Jean-Christophe Peuch

Also by Jean-Christophe Peuch

• June 16, 2005

  Georgia: Authorities Indicate Possible Compromise On Abkhaz Railways

  Georgia has indicated it may drop one of its key conditions for the reopening of a railroad link to Russia through its breakaway republic of Abkhazia. Railway communications through Abkhazia came to a halt after the Black Sea province seceded from Georgia in the early 1990s. The reopening of this link would benefit not only Georgia and Russia, but also the entire Southern Caucasus region.

• June 15, 2005

  Turkey: Leaders Present Brave Face On EU Crisis, But Concerns Run High

  EU headquarters in Brussels Turkey is due to start entry talks with the European Union on 3 October, with a view to join the bloc no earlier than 2015. Ankara insists its membership bid is unaffected by the French and Dutch "no" votes on the EU constitution. But the time is critical for the three-year-old Islamic-rooted cabinet of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which has done more than any of its predecessors to bring its legislation in line with EU standards.

• June 02, 2005

  Russia: Could North Ossetian Leader’s Departure Herald Other Resignations?

  North Ossetia’s 71-year-old president, Aleksandr Dzasokhov, announced his resignation on 31 May after talks with President Vladimir Putin’s envoy to southern Russia. The veteran leader said he is stepping down voluntarily so that a younger politician can take his place. But analysts believe that the Kremlin forced Dzasokhov out in a bid to reassert central control over the small North Caucasus republic. Will other regional leaders soon follow?

• May 31, 2005

  Georgia/Russia: Base Deal Seen As Mutually Acceptable Compromise

  Moscow and Tbilisi yesterday announced an agreement on the closure of Russia’s two remaining military bases in Georgia by the end of 2008. In theory at least, the deal puts an end to a dispute that started in December 1999, when the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe demanded that Moscow vacate all four former Soviet military bases it had been maintaining in that Southern Caucasus country. By 2001, Russia had vacated two bases. But the fate of the two remaining facilities -- in the Black Sea port of Batumi and the predominantly Armenian region of Samtskhe-Javakheti -- had remained in abeyance for nearly four years, triggering tensions between Moscow and Tbilisi.

• May 27, 2005

  Georgia: Family Challenges Official Stance On Prime Minister's Death

  Zurab Zhvania On 3 February, Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania was found dead in a Tbilisi apartment along with a friend, 25-year-old Raul Yusupov. Authorities have declared the deaths a case of poisoning caused by a faulty gas heater. U.S. investigators have -- at least publicly -- backed the accident theory, saying they see no reason to challenge the official account of events. But the late prime minister's widow has cast doubt over the government probe. Also, his brother tells RFE/RL that he suspects foul play and demands an independent investigation.

• May 25, 2005

  Caspian-Mediterranean Oil Pipeline Launched In Baku

  Work on BTC pipeline near Baku two years ago Prague, 25 May 2005 (RFE/RL) -- The 1,760-kilometer Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline to transport crude oil extracted from the Caspian Sea shelf to the Mediterranean Sea basin was inaugurated today near Azerbaijan's capital Baku.

• May 25, 2005

  Caucasus/Central Asia: Analysts Expect Security, Economic Gains From BTC Pipeline

  The leaders of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, and Kazakhstan gathered near Baku today to inaugurate the $4 billion Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline. The project is generally viewed as the key element of an overall plan to turn the Caucasus region into a transport corridor connecting Central Asia to Western Europe. From the onset, BTC was designed by its American sponsors as a way to reduce Russia's energy grip on its former southern satellites. But regional experts say that by helping make the region safer, the project's expected economic benefits might eventually outweigh its geostrategic importance. [For coverage of the ceremony, see "Caspian-Mediterranean Oil Pipeline Launched In Baku" --> /featuresarticle/2005/05/18a9dc83-9f19-4830-aea2-93a850b985fa.html .]

• May 16, 2005

  Ukraine: Interview -- 61 Years After Deportations, Crimean Tatar Leader Still Seeking Justice

  Cemilev says Russia attempts to portray the Crimean Tatars as a threat to Ukraine The name of Mustafa Cemilev is synonymous with the Crimean Tatars’ decades-long struggle to obtain reparations for their suffering due to the deportations ordered by Soviet leader Josef Stalin in 1944. Cemilev, now 61, has spent 15 years in jail for his active participation in the Soviet dissident movement. He served seven prison terms between 1966 and 1986, not only for defending the cause of his people, but also for refusing to serve in the Soviet Army, protesting the invasion of Czechoslovakia, and defending freedom of speech. Cemilev was an infant when, on 18 May 1944, Stalin’s NKVD secret police deported Crimea’s entire Tatar population to Central Asia. He returned home only in 1989 after Soviet authorities permitted the repatriation of the Crimean Tatars. Two years later, Cemilev was elected chairman of the Qirimtatar Milliy Meclisi, or Crimean Tatar National Parliament, a post he still holds today. Crimean Tatars throughout the former Soviet Union prepare to commemorate the 61st anniversary of their deportation to Central Asia, just days after the Crimean legislature approved a power-sharing agreement giving Crimean Tatars three ministerial portfolios in the regional government. In an interview with RFE/RL ahead of that decision, Cemilev described the current situation of the Crimean Tatars.

• May 12, 2005

  Turkey: European Court Says Kurdish Leader Received Unfair Trial

  EU-hopeful Turkey may now feel pressure to grant Ocalan a new trial The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ruled today that Turkish authorities granted Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed founder of the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), an unfair trial six years ago when he was sentenced to death for leading an armed insurgency. Although the decision of the Strasbourg-based court is not legally binding, it is likely to put pressure on EU-hopeful Turkey to grant its most famous prisoner a new trial.

• May 11, 2005

  Georgia: Maintaining Good Ties With Russia An Important Undercurrent Of Bush's Trip

  Bush and Saakashvili on 9 May Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has hailed George W. Bush's visit as a "great political victory" for his country. Addressing crowds of supporters in Tbilisi yesterday, Bush said he values the Georgian leadership that emerged from the 2003 political upheaval as a strategic ally of the United States. However, the U.S. president also made it clear that it is equally important for his administration that Georgia not antagonize Russia.

• May 05, 2005

  Georgia: Samtskhe-Javakheti Armenians Step Up Demands Amid Base Talks

  Russian soldiers in Georgia Political groupings in Georgia's predominantly Armenian region of Samtskhe-Javakheti have in recent weeks staged a series of rallies to protest against the possible withdrawal of Russian troops stationed there. Although the timing suggests Moscow may have inspired the demonstrations as it faces renewed pressure to vacate a military base in the region, experts note that Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's failure to address social and economic concerns has many residents worried.

• May 04, 2005

  World War II -- 60 Years After: For Victims Of Stalin's Deportations, War Lives On

  As we mark the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, RFE/RL is looking again at some of the factors that determined the course of the struggle and shaped the new world that emerged from it. Among the tragic events that unfolded on the sidelines of World War II was the forced resettlement to Siberia, the Far East, and Central Asia of hundreds of thousands Soviet citizens. Not only did Stalin's decision to send entire peoples into exile result in innumerable deaths, it also sealed the fate of entire populations for many years to come. Even today, some of these peoples continue to suffer the consequences of the 1944 deportations.

• April 26, 2005

  Georgia: Tbilisi, Moscow Report Breakthrough Over Russian Military Bases

  Just days ago, Moscow and Tbilisi blamed each other for scuttling talks on the withdrawal of Russian military bases in Georgia. But now both sides are reporting progress on the issue. Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zurabishvili said on a visit to Moscow yesterday that Russia is now willing to vacate both facilities by 2008. Although there is still no formal agreement on a pullout date, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested yesterday that a compromise is in sight.

• April 22, 2005

  Armenia: Tragedy Remains On Europe’s Political Map

  An Armenian woman mourning the death of a boy during the deportation (epa) Prague, 22 April 2005 (RFE/RL) -- On 24 April, Armenians worldwide will commemorate the 90th anniversary of the mass deportations and killing of hundreds of thousands of their ethnic kin during the final years of the Ottoman Empire.

• April 19, 2005

  Azerbaijan: Opposition Begins Early Election Campaign

  In recent weeks, a number of anti-government coalitions have emerged in Azerbaijan with the aim of winning parliamentary seats in elections in November. The opposition in the past has often failed to join forces in time to make a political impact. But leaders of these groups say they have learned from past mistakes and are determined to work together in order to bring democratic change to the country. RFE/RL talked to the leaders of two of the new alliances -- former presidential aide Eldar Namazov and Popular Front Chairman Ali Kerimli.

• April 14, 2005

  Armenia: Yerevan Appears Unmoved At Turkey’s Genocide-Study Offer

  Yerevan showed little response today after Ankara’s proposal to conduct a joint investigation into the mass killings and deportations of Armenians during World War I. Turkish leaders yesterday suggested that both countries set up a joint commission of historians to determine whether the massacres carried out between 1915 and 1917 constituted genocide. Armenia insists it will continue to seek international recognition and condemnation of what it says was a deliberate attempt at exterminating an entire people. RFE/RL correspondent Jean-Christophe Peuch reports.

• April 14, 2005

  Georgia: Rights Group Says Police Torture Continues

  In the wake of the November 2003 street protests that toppled the sitting government, Georgia's new president, Mikheil Saakashvili, made a solemn pledge to restore rule of law and boost the country's democratic credentials. But Georgian rights groups say Saakashvili has not delivered on many of his promises. The nongovernmental organization Human Rights Watch is among the critics, and accuses Georgian authorities of failing to curb police torture.

• April 12, 2005

  Georgia: Civic Groups Criticize Defense Secretiveness, Militarization

  When Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili reshuffled the country's security apparatus in December, he entrusted his new civilian defense minister, Irakli Okruashvili, with the task of speeding the pace of reforms needed to improve the effectiveness of the national armed forces. Okruashvili has pledged to fulfill his mission by 2006. Opposition and civic rights groups, however, are questioning the defense minister methods for achieving his goal and the purpose of what they denounce as Georgia's "militarization."

• April 07, 2005

  Turkey: Is Ankara Growing Weary Of EU Reforms?

  Turkey wants to join the EU but can it stay the course? Following a decision by European Union leaders to open accession talks with Turkey, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government have committed a number of faux pas that have cast a shadow on their recent efforts to further democratize the country. There is now concern in both Ankara and Brussels that the Turkish leadership may be losing its determination to carry through with the EU reforms.

• April 05, 2005

  Kyrgyzstan: Reporter's Notebook -- Witness To The Uprising

  Protestors toppled the government of Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev with surprising ease RFE/RL’s correspondent Jean-Christophe Peuch arrived in Bishkek early on 24 March, just hours before crowds of protestors started gathering near the White House. He covered the storming of the government's headquarters and witnessed some of the plundering that spread throughout the Kyrgyz capital for two consecutive nights. Here is his account of the events leading up to the fall of President Askar Akaev's regime and of the chaos that followed.

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