The Oregonian, OR
March 15 2005

3 charged in scheme to steal IDs in fraud case
The three men, all illegal immigrants, are suspected of being part of
an international gang that launders money

JOSEPH ROSE

Police detectives were expecting Kenneth Emina to walk into a
Portland brokerage firm in late January.

Several undercover cops spent the afternoon in the office, posing as
employees and customers, waiting to nab the suspected money launderer
from Nigeria.

What they didn’t anticipate, they said, was Enima spilling the
intricate details of an international gang of thieves at the sign of
the first badge.

“He started giving us names, details, everything, right there,” said
Portland police Detective John Kuechler. “We had to shut him up long
enough to read him his rights.”

Standing in the financial office, Enima, 37, outlined for
investigators a million-dollar fraud ring that was laundering money
through Portland’s financial community.

Police arrested Enima; Francis J. Osai, 35, thought to be from
Nigeria; and Ari Gokbas, 35, an Armenian-Turk. They face charges of
identity theft and first-degree aggravated theft.

The three men, all illegal immigrants from California, stole the
identity of 17 people in 11 states before traveling to Portland in
January, police said. None of the victims was from Oregon.

Using credit cards and fake California driver’s licenses, the trio
allegedly withdrew money from their victims’ commercial bank accounts
at several Portland area branches.

They then attempted to launder the money through brokerage firm
accounts, Kuechler said.

“They had beautiful, beautiful California ID’s,” he said, adding that
the pictures on the fake driver’s licenses were actually sharper than
usual.”

The men are suspected of writing nearly $1 million in checks using
the victims’ accounts, and were in the early stages of pulling the
money out of brokerage accounts, Kuechler said.

In one case, he said, a suspect asked a brokerage firm to make out a
check to a third party and took it across the street to a bank to
cash it with a fake driver’s license.

Police were tipped off by a bank investigator Jan. 26.

Enima had asked a brokerage firm to cut him four checks worth a total
of $36,000 shortly after depositing money into an account, police
said. Suspicious employees at the firm told Enima to come back later
for the checks and called the bank investigator.

Enima and Osai are being held by Homeland Security. Ari Gokbas is
expected to be arraigned in the next week. Federal investigators also
have arrested two men they say were connected to the ring in
California.

Authorities suspect the men were working with someone in Nigeria,
where fraud is one of the top three industries.

“The ultimate goal of these guys,” Kuechler said, “was to wire these
funds to another location, where someone could pick it up and run
with it.”

Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
March 15 2005

Russia’s Wounded Imperial Consciousness
By Victor Yasmann

Whither the CIS?

Many observers in Russia and abroad believe that recent events in
Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova have rung the death knell for the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the fragile association
that rose up in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Council for Foreign and Defense Policy Chairman Sergei Karaganov told
RTR on 13 March that the CIS has essentially fulfilled its function
and should be radically reformed. On 10 March, apn.ru reported that
National Strategy Institute Director Stanislav Belkovskii had called
for “burying the CIS” and creating a new alliance of countries loyal
to Moscow. Belkovskii dubbed this alliance the USSR, an acronym from
the Russian words for “Commonwealth of Countries Allied to Russia.”

The latest reflection of this new mindset in Russia was a proposed
bill in the Duma that would have regulated the procedures for
expanding the Russian Federation. On 10 March, Motherland Duma Deputy
Andrei Savelev presented the bill on the creation of new constituents
of the Russian Federation that would have amended a 2001 law on the
Russian Federation (see “RFE/RL Newsline,” 3 December 2001) to
facilitate the incorporation into Russia of the self-proclaimed
republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which are part of Georgia;
the Moldovan region of Transdniester; and the Nagorno-Karabakh region
of Azerbaijan.”Now is not the time to think about how to break up
other states but to take care about the unity and sovereignty of our
own country.”

Under the 2001 law, regions wishing to join the federation do not
have to share borders with Russia, but the consent of their present
central governments is required for incorporation. The law also
stipulates that acceptance of new constituents of the federation must
be approved by a referendum of the entire country. In short, the
expansion of the Russian Federation requires an international treaty
and a complete, national domestic political process.

According to media reports, the amendments submitted by Savelev were
drafted by Motherland faction leader Dmitrii Rogozin. They called for
abolishing the requirement that expansion be accompanied by the
consent of the foreign government involved, “Izvestiya” reported on
10 March. Instead, the proposed amendments stated that admission to
the federation would be based only on “the will of the people of a
region as expressed through a referendum” or by the mass acceptance
of Russian citizenship. The only new condition that the amendments
included was a provision that said the population of a candidate
region must have voted “positively on the 17 March 1991 referendum on
the preservation of the USSR.” All of the regions listed above pass
this standard, a fact that Rogozin mentioned in a memorandum he
attached to the bill. In that message, he wrote that Georgia,
Moldova, and Azerbaijan “have lately been intensifying efforts to
project their sovereignty into the territories of these unrecognized
republics” while simultaneously accusing Russia of “supporting
‘separatism.'”

When presenting the bill in the Duma, Savelev stressed that the
proposals correspond with the Kremlin’s political line and its
“ideology of national revanche.” “President [Vladimir] Putin said
last year that we gave up too much and [now] we must get it all
back,” Savelev said, according to strana.ru on 11 March. “We do not
need a new Russia of ‘Yeltsinites’ within the present borders, but a
genuine Russia with its imperial borders.”

The Motherland bill, however, attracted just 91 votes — mainly from
Motherland and its allies — of the 226 required for passage.
Thirty-four deputies voted against the bill and one abstained, with
most deputies not participating in the vote. The pro-Kremlin Unified
Russia party, which controls more than 300 votes in the lower
chamber, declined to support the bill, arguing that it could destroy
“the fragile balance of the territorial integrity of the Russian
Federation.”

Unified Russia’s position seems to follow the old dictum that those
who live in glass houses should not throw stones. Deputy Yurii Konev
(Unified Russia) said: “The time for this law has passed. Now is not
the time to think about how to break up other states but to take care
about the unity and sovereignty of our own country,” strana.ru
reported on 11 March.

Konev’s concerns were echoed by Communist Deputy Leonid Ivanchenko,
whose faction largely supported the measure. Ivanchenko, however,
argued that the definition of “a popular referendum” in the bill
“works against Russia’s interests.” He noted that the Myasnikovskii
Raion of Rostov Oblast, which is in the district he represents, has a
compact Armenian community, RTR reported on 12 March, and that it
could theoretically vote to secede from Russia. First Deputy Duma
Speaker Lyubov Slizka (Unified Russia) concluded the debate by saying
that “adoption of the bill will mean the de facto declaration of war
against neighboring states, whose territorial integrity will be
violated.” She added that it would be another matter if one or
another of these regions gained international recognition and then
expressed the desire to join the Russian Federation.

In an interview with “Argumenty i fakty,” No. 10, TV-Tsentr
commentator Aleksei Pushkov, whose statist views often reflect those
of the Kremlin, said that Moscow is afraid to encourage separatist
claims in Georgia and Moldova because it faces the same problem in
Chechnya. Moreover, if Moscow legitimizes the disintegration of
Georgia and Moldova, it could set off a chain reaction in Ukraine and
Kazakhstan, both of which have large ethnic Russian minorities
concentrated in regions bordering Russia. “It seems that the Kremlin
is seriously afraid of complications in our relations with our
neighbors, although as far as I can tell there is nothing to be
afraid of,” Pushkov said.

The introduction of the bill in the Duma indicates that those in
Russia who harbor imperialist ambitions are not yet ready to
surrender, despite the recent setbacks throughout the CIS. After
Moscow’s defeat in the Ukrainian presidential vote, political
consultant Marat Gelman, who advised pro-Moscow presidential
candidate Viktor Yanukovych in the election there, said that “Russia
should now give up its imperial project,” RosBalt reported on 29
December. “But although there is no chance of realizing any scenario
of the restoration of the empire, our wounded imperial consciousness
remains and is posing a serious problem.”

Star, Turkey
March 15 2005

Turkey’s Path to the European Union

Uluc Gurkan

Columnist Uluc Gurkan comments on Turkish-EU relations and Europe’s
doubts on Turkey’s prospective membership. A summary of his column is
as follows:

`The French are going to vote for the EU Constitution, but they are
arguing about Turkey instead. They seem to be unable to decide
whether approving the Constitution means accepting Turkey as a member
of the Union. Due to this uncertainty, the referendum question gets
thornier with each passing day.

This uncertainty also seems to bother France’s socialists, which have
publicly declared that approving the Constitution doesn’t mean
vetting Turkey’s EU membership.

The declaration implied that Turkey has to give up on Cyprus and
admit the Armenian `genocide’ claims.

The socialists don’t claim that Turkey’s EU membership is impossible.
Instead, they imply that Turkey will have to obey the impositions of
the long-forgotten Treaty of Sevres in order to join the Union.

When it comes to Turkey’s admission to the EU, there’s not much
difference between these socialists and the Christian democrats.
European Convention President Valery Giscard d’Estaing, a Christian
democrat, still sees Turkey as just a neighbor to the EU.

This negative mood towards Turkey’s EU membership is not limited to
France. EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn last week said that
Turkey’s path towards the EU will be `long, rocky and full of sharp
turns.’ Speaking at a Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s
Association (TUSIAD) meeting in Istanbul, Rehn told his listeners
that Turkey must recognize Greek Cyprus in order to move on to
membership talks. `This is one of the preconditions set by the
commission,’ he said.

Turkey must recognize Greek Cyprus, and what else? It’s obvious that
the EU is also trying to add the Armenian `genocide’ claims to its
list of preliminary terms. Another precondition is that Turkey must
implement `political reforms’ in its southeast. I wonder if his
audience asked what Rehn meant by `political reforms.’

We have come to this point by doing without question whatever the EU
asks us to do. But we can’t go on this way. We have to learn how to
negotiate with the EU, as well as with the rest of the world. Turkish
businessmen and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) must join the
government in its efforts to carry out negotiations with the EU. We
need such a conscious campaign in our path towards the EU.’

March 15 2005

Zaman, Turkey
March 15 2005

Edelman Advises Turkey on Damascus
By Cihan News Agency
Published: Tuesday 15, 2005
zaman.com

The US Ambassador to Ankara Eric Edelman said that they expect
Turkey to support the United Nations (UN) resolution taken over
Syria.

Edelman who traveled to Bursa to attend meetings visited the Governor
Oguz Kagan Koksal. The Ambassador responded to questions from the
media following his meeting.

In response to a question about the US demand that the Turkish
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer should cancel his visit to Syria, he
said that the UN has made a decision regarding Syria and that is,
that it must pullout its soldiers out of Lebanon. The international
community should be in complete consensus as required by the UN
Security Council’s 1559th resolution. Following this decision, Syria
should immediately withdraw its troops from Lebanon. The US President
George W. Bush during his last European tour met with many leaders,
most importantly France, Germany, Russia, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia and
they all shared a common view. We hope that Turkey will also be
listed among the international community on this issue. Whether or
not to obey the international community is completely Turkey’s
decision.

The US Ambassador said regarding the alleged Armenian genocide that
it will probably come to the agenda at the US Congress in April and
continued that the traditional manner of the US administration is to
leave these events in 1915-1916 to historians.

On the other hand upon the question of whether or not the pressure by
the Armenian lobby was the issue, Edelman said that all minorities in
the US have the right to speak their ideas freely and added, “The
manner of the administration on this issue is as I said.”

When he was asked about is response to news in opposition to the US
published in Turkish media, he said, “Our biggest concern most of the
time is that the news based on conspiracy theories.”

Kazinform, Kazakhstan
March 15 2005

Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister: CIS is extremely sick

Astana. March 15. KAZINFORM. `CIS needs serious reformation or it
will ruin,’ people say in Kazakhstan. The unified economic area is a
promising idea, and many post-Soviet countries will have to fight to
enter it.

Events in Georgia and Ukraine changed the situation across former
USSR. The movement of goals by some member countries raised a query
about the existence of regional organizations. Official Kazakhstan
that always initiated integration processes throughout post-Soviet
territory feels definitely disappointed about the quality of activity
of such establishments (like the Commonwealth of independent states).
Thanks to Kazakhstan’s administration there were founded CIS,
EuroAsEC, UEA (Unified Economic Area), Collective security treaty,
and Shanghai cooperation organization.
During the CIS summit in Astana Nursultan Nazarbayev, one of its
founders, severely criticized the Commonwealth’s activity and offered
reformation ways.
The Kazakhstan Foreign Minister Kassymzhomart Tokayev shares official
Kazakhstan’s outlooks about CIS and UEA, and its ties with
neighboring countries.
UEA’s destiny:
– How the new Ukrainian authority’s plans of entering European Union
may affect the establishment of the Unified Economic Area (UEA) and
CIS’s destiny?
– I consider it’s nothing at all serious. Any state has a right to
choose its own way. If the official Ukraine suggests membership in
UEA contradicts country’s concerns then we have to take it. The
unified economic area was initiated as the economic structure – the
common market for goods, services and capital. The idea sounded
promising. By now four countries had done well and proceeded to agree
documents, with a part of them signed at the level of heads of
governments. There was no political project to unite huge markets of
Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus.
In any case, we should wait until Ukrainian administration makes
final decision. They need time to study all documents signed in the
course of talks, and documents which government and legislative
agency were to debate, as far as I understood President Victor
Yushchenko and his minister Boris Tarassyuk’s statements. The idea of
UEA will not lose its significance even if Ukraine is out of the
process. Kazakhstan will uphold UEA and continue bilateral relations
with Russia and Ukraine. Our interests dictate this approach as
Kazakhstan has overheated economy and excess of finance required to
invest.
Russia and Kazakhstan have common borders, economic attraction and
penetration. The same is with Ukraine. V. Yushchenko stated Russia
would be Ukraine’s ever strategic partner. It is not a simple
sentence, this is to admit Russia’s potential, to recognize existing
realias. To any extent but every country depends on Russia, being
frank. Russia is a core of the post-Soviet area. Besides, Russia is a
permanent member of UN Security Council. We are extremely interested
in Russia to develop successfully, democratically. It is not
propaganda, not a diplomatic flirting. It is a bottom-line approach.
– May the idea fail if Ukraine rejects the UEA establishment? Or the
Unified economic area is possible for opportunities of the three
powers?
– It’s not over yet. Who knows, Ukraine will probably get interested
in the project and join UEA. Documents signed within the new
establishment read no restriction to enter some other unions or
associations. I think that Ukraine will have interest in working with
Kazakhstan and Russia though has always been inclined to EU. Recently
the State Secretary of Ukraine Alexander Zinchenko has visited Astana
to hand over his President’s message to Nursultan Nazarbayev. The
point of the document is that Ukraine is very much interested in
further cooperation with Kazakhstan.
– Do you think Ukraine has a reasonable chance to enter EU?
– Ukraine has chance to, if wishes. And if there is a wish, there are
necessary reforms conducted. One should admit that on a series of
parameters the Ukraine economics has not been reformed as seriously
as Kazakhstan and Russia ones. Kiev has much to do to bring its own
legislation to correspondence with European standards. Ukraine has to
come to terms with the EU as membership binds. By the way, within the
framework of UEA also it has to tighten laws up to a market standard.
– What terms do you mean?
– Firstly Ukraine has to sacrifice own interests. May be, it has to
shut some enterprises down. E.g. to get an access to EU Lithuania
faced to liquidate electric power station that had played a notable
role in the economy. Bulgaria is suffering the same, the point in
Kozloduy atomic power station. There are too many things to
sacrifice. It is not an occasion that so many high level headshakers
have appeared. The President of Czech Republic Vaclav Claus, who has
lately visited Kazakhstan, became a tough Euro-skeptic, though nobody
doubts his adherence to the market. There is no fire without smoke
– What happens if only Russia and Kazakhstan out of current UEA
participants stay alone in the process?
– I think anyway it will be UEA as far as too many papers have been
elaborated already there. However, none intends to exclude Belarus
from the Unified economic area’s design, though its economic
structure differs from ones of Russia and Kazakhstan. I believe UEA
will become the perspective establishment in due time because the
initial purpose is to unify the four countries, then to enqueue other
states which have to follow requirements to join UEA. This is the
right way. It is like the European Union, as building a union with
the required reforms. It is impossible to build a market with closed
borders, unreformed economy and bad ties with neighboring countries.
– What do you say about the statement by the Foreign Minister of
Ukraine Boris Tarassyuk that Ukraine has to enter NATO in 2007 before
joining EU? How does it rub off on the treaty and the integration
process?
– It’s up to Ukraine. I think it will not affect relationships
between Kazakhstan and Ukraine. It may rub off on Ukraine’s
membership in CIS and UEA, in my opinion. Though we should remember
Ukraine is not the CIS Collective Security Treaty member state.
Besides, having not signed the Charter Ukraine is just an associate
member of the Commonwealth. It’s high time to think over the CIS’s
future
Don’t make a laughing-stock of CIS
– The President of Kazakhstan during September top summit in Astana
proposed CIS reforming, and the President of Russia upheld this idea.
Later deputy foreign ministers met in Moscow to discuss reformation
process outlooks. Can you tell about the results?
– It was a work meeting with disappointing results, to put it baldly.
There is Ukraine and some other countries that take the Security
Council foundation with a grain of salt. Russia offered to make
unified humane and cultural area within the CIS; however this idea
was received skeptically as well. Generally, all countries cautiously
refer to the CIS reforming process, exclusive of Kazakhstan and
Russia, to some extent. Kazakhstan hails the idea as CIS is going. It
is turning into the very expensive club of presidents and ministers.
I have participated almost all summits and might say they are being
bureaucratized more and more. At a recent Yalta meeting the audience
debated terminology of the free economic zone. How to name it – `free
market’ or `unified market’. It took an hour and a half. During the
break I went to next room. There was a table Stalin, Roosevelt and
Churchill had worked at. The three were accompanied by a few experts
and ministers. It was wartime but they managed to agree and share the
bossdom, without crowds of advisors. When I came back I saw 1 300
persons sitting and yawning. CIS is turning into incapable and
inefficient structure.
– What does the opposition say about CIS reforming?
– There are two points of view. One, no need to reform the CIS
otherwise it will ruin. There will be no consensus between countries
then. Second, Kazakhstan is for reforming. It is not a fellowship if
there are countries conflicting with each other like Armenia and
Azerbaijan, if the tension grows like between Georgia, Moldova and
Russia, if there are thousand of documents signed but ineffective.
The idea of the free economic zone is being debated for years but
none knows how to do it as economies differ too much. Turkmenistan is
not a CIS country member; it signs no documents, and has a neutral
status. Don’t make a laughing stock of the CIS.
There is one more point of view by Russia stressing the construction
of unified humane and cultural area. This idea is also resisted. We
have time before August summit in Tatarstan to make some agreement.
We have to continue consultations and debates otherwise CIS will
encounter big crisis.

Kazakhstan and Russia

-What do you say about the mutual penetration of Russian and
Kazakhstani capital. Parliament suggests the advent of Russian money
is non grata for the national business?
-Incompetent and unversed people say that. If Russian capital is
invested in a Kazakhstani enterprise it has to pay taxes and improve
management. By the way, I am really disappointed that the joint
venture on the basis of Ekibastuz hydroelectric power station I
started when I was a Prime-Minister is uncompleted yet. To my mind,
it might have been a huge investment by Russia in Kazakhstan’s energy
system. It is required as Kazakhstan has old power debts it could
regulate by own means. Unfortunately, the present Kazakhstan remains
unknown for the people of Russia, both for the ordinary public and
high-ranked officials. This kind of arrogance does not play in favor
of Kazakhstan-Russian cooperation.
– Many in Russia worry about Russian language in Kazakhstan.
– This is an intricate point. The President and people suggest
Russian language is a treasure not to be lost. It is the language of
intra-national communication. Besides, it is the official language of
UNO. On the other hand, we have to raise Kazakh language as the state
one. I see no contradiction. Why not Kazakhstan be a bilingual
country. One knows Kazakh, he (she) has access to Turkic languages. I
think that people should speak and write both languages, Russian and
Kazakh on a par.

No reasons for revolution

-Lately you have become number one figure in Kazakhstan. Opposition
mass-media name you Nursultan Nazarbayev’s probable successor
-I sicken at everything that happens in Russia is put on Kazakhstan.
It proves Kazakhstan is a satellite, though considered sovereign
country for a decade. Russia experienced wonder by handing power to
the unknown person. Somebody decided the same script is good for
Kazakhstan, having not considered that President Nazarbayev is
sound-minded whereas Yeltsin was sick, and had a zero rating.
-Many in Russia worry about the possible Georgia and Ukraine events
in Kazakhstan.
-Georgia and Ukraine events can not happen in Kazakhstan. The
population of Georgia lived in poverty; they could not stand
Shevardnadze’s ruling anymore. Prime-Minister Zhvania died of
gas-heater.
There was a set of different factors in Ukraine. Economy has started
boosting, especially in Kiev. Then it happened to choose the shady
heir. We shared opinions with the President of Kazakhstan when Victor
Yushchenko came in Astana, he was the prime-minister then. Nazarbayev
was positive about him. He said to Kuchma and Putin: he is an
advanced man, understands economics and politics both. But Victor
Yushchenko was discredited and fell into opposition.
Everyone was let down in the end. When they say Kuchma’s epoch is not
over yet I feel funny. His epoch ended disgracefully as soon as EU
envoys landed Ukraine.
-Is it possible to hold `an orange revolution’ with the
PR-technologies in Astana?
-It was a big mistake to withdraw Kiev. The position of the capital
is very important. In Kazakhstan Almaty’s position is very
significant together with Astana’s. If Nursultan Nazarbayev completes
his policy – de-monopolizes mega-holdings, gives a spur to small and
medium business development, tightens corruption and red-tape- no
revolution will have chance. It’s up to authorities to control the
situation.
-The historic division into West and South-East parts played role in
Ukraine. Do you think the same is possible in Kazakhstan, the
counteraction between the agrarian South and industrial North-East.
-No. The Government should place production forces, human resources,
establish clusters, educational centers, fight poverty.
-During last year parliamentary elections the opposition had major
support in the South.
-It points miscalculations in power structures. It is a good lesson
to remember. In terms of Kazakhstan, we have to enlarge authorities
of local legislative power, to let it elect akims- heads of regional
administration.
-Does it mean indirect elections?
-Yes, indirect elections. I think it is a good decision.
-What about opposition’s dialogue with the power?
-Unfortunately, there is no dialogue yet. There was a good chance to
start talks within the National Commission on Democracy and Civil
Society, but opposition refused to take part in. It’s a pity because
we have smart opposition as current opposition members worked in
power structures for a long while.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Zaman, Turkey via JTW, Turkey
March 15 2005

The Ball is in Brussels’s Court
Abdulhamit Bilici

Columnist Abdulhamit Bilici comments on Foreign Minister Abdullah
Gul’s current official visit to Britain and Turkey’s European Union
membership bid. A summary of his column is as follows:

`British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who received our Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday in London, said that Turkey was quite
ready to sign the protocol extending its Customs Union with present
EU members to all the new states. `The ball is now in Brussels’
court,’ Straw said at a joint press conference following his meeting
with Gul. For his part, Gul stressed that preparations to start
membership negotiations with the EU in October were on track. Asked
whether Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos could put increased
pressure on Brussels to slow down Turkey’s EU process, Straw said
that Britain has no wish to deal with any further problems on the
Cyprus issue now, because it is high time for Ankara and Brussels to
focus on the start of negotiations. Prior to his visit to the
country, Gul was hoping to get London’s support for ending the
isolation of the Turkish Cypriots, because Britain will this July
take over the EU term presidency from the current president,
Luxembourg. Gul yesterday said that he hoped positive steps would
soon be taken on the issue.

Gul yesterday was first interviewed by a Financial Times reporter,
then had lunch with prominent representatives of British finance
circles. Later he addressed members of the London office of
Bloomberg, the information technology giant, where he called on
British businessmen to participate in the privatizations of big
companies in Turkey. Gul was then asked many questions by these
businessmen covering a variety of subjects, including such sensitive
ones as the Armenian problem and the ruling Justice and Development
Party’s (AKP) Islamic roots.

`What would happen if an independent Kurdish state were established
in northern Iraq?’ asked one businessman. `This would plunge the
region into greater chaos,’ Gul warned. `All ethnic groups must see
themselves as Iraqis. We don’t want any further turmoil in the
region. What would Arabs say to such a division? Not only Turks but
also all regional countries want to protect Iraq’s territorial
integrity.’

Gul also delivered a speech at the London School of Economics. It was
quite interesting that he was asked many more questions about the
heavy-handed police action last week to control a women’s rights
demonstration on the eve of the government’s talks with top EU
officials, rather than Turkey’s current reforms. Gul stressed that a
full investigation on the incident was underway whose findings would
be announced in a few days. Because of a demonstration by a radical
leftist group in front of the school, Gul had to leave the building
by the back door.’

RosBusinessConsulting, Russia
March 15 2005

Armenia posts twofold increase in mobile subscribers

RBC, 15.03.2005, Erevan 15:59:08.As of January 1, 2005, the
number of subscribers to mobile services reached 203,309 compared to
111,118 at the beginning of 2003, the press department of ArmenTel
reported. In 2004, ArmenTel’s revenue from providing mobile
communications services advanced 46 percent to EUR27.483m. This
increase is due to the company focusing on the development of mobile
communications services. In 2004 the company allocated 41.6 percent
more funds for investments in the development of mobile
communications, which rose to EUR17.364m.

Zaman, Turkey
March 15 2005

Business Tycons Ask Gul About Possibility of Independent Kurdish
State
By Abdulhamit Bilici
Published: Tuesday 15, 2005
zaman.com

The Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul met with businessmen as
part of his London trip that began on Saturday (March 12). Gul was
asked some crucial questions ranging from the Cyprus issue to the
Armenian problem, and from the ruling party Justice and Development
Party’s (AKP) inclination towards the Islamic ideology and to
acquiring a property in Turkey l.

Gul in response to a question regarding the probability of an
independent Kurdish state he said that this situation would lead to
chaos: “Everybody should remember the Iraqi identity. We do not want
a new chaos or anarchy,” he remarked. Reminding that Turks and Kurds
have lived together and have been friends since ancient times up to
the present day, Gul said “It is not right for both parties to
threaten each other,” Gul made the point that Iraq was an Arab
country and said: “What would the Arabs think about such a division?
What would the Iraqis think about this division? Not only Turkey but
all countries in the region are against such a division.” Gul
responded to a question regarding who will is likely to be the chief
negotiator during Turkey’s membership negotiations with the European
Union (EU), with: “The chief negotiator has turned into a tabloid
topic, much like a pop star. Prime minister will announce that soon.
I am the head of the delegation.” Minister Gul also delivered a
speech at one of the UK’s most prestigious universities, the London
School of Economics. Most notably the topic that dominated the
subjects of questions addressed to Gul, were regarding the issue of
“abuse against women”.

Sun-Sentinel, FL
March 15 2005

The Shield now Close to perfect

Big-screen star brings her A-game to series.

Published March 15, 2005

What the world needs now is not a female Vic Mackey. But this is what
it will be getting on the fourth season of The Shield.

The nastiest cop show on TV has gotten even better. Michael Chiklis
is already an Emmy winner as renegade detective Vic Mackey. This
season Vic gets a new boss, Capt. Monica Rawlings, played by
five-time Oscar nominee Glenn Close.

The norm would have these two going at each other like Simon and
Paula. But The Shield disdains the safe and familiar, which is why
it’s one of TV’s sparkling gems. Rawlings, who worked her way up from
the street, shares Mackey’s philosophy that right is what works, so
they hit it off like Nick and Jessica.

Chiklis said he doesn’t mind having to share top billing with a star
of Close’s magnitude because it would bring out the best in him. He
was prophetic. Like the series, the very good has gotten better. A
second Emmy could be looming.

Clearly, Close hasn’t loaned her name to the series for a paycheck,
either. She’s brought her big screen A-game to her first episodic
starring role.

A seasoned pro, she knows how to work a scene without histrionics. A
glance here, a raised eyebrow there, perhaps an occasional dirty look
is generally all she needs to assert her authority. She can be more
forceful when necessary without losing self-control. Amazingly, the
normally insolent Vic accepts her without reservation.

It helps that at first encounter she accepts a wink-wink tale that
Vic had to kill an animal because it pulled a gun on him. Rawlings
further endears herself to Vic by exhibiting as little regard for the
outgoing Capt. David Aceveda, who has won a seat on the city council.
She also has a game plan to take advantage of forfeiture rules to let
her cops seize expensive toys for their use.

Still it’s hard to believe this partnership of strong, unbending
personalities will hold, so it should be an interesting season.

Vic needs new alliances. His old ones have crumbled in the wake of
the fiasco involving his band of rogue cops losing the fortune they
robbed from Armenian money-launderers. His former protégé, Det. Shane
Vendrell, has transferred away and their relationship has turned
frigid. Det. Curtis “Lemonhead” Lemansky is still at The Barn but he
has proven too incompetent to be trusted.

Meanwhile, Det. Claudette Wyms is seething that she was passed over
for the position she deserved more than Rawlings. Her partner,
goody-goody Det. Dutch Wagenbach, is also ticked at being treated
shabbily because of his association with Wyms.

The Shield has been able to keep its core cast intact, a reflection
of actors realizing they have been blessed to be part of something
special. CCH Pounder, as Wyms, merits equal billing with Chiklis and
Close. Benito Martinez is on his way out of The Barn but will remain
a commanding presence as the reptilian Aceveda. Walton Goggins
reprises his role as loose cannon Shane. Jay Karnes makes a
sympathetic character of Dutch. Kenneth Johnson returns as Lemonhead;
Catherine Dent is back as patrolman Danielle “Danny” Sofer; and
Michael Jace is her partner, Officer Julien Lowe, a black man
disgusted by the way his colleagues regard minorities as lesser
humans.

The Shield has been appointment viewing since its debut, although
gutter language and racy plotting make it suitable only for adults.
With Close added to the mix and NYPD Blue out of the time period,
it’s now don’t miss TV.

On TV

Program: The Shield
Stars: Michael Chiklis, Glenn Close, CCH Pounder, Walton Goggins,
Benito Martinez

Airs: 10 p.m. Tuesdays on FX.

RIA Novosti, Russia
March 15 2005

ABKHAZ LEADER TO TACKLE ECONOMIC PROBLEMS IN MOSCOW

MOSCOW, March 15 (RIA Novosti) – President Sergei Bagapsh of the
self-proclaimed republic of Abkhazia, currently in Moscow, intends to
solve economic problems here. We must coordinate some economic issues
in Moscow, Mr. Bagapsh told a press conference on Tuesday. Still
there is no need to examine political issues, Mr. Bagapsh added. At
issue will be energy and railroad traffic issues, he noted.

Talking about the return of Georgian refugees to the republic’s
Galsky district on the Abkhaz-Georgian administrative border, Mr.
Bagapsh said that refugees were returning all the time. Tbilisi links
this problem with the resumption of railroad traffic.

Mr. Bagapsh said that the political situation in Abkhazia remained
stable. There are no differences between leaders, he noted. We firmly
abide by those specific accords that were reached during the second
round of presidential elections, Mr. Bagapsh went on to say. At that
time, former rivals Sergei Bagapsh and Raul Khadzhimba decided to
team up.

they continue to investigate an attempt on the life of Abkhazia’s
prime minister Alexander Ankvab. However, no suspects have so far
been arrested in this case, Mr. Bagapsh noted. On February 28, Mr.
Ankvab’s Volga car was fired upon from automatic weapons, while
leaving Sukhumi.

According to Mr. Bagapsh, investigators are examining two possible
motives, namely, political and criminal. Several criminals were
arrested some time ago and subsequently released, Mr. Bagapsh said.

Abkhazia will not permit the presence of any other peacekeepers
except the Russian contingent, Mr. Bagapsh said.

The peacekeeping contingent can be withdrawn from the conflict zone,
if any side wishes so, he explained. For instance, Georgia is now
raising this issue. However, a decision on deploying any other
peacekeeping force can only be made with Abkhazia’s consent, Mr.
Bagapsh noted.

At the same time, the self-proclaimed republic’s leader sees nothing
unusual in Abkhazia’s reservist-training programs.

We train reservists all the time, Mr. Bagapsh said. Apart from
maintaining a regular army, we focus on war veterans, he stressed.

Unfortunately, we have not concluded a peace treaty with Georgia,
Sergei Bagapsh said. We are prepared for any scenarios, hoping that
they will be peaceful, he added.

Georgia’s State Minister for Separatist Conflicts Georgy Khaindrava
and acting Abkhaz foreign minister Sergei Shamba are to meet in April
in Geneva, Mr. Bagapsh reported.

The sides must solve all economic problems, before tackling political
issues, he noted. Among other things, they must resume railroad
transits between Sochi, Russia, and Yerevan, Armenia, via Abkhazia.
Economic issues must be settled, in the first place. After that, it
will become possible to tackle political issues, the Abkhaz leader
went on to say.

The leaders of the four self-proclaimed republics, i.e. Abkhazia,
Nagorny Karabakh, the Transdniestrian republic and South Ossetia,
will decide on the deadlines of their talks within the next few days.

We must coordinate our positions during this projected meeting,
Sergei Bagapsh noted. We will decide on specific deadlines and the
meeting’s location either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, he
added. The meeting will either take place in Moscow or in the south,
Mr. Bagapsh said.

Among other things, the need for this meeting is motivated by the
rather tense situation around the Dniester-Moldavian republic and
South Ossetia, Mr. Bagapsh said.

The president of the self-proclaimed republic plans to meet Patriarch
Alexis II of Moscow and All Russia. I will meet the Patriarch today
at 4.00 p.m., Mr. Bagapsh noted. We will discuss issues of
spirituality, as well as the restoration of the Novoafonsky and
Iversky monasteries, he added.

In his opinion, spirituality and republican revival are something
inter-linked. One cannot revive the republic without spirituality,
Mr. Bagapsh stressed.