Military

SHAPE News Morning Update

15 July 2004

BALKANS

• Two main ethnic groups in Macedonia (sic) reached a tentative agreement on a key decentralization law that would pave the way for ethnic Albanian self-rule in municipalities where they form a majority. “We managed to reach this agreement because the fate of Macedonia (sic) was at stake,” Defence Minister Vlado Buckovski said, noting that the current provisional accord between Macedonian (sic) and ethnic Albanian negotiators was made under international pressure. (AP 141844 Jul 04)
  
  
• Serb and Albanian leaders in Kosovo bridged their ethnic divide on Wednesday to call on the province’s UN overseers to hand over responsibility for the return of refugees and human rights. Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian Prime Minister Bajram Rexhepi and senior figures from both communities issued a rare joint statement calling for the establishment of a new ministry, after a U.S.-sponsored meeting that may signal improved relations. The UN mission was not immediately available for comment on the proposal. (Reuters 141745 GMT Jul 04)

TERRORISM

• EU newcomer Poland wants to break down existing barriers in sharing intelligence within the enlarged bloc to better combat the threat of terror attacks, Interior Minister Ryszard Kalisz said on Wednesday in Warsaw. “I would like the ring structure of intelligence secrecy to fade. This is not a question of trust but rather of having the right procedures in place,” Mr. Kalisz told reporters. He said that Europol, the bloc’s police agency, was well placed to play a leading role in combating terrorism. (Reuters 141825 GMT Jul 04)

OTHER NEWS

• The president of Georgia said that he believed a mounting crisis in the breakaway region of South Ossetia could be resolved in about six months if the West put pressure on Russia. “There should be continued pressure from the West and we must make Russia realise we will not be pushed around,” Mikhail Saakashvili said during a visit to London. Britain’s Foreign Office said: “We support the territorial integrity of Georgia and support the OSCE in its mediation efforts.” Mr. Saakashvili said 160 British military staff were helping to train the Georgian army and had taken part in joint exercises. U.S. forces have also been involved in training. The president said signs of Georgia’s closer ties with the West and NATO had prompted Russia to stir up tension in South Ossetia. Moscow, he said, had no strategic interest in the region. “South Ossetia is not the price Georgia is willing to pay for anything, for closer relations with NATO,” he added. (Reuters 141545 GMT Jul 04)
  
  
• The Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia is an important part of Britain’s security strategy and will remain under British control, Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Wednesday. He referred to a recent Foreign Office statement that the islands would be returned to Mauritius when they were no longer needed for defence. The British government blocked last week Mauritius from taking court action for the return of the island, which is used as a strategic military base by the United States. (AP 141611 Jul 04)
  
  
• The U.S. State Department’s decision to cut aid to Uzbekistan - its strategic Central Asian ally in the war on terror - may push it to seek closer ties with Russia and China. The State Department on Tuesday decided not to certify Uzbekistan for military and economic aid of up to US $18 million this year because of “lack of progress on democratic reform and restrictions put on U.S. assistance partners on the ground.” Uzbek political analyst Alisher Taksanov predicted the U.S.’ latest move would push Uzbekistan further toward Russia and China. Arkady Dubnov, a regional expert and columnist at the Moscow-based newspaper Vremya Novostei, said the recent warming in Uzbekistan’s relations with Russia could have been triggered by President Karimov’s irritation over Western criticism of his government’s human rights record. (AP 141339 Jul 04)
  
  
• President Vladimir Putin has ordered a reorganization of the Federal Security Service that will give the director of the main KGB successor organ the status of a Cabinet minister and cut the number of his deputies, the Interfax news agency reported Wednesday. The changes should make the agency more efficient by speeding up decision-making and clarifying the powers and responsibilities of agency officials and departments. Further organizational moves and staff changes are to be prepared within three months and submitted to President Putin for approval. Nationalist politician Dmitry Rogozin told Ekho Moskvy radio that the reorganization could help Russia face its many threats, which he said were apparent “in the center, in the North Caucasus, in the Far East.” (AP 141319 Jul 04)