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Valentinas Mite

Also by Valentinas Mite

May 13, 2004
Belarus: Will EU's New Policy Toward Minsk Help Or Hinder Change?

In a new strategy document, the European Commission envisages no hope for closer relations with Belarus as long as its current government stays in power. Some analysts say the new policy will punish only the Belarusian people and is unlikely to lead to changes in the country.
May 12, 2004
Iraq: Neighbors Have Conflicting Visions Of Country's Future

There is no clear consensus inside Iraq about its future political course, while neighboring countries also share no common view of where Iraq should be headed. Shi'a Iran, Sunni Saudi Arabia, and secular Turkey envisage different and sometimes conflicting scenarios of Iraq's place in the wider Middle East.
May 10, 2004
Russia: Kadyrov's Death A Blow To Kremlin's Chechnya Policy

Chechnya's pro-Moscow president, Akhmad-hadji Kadyrov, was buried today in his hometown after being killed in a bomb blast in Grozny yesterday. The explosion in the republican capital took place during annual celebrations marking the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. The assassination marks a sharp setback for Moscow's Chechen policy.
May 06, 2004
Middle East: Bush's Comments On Prisoner Abuse Generally Fail To Impress In Iraq, Arab World

U.S. President George W. Bush granted interviews yesterday to two Arabic satellite networks in an effort to stem the fallout over the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. soldiers. Reactions in the Arab world to Bush's remarks has generally been negative, however.
May 05, 2004
Iraq: Has The U.S.-Led Coalition Lost The Initiative?

Continuing unrest in Iraq is raising doubts about whether the U.S.-led coalition still holds the initiative in the country. The current situation is in sharp contrast to just several months ago, when the coalition appeared to have things largely in hand.
May 03, 2004
Iraq: U.S. Abuse, Humiliation Of Prisoners Inflames Arab World

Images of U.S. soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners have drawn sharp condemnation, both in the United States and abroad. The outrage coming from the Arab and Muslim world has been especially strong, and raises the question of whether Washington has done irreparable damage to its image in the region.
May 03, 2004
Iraq: Jordanian Defense Lawyer Aims To Take On Saddam Case

Saddam Hussein after his capture It is not clear when Saddam Hussein will be tried. But two defense lawyers have already announced they are prepared to take up his case. This despite having had no contact with the deposed leader, who is being kept by U.S. forces in an unidentified location in Iraq. RFE/RL spoke to one of the candidates, Jordanian lawyer Muhammad Rashdan, who was hired by several members of Saddam Hussein's family.
April 28, 2004
EU: Expansion Brings Little Joy To Cross-Border Traders In Belarus, Ukraine

On 1 May, the 10 new members of the EU will be celebrating their accession to the bloc. But the celebrations are unlikely to extend further east. Cross-border traders and travelers in the former Soviet republics of Belarus and Ukraine are worried the new EU borders will mean stricter controls on their movement and livelihood.
April 27, 2004
Iraq: U.S. Forming Elite Defense Corps to Help Fight Insurgency

Imam Al-Mahdi Army fighters The United States says it is forming an elite Iraqi force to help fight insurgents. The move comes as U.S. military officials plan joint patrols of Al-Fallujah by U.S. Marines and Iraqi security forces, despite recent indications that the Iraqis are reluctant to engage their countrymen.
April 22, 2004
Iraq: Prison Bombing Shifts Spotlight Onto Detentions

A bomb attack on 20 April on a U.S.-run prison in western Baghdad has highlighted the status of the several thousand Iraqis now held by the U.S.-led coalition. Local politicians and human rights activists complain they have little information on the prisoners. Members of the Iraqi Governing Council say they have little influence over the fate of their co-nationals kept in coalition prisons.
April 21, 2004
Iraq: As Violence Sweeps Country, Kurdistan Remains Calm -- But Wary

The aftermath of the Al-Basrah bombing At a time when violence is raging in the west and south of Iraq, Kurdistan remains relatively peaceful. Kurds say they would like it to stay this way. But they are worried that growing instability elsewhere in Iraq may eventually cost them their autonomy.
April 15, 2004
Chechnya: Pro-Moscow President Rules With Iron Fist -- And Special Police

Chechnya's pro-Moscow president, Akhmad Kadyrov, has plenty of assistance ruling his restive republic. In addition to help from the Russian Army, he is also supported by a special police force notorious for its ruthlessness. But some observers say Kadyrov's local enforcers, who have no clear legal status, may eventually prove an embarrassment for Moscow.
April 14, 2004
Iraq: Association Of Muslim Clerics Emerging As Moderate Voice Of Sunnis

The Association of Muslim Clerics is emerging as a moderate political voice for Iraq's Sunni Muslims. It is opposed to the U.S. occupation but helped to broker the shaky cease-fire in Al-Fallujah. It has also condemned the taking of foreign hostages in Iraq and has been helping to mediate their release.
April 13, 2004
Iraq: U.S. Coming Under Fire For Use Of Force In Al-Fallujah

Some members of the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council are strongly criticizing the U.S. military over civilian casualties in Al-Fallujah. They say the U.S. response to the killing last month of four American security personnel in the city has been disproportionate and indiscriminate. U.S. officials insist they are doing everything they can to minimize civilian deaths.
April 08, 2004
Iraq: Though Small In Number, Al-Mahdi Army Posing Challenges To Coalition Troops

A militia loyal to radical Shi'a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr -- believed to number several thousand -- is battling coalition forces in Baghdad and other towns in Iraq. The Al-Mahdi Army was formed last summer, when al-Sadr said it would be a nonviolent force used primarily for security. That changed last weekend, however, when al-Sadr issued a call for his followers to "terrorize" the enemy.
April 06, 2004
Lithuania: Paksas Becomes First European President To Be Removed From Office

Rolandas Paksas Prague, 6 April 2004 (RFE/RL) -- The Lithuanian Parliament voted by a narrow margin today to remove President Rolandas Paksas from office, ending a nearly seven-month scandal in the tiny Baltic nation and making Paksas the first European president to be removed from office.
April 05, 2004
Iraq: Populist Cleric Al-Sadr Exploits Growing Discontent Among Impoverished Shi'a

Deadly clashes in Iraq are focusing attention on the young Shi'a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The fighting has left at least 90 people dead, including seven U.S. soldiers killed in Al-Sadr City, a poor Baghdad neighborhood that is the cleric's stronghold. Overnight, al-Sadr's supporters took over a government building in Al-Basrah. Who is Muqtada al-Sadr, and how powerful is he?
April 01, 2004
Lithuania: President Looks Likely To Lose Job Next Week

Paksas: Outgoing president? Embattled Lithuanian President Rolandas Paksas looks likely to lose his job soon. The country's Constitutional Court announced late yesterday that Paksas had violated the Lithuanian Constitution. The ruling opens the way for an impeachment vote in parliament next week.
March 30, 2004
Pakistan: Offensive Against Suspected Militants In South Waziristan Ends

Pakistan has started withdrawing its troops from the tribal region near the border with Afghanistan after a major offensive. No major Al-Qaeda or Taliban militants appear to have been captured or killed, however, and analysts say the operation cannot be termed a success.
March 29, 2004
Ukraine: Kyiv Says Hundreds Of Soviet-Era Missiles Are Missing, But Not Necessarily Lost

Ukraine says it is looking for hundreds of Soviet-built missiles. Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating after the country's minister of defense told the media that the missiles are unaccounted for in the country's military arsenal.

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