded by religious thinker Fethullah Gulen, seeks to breed a "new generation" of socially integrated Muslim believers who will eventually achieve high government positions. The collapse of the Soviet Union offered the Gulen community -- which is one of Turkey's most powerful socio-religious movements -- a unique opportunity to expand abroad, notably in Central Asia. RFE/RL correspondent Jean-Christophe Peuch reports in this second of a two-part series.

• June 07, 2004

  Turkey: Group Seeks To Create New Generation Of Muslim Believers

  Turkey's mix of Islam within a secular state is often viewed as a model for other Muslim countries. Within Turkey, an Islamic reform movement known as Nur ("light") may offer an alternative for reconciling tradition and modernity. The most prominent leader of this movement is Fethullah Gulen. In the first of a two-part series, RFE/RL correspondent Jean-Christophe Peuch looks at Gulen's ideas and their place within Turkish Islam. A second part looks at the influence of his community in Central Asia.

• May 31, 2004

  Georgia: Government Closes Border Checkpoint With Azerbaijan, Sends Police Reinforcements To South Ossetia

  The Georgian government in recent months has taken a series of measures aimed at curbing the trafficking of goods from neighboring Armenia and Azerbaijan. It has also ordered new checkpoints to be set up to stop the inflow of contraband goods through the breakaway Republic of South Ossetia. Tbilisi on 30 May decided to move a step further in its fight against smugglers.

• May 28, 2004

  Georgia: Moscow, Tbilisi Open 'Historic' Business Talks

  Dozens of businessmen have gathered in Tbilisi to attend the first Russian-Georgian economic forum. Over the next two days (28-29 May), Russian private entrepreneurs and government officials will discuss investment opportunities with their Georgian counterparts. This unprecedented initiative testifies to the new relationship that has been growing between Moscow and Tbilisi since the recent change of leadership in the Georgian capital. The development of Russian-Georgian economic ties is likely to have important consequences for the entire South Caucasus region.

• May 26, 2004

  Georgia: Saakashvili Offers To Open Reunification Talks With Abkhazia, South Ossetia

  On the heels of his success in Adjara, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili today unveiled plans to restore central control over the separatist republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The announcement coincided with ceremonies formally marking the 13th anniversary of Georgia's independence.

• May 25, 2004

  Georgia: Tbilisi Court Sentences Chechens Amid Visa-Regulation Talks With Moscow

  Mutual steps to improve steps between Tbilisi and Moscow have been an increasing strain on the hundreds of Chechen refugees who have found shelter in Georgia since the start of Russia's second North Caucasus military campaign in 1999. As a court sentencing yesterday indicates, Georgia appears increasingly willing to crack down on Chechens alleged to be separatist fighters.

• May 20, 2004

  Georgia: Hopeful President Pays First Official Visit To Turkey

  Mikheil Saakashvili Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has started his first official visit to Turkey with a clear aim toward strengthening economic and military ties with a strategic NATO member that has been traditionally keen to play a major role in the post-Soviet South Caucasus region. Saakashvili hopes his visit, which comes just weeks after he reasserted his authority over the Black Sea province of Adjara, will pave the way for greater Turkish participation in reviving his country's ailing economy.

• May 19, 2004

  Georgia: Having Secured Adjara, Tbilisi Turns To Abkhazia With An Eye On Russia

  The peaceful outcome of the Adjar crisis in early May has shown that Russia is now eager to preserve peace and stability in neighboring Georgia. Regional experts believe the warming of bilateral ties that followed the recent change of leadership in Tbilisi could also have a positive impact on Georgia's so-called "frozen conflicts."

• April 30, 2004

  World: Council Of Europe Scrutinizes Rights Violations In Belarus, Political Situation In Armenia, Azerbaijan

  Azerbaijani President Aliyev is under pressure over political prisoners The Strasbourg-based Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe today wraps up the second part of its 2004 spring session. The main highlights of this week's session included hearings on human rights abuses in Belarus, an urgent debate on the political situation in Armenia, and an address by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

• April 29, 2004

  Russia: IOM Expects Up To 10,000 Meskhetians To Apply For U.S. Refugee Status

  The United States says it is ready to extend refugee status to thousands of Meskhetians from Russia's Krasnodar region, an area that human rights groups have long been denouncing as being a hotbed of ethnic discrimination. Although they would rather remain in the region or return to their historic homeland of Georgia, many Meskhetians are likely to accept the offer for want of viable alternatives.

• April 22, 2004

  Cyprus: Turkish, Greek Cypriots Vote On Reunification Plan Amid General Pessimism

  UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan yesterday made a last-minute call to the people of Cyprus, urging them to endorse his reunification plan before the island joins the European Union in 10 days. His blueprint will be put to a vote of national confidence this weekend on both parts of the island. However, it looks likely that the proposed arrangement will be rejected.

Load more