Valentinas Mite

Also by Valentinas Mite

• July 12, 2005

  Belarus: Police Often Accused Of Brutality

  Russian TV caught Zavadskaya being punched Belarusian human rights activists say the police are using brutality and excessive force to disperse antigovernment protests. In the latest development, a policeman reportedly struck in the face the wife of a missing journalist during a peaceful street demonstration. Rights watchers say abuse by police has become routine in Belarus. Opinion polls show that law enforcement is the most unpopular institution in the country.

• July 07, 2005

  Iraq: Al-Qaeda Says It Has Killed Egyptian Envoy

  Ihab al-Sharif Iraq's Al-Qaeda group says it has killed Egypt's top envoy whom it had kidnapped several days ago. The group accused ambassador Ihab al-Sharif of being "allied to Jews and Christians." Meanwhile, top Muslim scholars have condemned assassinations carried out in the name of Islam.

• July 03, 2005

  Russia: Putin Meets German, French Leaders In Kaliningrad

  German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder (l) and President Putin in Kaliningrad on 3 July Russian President Vladimir Putin met today with French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad. The discussions focused on Russian relations with the European Union and a new cooperation treaty between Russia and the EU. The leaders of Lithuania and Poland -- the two closest Kaliningrad's neighbors -- were not invited.

• June 29, 2005

  Ukraine: Officials Prepare Biggest Steel Mill For Re-Privatization

  Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko's re-privatization plan has proven controversial The Ukrainian government plans to sell some 93 percent of the shares in the country's biggest steel mill, Kryvorizhstal, which was re-nationalized earlier this month. Kryvorizhstal, Ukraine's most profitable mill, was sold in 2004 to a consortium owned by the son-in-law of former President Leonid Kuchma -- amid complaints about the artificially low price. After coming to power, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko pledged to reverse the sale. This month a Ukrainian court upheld an earlier ruling nullifying the mill's privatization. Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko says the new privatization of the mill will be the first transparent sale of state property in the country.

• June 27, 2005

  Iraq: U.S. Says Insurgency Could Last Several Years

  U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warned yesterday that it might take years to defeat the Iraqi insurgency. The warning came as at least 46 Iraqis and one U.S. soldier were reportedly killed in attacks the same day. U.S. officials also confirm that they have been involved in secret talks with some insurgent groups. But neither military operations nor talks seem to be stopping the bloodshed in the country.

• June 21, 2005

  Ukraine: Villagers In Chornobyl Exclusion Zone Feel Deep Connection To Land, Dismiss Dangers

  Galina Yavchenko outside her home in Parishev Several hundred people still choose to live in the contaminated villages that dot the 30-kilometer exclusion zone surrounding the Chornobyl nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine. Despite the health risks still posed by radioactivity, 20 years after the world's worst civilian nuclear accident, the elderly villagers say the connection to their native land is too strong. RFE/RL visited the exclusion zone, near the border with Belarus, and spoke with some of those who have decided to live their lives in a haunted land.

• June 20, 2005

  Ukraine: Ghost Town An Eerie Reminder Of Chornobyl Legacy

  Bumper cars at Pripyat's old amusement park The Ukrainian town of Pripyat has been abandoned since May 1986, when its residents were hastily evacuated in the days following the Chornobyl nuclear disaster. The town, located 20 kilometers from the plant, was once home to Chornobyl workers and popularly known as the "city of roses." Now, nearly 20 years after the world's worst nuclear accident, Pripyat's only residents are dogs and wild animals. RFE/RL's correspondent traveled with a guide to Pripyat and files this report on what has become a Ukrainian ghost town.

• June 17, 2005

  Ukraine: Business-Watchers Cite Corruption, Red Tape, As Main Obstacles to Development

  The building where the World Economic Forum was held in Kyiv The World Economic Forum is taking place in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. The large international gathering has brought together politicians and businesspeople to discuss problems related to Ukrainian development and the economic obstacles currently facing the country. Many point to bureaucracy and corruption as the main roadblocks to the country's growth.

• June 15, 2005

  Ukraine: Yushchenko Walks Political Tightrope On Privatization Reviews

  Viktor Yushchenko (file photo) Many ordinary Ukrainians want social justice and urge the government to look into shady privatization deals of the past. However, the new administration has no clear program how it should be done and on what terms suspicious deals should be revisited. This uncertainty together with high people's expectations might create problems for the new authorities.

• June 09, 2005

  Iraq: President, PM Praise Shi'a and Kurdish Militias

  Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Ja'fari yesterday publicly praised Shi'a and Kurdish militias for their contribution in maintaining security in the country. The comments -- made at a congress of the Badr Organization, the armed wing of the Shi'a-led Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) -- come at a time of tension between Sunnis and Iraq's newly empowered Shi'ite majority.

• June 08, 2005

  Some Insurgents In Iraq Say They Are Ready To Disarm

  Prague, 8 June 2005 (RFE/RL) -- A Sunni Arab politician, Ayham al-Samarra'i, has announced that two insurgent groups are willing to begin negotiations with the government. If such talks took place, the move would open a new political front in embattled Iraq. But a string of coordinated deadly bombings signaled that militants remain fierce.

• June 07, 2005

  Chechen President Touts Improvements, But Rights Groups Disagree

  Alkhanov sees improvement (file photo) Prague, 7 June 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Chechnya's pro-Moscow President Alu Alkhanov says Russian forces in Chechnya are involved in fewer kidnappings and that the situation in the breakaway republic is improving. However, human rights organizations working in the region say they've seen no such improvement.

• June 01, 2005

  Belarus: Prominent Opposition Politicians Sentenced

  Belarusian authorities on 1 June sentenced opposition politicians Mikalay Statkevich and Pavel Sevyarynets to three years of corrective labor. A national amnesty then reduced their sentences by one year each. A court convicted the two of staging a series of unauthorized demonstrations against President Alyaksander Lukashenka in late 2004. The men had protested against an October referendum that allowed Lukashenka to stay on indefinitely as president. Both men pleaded innocent and said the trial was politicized. They are to be confined in special detention centers and work under police surveillance. RFE/RL reports that the convictions seem to be aimed at silencing what is left of Belarus' beleaguered opposition.

• May 30, 2005

  Iraq: Domestic Security Forces Hunt Insurgents In Baghdad

  Casualties of a car-bomb attack in late April An estimated 40,000 Iraqi soldiers and police officers have launched a massive security sweep in the capital Baghdad. They are setting up checkpoints and searching homes in an effort to root out insurgents. Dubbed "Operation Lightning," the crackdown comes following a wave of insurgent attacks that have killed more than 720 people since Iraq's new Shi'ite-led government was announced on 28 April.

• May 27, 2005

  Iraq: New Security Plan Greeted With Some Skepticism

  The operation aims to reduce the number of insurgent attacks The new Iraqi government on 26 May announced a massive new security plan to fight protect Baghdad from insurgents. Iraqi authorities say that as early as next week they will ring the capital with 40,000 police and soldiers and hundreds of checkpoints. The announcement prompted speculation over the feasibility of the operation, which comes in the wake of a wave of insurgent activity.

• May 24, 2005

  Iraq: Sectarian Violence On The Rise

  (file photo) More than 50 people were killed on Monday as a result of bombings in Iraq targeting U.S. troops, Iraqi security forces, and Shi'ite Arab civilians. The bombings were the latest in a rising number of attacks that have led many to express fears that the country is on the verge of a sectarian war. However, analysts say it is too early to speak about a serious sectarian conflict.

• May 23, 2005

  Iraq: Sunnis Seek Greater Political Participation

  Iraq's once dominant Sunni minority has largely stayed outside of the country's political process, including boycotting landmark elections for a National Assembly in January. But now there are increasing signs the Sunni leadership is changing its position. On 21 May, some 1,000 Sunni leaders from many religious and political groupings, as well as many tribal leaders, said they want to help write Iraq's new constitution and compete in future elections.

• May 20, 2005

  Ukraine: Frictions Emerge Between President, New Government

  Are Yushchenko and Tymoshenko falling out? Frictions are emerging within the new Ukrainian administration. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has sharply criticized his government, headed by Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko, over its handling of the country’s economic challenges. The surfacing disagreements suggest significant differences between the winners of Ukraine’s Orange Revolution over where to go from here.

• May 18, 2005

  Uzbekistan: Is Karimov Stronger Or Weaker After Crackdown?

  President Karimov (file photo) People are still burying their dead in Uzbekistan after a bloody crackdown on protesters last week in the eastern town of Andijon. The violence shocked the country and the world, but for now it doesn't seem to be affecting Uzbek President Islam Karimov's hold on power. However, some analysts say the crackdown could have consequences in the long run for the authoritarian leader. [For more on these events, see RFE/RL's dedicated webpage: Unrest in Uzbekistan --> /specials/uzbek_unrest/ ]

• May 17, 2005

  Uzbekistan: Authorities Try To Control Reporting On Crisis

  Uzbek authorities are doing everything to impose a media blackout on reporting about the recent violence in eastern Uzbekistan. While Uzbek state-controlled media presents only the official position, foreign journalists are kept away from the zones of unrest. Human rights and media groups are concerned and urge the authorities to allow journalists to operate freely. [For more on these events, see RFE/RL's dedicated webpage: Unrest in Uzbekistan --> /specials/uzbek_unrest/ ]

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