MINELRES: RFE/RL Newsline on minority issues

[MINELRES moderator]

Original sender: RFE/RL <listmanager@list.rferl.org>


RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
___________________________________________________________


RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 8, No. 53, Part II, 19 March 2004

LATVIAN PRIME MINISTER ORDERS NEGOTIATIONS OVER EDUCATIONAL REFORM.
Indulis Emsis on 18 March ordered Education and Science Minister Juris
Radzevics to assemble a group of negotiators to hold discussions
regarding pending education reforms that will affect minority schools,
BNS reported. He said the group "must arrange for consultations and
dialogue with public organizations interested in the constructive
solution of education problems, the key task being to identify the
problems and offer solutions in implementation of the minority education
reform." Emsis also asked Radzevics to consider the possibility of
forming a separate department in his ministry for dealing with the
education of minorities. The most controversial aspect of the reforms,
which will go into effect as of 1 September, is the requirement that at
least 60 percent of schools' curriculum be taught in the Latvian
language. SG


RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 8, No. 54, Part I, 22 March 2004

DUMA OKAYS CREATION OF NEW REGION... The State Duma adopted several
bills on 19 March, the most important of which was a presidential
bill establishing the procedure for the creation of a new federation
subject based on the merger of Perm Oblast and Komi-Permyak
Autonomous Okrug, Russian media reported. The bill was passed in its
first, second, and third readings, according to "Kommersant-Daily" on
20 March. The bill received 423 votes in its first reading. Because
it is a constitutional bill, it needed 300 votes to pass, RosBalt
reported. Under the provisions of the bill, Perm Oblast and
Komi-Permyak will cease to exist as of 1 December 2005, and the new
entity, Perm Krai, will come into being at the same time. An election
for the governor of Perm Krai will take place on 4 December 2005. JAC


RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 8, No. 54, Part II, 22 March 2004

HELSINKI COMMITTEE GIVES BULGARIA MIXED REVIEWS ON HUMAN RIGHTS.
Bulgarian Helsinki Committee Chairman Krasimir Kanev said on 21 March
that the committee's annual report on Bulgaria noted improvements
regarding discrimination and police violence, largely resulting from
the adoption of an antidiscrimination law and the introduction of new
rules for the Interior Ministry, BTA reported. However, the
committee's report states that one-third of those held in police
custody in 2003 were mistreated, mediapool.bg reported. The Helsinki
Committee was critical of the Bulgarian authorities for extraditing
asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Georgia, Iran, and Iraq without
first reviewing their cases, thus breaching international law. The
committee also noted restrictions of freedom of speech, citing cases
in which the Council on Electronic Media took television broadcasts
off air, and in which journalists were sentenced for libel and/or
slander. According to the committee, the SEM is failing to carry out
its tasks as a media regulatory body and is serving corporate
interests. UB


RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 8, No. 55, Part I, 23 March 2004

IRKUTSK TO FOLLOW IN PERM'S EXAMPLE THIS YEAR... Following the Duma's
approval on 19 March of the creation of Perm Krai from Perm Oblast
and Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug, State Duma Federation Affairs
Committee Chairman Viktor Grishin (Unified Russia) said his committee
has already received appeals from other regions that wish to merge,
"Gazeta" reported on 22 March. He specifically mentioned Irkutsk
Oblast and Ust-Ordinskii Buryatskii Autonomous Okrug. According to
the daily, deputy presidential administration head Vyacheslav Surkov
organized a meeting of Irkutsk Oblast Governor Boris Govorin and
Ust-Ordynskii head Valerii Maleev at the Kremlin on 24 February, at
which it was agreed that referendums on merging the two regions will
be held at the end of the year. JAC

....AS NEW GOVERNOR OF PERM REPORTEDLY ALREADY SELECTED. RFE/RL's
Moscow bureau on 20 March asked independent State Duma Deputy Viktor
Pokhmelkin whether he thinks the bill's stipulation that President
Putin appoint an acting governor to head Perm Oblast until Perm Krai
is formed and elections are held in December 2005 might set a
dangerous precedent. Pokhmelkin, who was elected from a
single-mandate district in Perm, responded that some danger exists,
but he thinks such an appointment will be made only in this "special,
exclusive instance, connected with the process of unification." He
added that "influential representatives of the oblast elites forged
an agreement, and this agreement served as the basis for the future
presidential decree." He said that it is "completely obvious" that
Putin will appoint current Perm Oblast acting Governor Oleg Chirkunov
as governor. Former Perm Governor Yurii Trutnev, who was named
natural resources minister on 9 March, appointed Chirkunov acting
governor on 12 March. Chirkunov most recently served as the oblast
executive branch's representative in the Federation Council. JAC