Russia acts as peacekeeper in the Caucasus, Hannah Cooper

Hannah Cooper — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:07:12 +0000

Talks are to accelerate between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. A joint statement by Ilham Aliyev, the Azerbaijani president, and Serzh Sarkisian, his Armenian counterpart, also called for a "peaceful resolution" to the conflict. The statement was made on Sunday during talks hosted by Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, at his residence in Barvikha near Moscow. The Kremlin would act as guarantor of an agreement between the two countries.Keep up to date with the latest developments and sharpest perspectives in a world of strife and struggle.

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The toD verdict: An enclave in Azerbaijan with a largely Armenian population, Nagorno-Karabakh broke free of Baku's control in the early 1990s in a war that killed nearly 30,000 people and forced two million to flee their homes. A ceasefire was signed in 1994 but the dispute remains unresolved after years of negotiations. Hopes of an end to hostilities between Azerbaijan and Armenia first emerged in 2001 during a series of meetings between the former leaders of both countries. However, no agreement was reached.

Along with France and the US, Russia is one of the co-chairs of the Minsk Group, whose aim is to find a political solution to the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. After the summer war with Georgia, Russia is arguably trying to underline its influence in the Caucasus by taking an active role in the discussions. Moscow is also competing with Washington for Azerbaijani oil which is currently shipped through western-backed pipelines via Georgia and Turkey, bypassing Russia.

However, the 200-word declaration that was produced still avoids defining the exact status of Nagorno-Karabakh itself. Other sticking points remain unaddressed, such as the ownership of districts outside the territory that remain in the hands of Armenian forces. Finding a lasting peace that is agreeable to all will require more than a visit to the Russian president's dacha.

Morales suspends US anti-drugs operations

Evo Morales, Bolivia's left-wing president, has halted the operations of US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officials, accusing them of espionage. Addressing a crowd in the coca-producing region of Chapare on Saturday, Morales accused DEA agents of disrupting government activities and causing unrest, in addition to implicating them in the clashes with government forces in September that left nineteen people dead. Relations between La Paz and Washington have grown increasingly tense since the former expelled the US ambassador in September. US officials dismissed Morales' claims, insisting that his government has "failed demonstrably" to meet their obligations in countering drug trafficking.

Bolivia is the world's third-largest cocaine producer after Colombia and Peru. The ratcheting up of rhetoric comes as the drug trade in central and south America once again finds itself under the global spotlight, with the arrest last week of a Mexican drug cartel leader and suspected corruption within the state bureaucracy.

US "war on terror" data suggests ethnic profiling

The US government has been accused of profiling Muslim immigrants after the disclosure of data on a US operation in 2004 meant to disrupt potential terrorist plots before and after that year's presidential election. The operation focused on more than 2,000 immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries, but the clear majority were found to have done nothing wrong. Most of these immigrants were legally resident in the US and the majority were not charged; the charges made were mostly for immigration violations. Whilst the operation was being carried out, government officials from the immigration agency had publicly announced an intention to follow up on leads to disrupt terrorism plots, but maintained that the investigations were being carried out "without regard to race, ethnicity or religion." However, the National Litigation Project at Yale Law School found that 79 percent of the suspects were from Muslim-majority countries.

Bomb blasts unsettle Iraqi capital

Two bombings on Monday killed at least six, injuring twenty others, in the centre of Baghdad. The explosions took place near the office of the police crime investigation unit in the central Karrada district, coming in quick succession of one another. At least 10 policemen were among those hurt in the attack. One of Iraq's deputy oil ministers was also wounded close to his home. Despite the fact that overall the number of bombings in the Iraqi capital has fallen in the last year, this attack follows a bombing last week outside an ice-cream shop that killed five people and wounded seventeen.

Unrest in Indonesia as bombers' executions draws near

Three small petrol bombs exploded in the Molucca islands in Indonesia early on Monday, damaging the governor's office and house but leaving no casualties. Security in some parts of the country has been heightened in recent days ahead of the imminent execution of three Muslim militants for their role in the 2002 Bali bomb attacks which killed 202 people, mainly foreign visitors. A district court has accepted an application that asks for the Supreme Court to reconsider the death sentences. This is a small victory in delaying the impending executions.

Violence continues in Pakistan

Suspected US missile strikes on targets in Pakistan's tribal belt killed 32 people on Friday, reportedly including two al-Qaeda operatives. A number of Arab fighters are also thought to have been killed. Officials said that Mullah Nazir, a top Taliban commander, was wounded in one of the attacks. None of these deaths have been independently confirmed and are still in doubt. Two days later, on Sunday, a suicide bomb at a checkpoint near the Afghan border killed at least eight Pakistani paramilitary troops. The explosion occurred in the tribal area of South Waziristan when a suicide truck bomber rammed his vehicle into a convoy.

These events coincided with the arrival of General Petraeus, the Chief of US Central Command (CENTCOM), in Pakistan on Sunday to discuss the "war on terror" with government and military authorities in his first foreign visit since assuming the command of CENTCOM on 31 October. General Petraeus is an advocate of the American strategy of self-defence, which promotes the idea that the US can attack a target in any country, without notifying that government, if there is a threat to American interests. Relations between the US and Pakistan are already cool because of continued cross-border air strikes on the part of the Americans, and it remains to be seen wheter Petraeus' appointment will smooth current tensions.

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Russia acts as peacekeeper in the Caucasus, Hannah Cooper