BBC Monitoring International Reports articles from April 2002

BBC Monitoring International Reports archives from April 2002

Bosnian Federation Army marks 10th anniversary.
April 15, 2002... [Announcer] Today is Day of the Bosnia-Hercegovina Army. Ten years ago, the Bosnia-Hercegovina Presidency's order to merge all armed forces into one, which were active on the territory under the control of the legal bodies of power, came into...

First Romany news agency opens in Slovakia.
April 15, 2002... The aim of the Romany news agency, which has started its work, is to change the way the Romany community is portrayed in the media and social prejudice towards it. The agency will also map out ways of further coexistence between Romanies...

Serbia: Novi Pazar police detain three young men, seize 363 grams of heroin.
April 15, 2002... April [Announcer] A statement has come from Novi Pazar secretariat for internal affairs [SUP, Serbian Interior Ministry's municipal branch] which says the following: [Reporter] Members of the secretariat of internal affairs in Novi...

Russia should focus on modern antimissile defence system, says ex-commander.
April 15, 2002... web site Moscow, 15 April: A Russian military expert said on Monday [15 April] it was senseless to re-animate the decade-old antimissile system of the country when the United States was effectively working on a new nationwide antimissile...

Belarusian, Armenian interior ministers sign cooperation agreement.
April 15, 2002... Yerevan, 15 April: Cooperation between the Armenian and Belarusian interior ministries is developing and bearing fruit, Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan was told today during a meeting with the Belarusian interior minister and...

Russian and German leaders hail results of Weimar meeting.
April 15, 2002... Moscow, 15 April: Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Monday [15 April]. The press service of the Russian president said that Putin thanked Schroeder for "the cordial...

Zimbabwe: Government rules out "rumours" of devaluation of local currency.
April 15, 2002... The government has ruled out the devaluation of the local currency, saying that the matter was not on the table and therefore is not under consideration. This follows some post-election rumours of an imminent devaluation of the currency...

Somali minister says UAE to provide modern communication equipment.
April 15, 2002... Minister of Information of the Transitional Government of Somalia Prof Abdirahman Haji Adan Ibbi has said modern communication equipment will soon reach the country to improve the communication sector. Speaking at Mogadishu's Isaley...

Swiss police smash international drugs ring.
April 15, 2002... Swissinfo web site on 15 April Zurich police say they have broken up an international drugs ring following the arrest of 27 people and the seizure of 89 kilos of heroin. Police officials said all those arrested were male, aged between...

Afghan government tries to settle fighting between local commanders.
April 15, 2002... news agency Peshawar, 15 April: The interim government dispatched a delegation to [the central] Wardag [Province]. It has been trying to resolve the dispute between rival commanders. According to incoming reports, the chairman of the...

Rwanda: DRCongo journalist being held without trial after seven days.
April 15, 2002... Kigali: A journalist from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jose Feruzi Samwegele, is still being held without trial after seven days, the international organization for the protection of media freedom, the Reporters Sans Frontieres [French...

Sudan: Khartoum Province youth organize a week in support for Palestinians.
April 15, 2002... In continuation to the popular effort aimed at supporting the Palestinian intifada, the acting commissioner of Khartoum Province inaugurated the Aqsa uprising week which is organized by the National Youth Union of Omdurman NYUO. The...

Iran: Paper hails Venezuelan president's returns to power.
April 15, 2002... Text of editorial by Abolhasan Sobhani in English published by Iranian newspaper Kayhan International on 15 April The coup in Caracas is over with another blemish on the record of the forces of darkness that filled the 20th century with...

Armenian prime minister opens regional IT conference.
April 15, 2002... Yerevan, 15 April: The regional conference "The electronic development of the Caucasus", conducted under the aegis of the EU, opened today in Yerevan. Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan made the opening address to the conference, the...

Namibia: Villagers in Oshana Region reportedly facing starvation.
April 15, 2002... A number of villagers at Olweege in the Ompundja Constituency in the Oshana region are facing starvation brought about by poor rainfall received in many parts of the region this year. The village headman, Petrus Stephanus, said that the...

India rules out border withdrawal, comments on Pakistan leader's nuclear remark.
April 15, 2002... Defence Minister George Fernandes today ruled out a review of the border deployment of the armed forces, while the chief of air staff, Air Chief Marshal S. Krishnaswamy, said that the armed forces were fully determined and ready to respond to...

Macedonian police seize 5 kg of heroin, arrest five people.
April 15, 2002... Skopje, 15 April: The Macedonian Ministry of Interior managed to cut off another channel for illegal trafficking in drugs and confiscated approximately 5 kg of heroin. As the Ministry of Interior reported, near the bus station in...

Yugoslav minister refers to Serbian colleague to explain cooperation with Hague.
April 15, 2002... [Announcer] It is still uncertain as to when Belgrade authorities will begin implementing the law on cooperation with the Hague tribunal. This law came into force on Friday [12 April]. According to the procedure, the Yugoslav Justice Ministry...

Iran: MP says USA plans to attack Bushehr nuclear power station.
April 15, 2002... Ahvaz, 15 April: America has designed a four-phase plan in order to force Iran to retreat from its stances. According to a report by ISNA, the Majlis deputy from Tehran Ms Fatemeh Haqiqatju, addressing students at Oil Engineering Faculty...

Syrian president meets US secretary of state in Damascus.
April 15, 2002... President Bashar al-Asad received US Secretary of State Colin Powell and his delegation at the People's Palace this afternoon. The meeting was attended by Faruq al-Shar'a, deputy prime minister and foreign minister... Source: Syrian Arab...

Russian envoy to Mideast has talks with Israel's Peres and others.
April 15, 2002... Moscow, 15 April, ITAR-TASS correspondent Mariya Pshenichnikova: Russia's special envoy to the Middle East, Andrey Vdovin, held talks today with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. According to the high-ranking Russian diplomat, the talks...

West Turkmen oilmen overfullfil target by 30 per cent in first quarter.
April 15, 2002... The country's [Turkmenistan's] oil and gas production complex enterprises are gaining achievements as a result of the high level of professionalism of all employees and engineers, and the harmony between masters and workers of all oil wells...

Tanzania: Divers head for Kilombero river to search for more bodies.
April 15, 2002... Kilombero [central Tanzania]: A team of 25 divers from the Tanzania People's Forces has arrived in Ifakara to intensify the search for bodies which are believed to have gone under in the Kilombero river ferry accident. Kilombero District...

Uzbek national carrier to start flights to China's Urumqi.
April 15, 2002... [Presenter] A bilateral cooperation document was signed with the China Xinjiang Airlines company at the Ozbekiston Havo Yollari [Uzbekistan Airways] company today. [Correspondent, over video of a ceremony, some aircraft] The national...

Minister says Serbia to guarantee bail for voluntary surrender to Hague.
April 15, 2002... Belgrade, 15 April: Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Zarko Korac said today that the [Serbian] government would give guarantees to all [Hague tribunal] indictees who surrender voluntarily to the [war crimes] tribunal in The Hague as well as some...

Madagascar: Ravalomanana leaves for Dakar summit, possible talks with rival.
April 15, 2002... At the invitation of Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, President of the Republic Marc Ravalomanana left the country at midday today for the Senegalese capital, Dakar, to attend the New Partnership for African Development - Nepad - summit...

Czech president concerned about human rights abuse in Belarus.
April 15, 2002... Minsk/Prague, 15 April: President Vaclav Havel is concerned about the violation of human rights in Belarus and has asked to halt the prosecution of two journalists who were imprisoned for criticism of Belarus President Alyaksandr Lukashenka,...

Czech minister to discuss NATO, EU in Norway on 18 April.
April 15, 2002... Prague, 15 April: Foreign Minister Jan Kavan will leave on a one-day visit to Oslo on Thursday [18 April] where he will be received by King Harald V and meet senior officials with whom he will discuss NATO and EU enlargement and current...

Russian, Iranian officials discuss Middle East crisis.
April 15, 2002... Moscow, 15 April: Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Saltanov and Iranian Ambassador to Russia Gholamreza Shafei discussed the tense situation in the UN Blue Line zone between Israel and Lebanon. The meeting was held in Moscow on...

Defence minister says Russia to appeal to UN if Georgia violates agreements.
April 15, 2002... Moscow, 15 April: Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov said if Georgia violates the 2 April protocol on the withdrawal of troops from the Kodori Gorge, Russia will raise this question at the UN Security Council. The presence of CIS...

Armenia aims to become regional IT centre, foreign minister says.
April 15, 2002... Yerevan, 15 April: The boom in information technology (IT) worldwide is making Armenia take immediate steps to develop this field. The impact of IT on all areas of the state's activity is constantly increasing and the government is ready to...

Madagascar: Ratsiraka leaves for Dakar summit - state radio.
April 15, 2002... Last-minute reports say a delegation led by [incumbent President] Adm Didier Ratsiraka also left this evening for the New Partnership for African Development - Nepad - summit in the Senegalese capital, Dakar. Source: Malagasy National...

Families of missing Kosovo Serbs deplore absence of media, Church, Hague.
April 15, 2002... [Presenter] Seventeen families of missing persons in Kosovo-Metohija recognized artefacts and items of clothing found with 360 bodies exhumed from graves in the southern province [of Kosovo]. The articles were displayed at the area in front...

Spokesman denies Iran reined in Lebanon's Hezbollah under foreign pressure.
April 15, 2002... Tehran, 15 April: The spokesman of the Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Iran has offered some explanations in relation to Dr Kharrazi's recent remarks on his visit to Lebanon about the need for Lebanon's Hezbollah to exercise...

[0] Russian envoy to Mideast has talks with Israel's Peres and others.
April 15, 2002... Moscow, 15 April, ITAR-TASS correspondent Mariya Pshenichnikova: Russia's special envoy to the Middle East, Andrey Vdovin, held talks today with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. According to the high-ranking Russian diplomat, the talks...

Polish -Lithuanian accord on spelling of Polish names to be signed soon.
April 15, 2002... Vilnius, 15 April: The Polish-Lithuanian agreement on spelling Polish names in Lithuania will be signed within the nearest month, according to Lithuanian Foreign Minister Antanas Valionis. Valionis believes that this still unsolved issue will...

Slovak minister discusses NATO, cooperation in Iceland.
April 15, 2002... web site Bratislava/Reykjavik, 15 April: Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Eduard Kukan met in Reykjavik on Monday [15 April] his Icelandic counterpart Halldor Asgrimsson and asked for support of Slovakia's candidacy for nonpermanent...

Colombia's FARC target presidential palace.
April 15, 2002... Text of unattributed report from the "Secrets" section: "Attack the Palace", published by Colombian publication Cambio web site on 15 April The Narino [presidential] Palace seems to be a main target for Mono Jojoy [Jorge Suarez Briceno,...

Fatah Al-Barghuthi brought to Israel for interrogation; reactions expected.
April 15, 2002... Marwan al-Barghuthi, Fatah commander in the West Bank, was captured in Ramallah by IDF [Israeli Defence Forces] elite units, apparently Duvdevan and Egoz, and was brought to Israel for interrogation. Our correspondent Karmela Menashe reports...

Somalia: Faction leader blames government for fueling clashes in southwest.
April 15, 2002... The current chairman of the Somali Reconciliation and Reconstruction Council [SRRC; Ethiopia-backed southern alliance], Abdullahi Shaykh Isma'il, has said that the ongoing fighting in Gedo Region [southwestern Somalia] is being orchestrated...

Hungarian Socialist premier candidate denies rumours about Danube dam plan.
April 15, 2002... [Presenter] The Fidesz - Hungarian Civic Party wants an unambiguous answer from the MSZP [opposition Hungarian Socialist Party], and personally its prime ministerial candidate, Peter Medgyessy, whether, if elected to power, they are planning...

Seven people on trial in Azerbaijan for wanting to fight in Chechnya.
April 15, 2002... Baku, 15 April: Today the court for grave military crimes began the trial of seven young people, charged with wanting to fight in Chechnya on the side of the mojahedin. Allirza Babayev, one of the defendants, testified at today's...

Estonian ministries predict economic growth of 4 per cent for 2002.
April 15, 2002... Tallinn, 15 April: Estonia's economic situation will improve in the second half of 2002, but the economic growth will form 4 per cent compared with 5.4 per cent in 2001, the Economics and Finance ministries said in a joint survey. In the...

British Foreign Office said concerned over dissident move to north - TV.
April 15, 2002... [Presenter] The British Foreign Office has expressed concern over the breach of the agreement between European Union ambassadors [the French, German and British ambassadors in Kazakhstan] and the Kazakh Foreign Affairs Ministry. Let us...

SAfrica: Minister to visit Palestinian embassy 16 April in show of solidarity.
April 15, 2002... Pretoria, 15 April: Education Minister Kader Asmal on Monday [15 April] said he would visit the Palestinian embassy in Pretoria on Tuesday to express solidarity with the young people who had lost education due to the ongoing Middle East...

Turkish, Latvian presidents note shared goal of EU membership.
April 15, 2002... Riga: President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, currently in Riga as the official guest of Vaira Vike-Freiberga, the Latvian president, said on Monday [15 April]: "Turkey and Latvia share the goal of becoming a full member of the European Union (EU) and...

Israel: Industrial exports drop 18 per cent in first quarter of 2002.
April 15, 2002... down 18 per cent in first quarter," published by Israeli Globes business information web site on 15 April An analysis of Central Bureau of Statistics figures by the Ministry of Industry and Trade planning and economy division shows that...

Azeri president appoints security adviser - news agency.
April 15, 2002... Baku, 15 April: The minister of national security of the Naxcivan Autonomous Republic, Vahid Aliyev, has been appointed the Azerbaijani president's adviser on security issues, Turan news agency learnt from well-informed sources close to the...

Session of Montenegrin parliament postponed at request of opposition party.
April 15, 2002... The parliamentary session which was due to be held tomorrow [16 April] has now been postponed until Wednesday 17 April at the request of the SNP [Socialist People's Party, main opposition party] floor group. The expected consultations with...

Madagascar: Violent clashes leave over 20 wounded in northwestern sea port town.
April 15, 2002... Grenades exploded and guns were fired this afternoon at around 1600 [local time] in Mahajanga [northwestern sea port town]. [Reporter] KMMR [Marc Ravalomanana's Support Committee] members and security forces clashed this afternoon in...

Most Czech MPs support vote against UN resolution on Israel.
April 15, 2002... Prague, 15 April: Czech right-wing deputies, polled by CTK today, said they supported the position of the Czech representative in the UN Human Rights Commission who voted against the resolution condemning Israeli actions against Palestinians....

Loss of Slovak public service radio 20 per cent up in 2001.
April 15, 2002... web site Bratislava, 15 April: The public service Slovak Radio closed last year with a loss of 142.8m korunas, which is 20 per cent more than in the year 2000, when its loss was 118.9m korunas. Revenues totalled 849m korunas while...

Bosnian Serb party joins new political alliance.
April 15, 2002... Doboj, 15 April: The main committee of the Party of Serb Unity [SSJ] of the [Bosnian] Serb Republic has decided that the SSJ should join the Alliance of National Revival [SNP] founded by Mirko Banjac, former senior official of the...

King says Jordan gives "top priority" to helping Palestinians.
April 15, 2002... Amman, 15 April: His Majesty King Abdallah II, supreme commander of the Jordanian Armed Forces, made an inspection tour this morning, which included the Central Military Region and a number of military sites in the Frontline Region. The king...

(Corr) British Foreign Office said concerned over dissident move to north - TV.
April 15, 2002... (Correcting final sentence of paragraph five from "But rather [they are interested] in whether or not the memorandum was signed" to "But rather [they are interested] in whether or not the memorandum signed was breached". A corrected version...

Israel's population over six million, 81 per cent Jewish.
April 15, 2002... Israelis on eve of 54th Independence Day," published by Israeli Globes business information web site on 15 April The Central Bureau of Statistics reported that the population of Israel is 6.5 million on the eve of the state's 54th...

Israel launches contacts with Arab leaders on regional peace conference.
April 15, 2002... Text of announcer-read report, broadcast by Israel TV on 15 April Our political correspondent Shlomo Ganor reports that Israel has launched contacts with officials in Cairo, Amman, Rabat, Riyadh and other Arab capitals to inform them of...

DRCongo: Tribal warriors divert, abandon boat with 60 passengers in east.
April 15, 2002... A group of Mayi Mayi [pro- Kinshasa tribal warriors] and FDD [Forces for the Defence of Democracy] fighters diverted a transport boat today morning. The boat from Baraka was headed for Uvira in [eastern] DRCongo (DRC). The diversion...

Turkey: Bill abolishing death penalty submitted to Speaker's office.
April 15, 2002... Ankara: The bill abolishing death penalty within the limits envisaged in the constitution and turning it into life imprisonment, was submitted to Parliament Speaker's Office on Monday [15 April]. The bill within the scope of the...

Belarusian anti-corruption campaign publicity trick - newspaper.
April 15, 2002... The recent criminal proceedings against several local officials in Belarus are nothing but a publicity stunt by President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, an independent Belarusian newspaper argues. Although the president says he is delivering on his...

Rwanda: Some 101 refugees return home from DRCongo.
April 15, 2002... Kigali: Rwandan refugees who have been in exile in the Democratic Republic of Congo have returned home in large numbers. They arrived in Cyangugu Province across the Rwanda-DRCongo border and the Rusizi I River. A total of 101 refugees...

Burundi: Some 137 refugees return home from camps in Tanzania.
April 15, 2002... Some 137 Burundi refugees returned home on Friday [12 April] to Makamba Province [southwestern Burundi] from Tanzania. The returnees passed through Kamabaro near the administrative centre of Makamba Commune. They included adult men and...

Azeri president signs decree on ensuring security of export pipelines.
April 15, 2002... Baku, 15 April: Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev today signed a decree "On ensuring the security of export pipelines". The document says that the security of pipelines should be guaranteed in order to ensure the uninterrupted and...

Mideast: Al-Quds views "special importance" of Arafat-Powell meeting.
April 15, 2002... Text of editorial: "Arafat-Powell meeting is an important step," published by Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds on 15 April The meeting President Yasir Arafat held yesterday with US Secretary of State Colin Powell at his besieged headquarters...

Israeli troops occupy West Bank village - Palestinian agency.
April 15, 2002... Qalqilyah, 15 April: The Israeli occupation troops occupied Hablah village in Qalqilyah this afternoon. Eyewitnesses said that a number of tanks and a large force entered the village, stormed and inspected citizens' houses, and assaulted...

Somalia: Puntland leader leaves for Ethiopia reportedly for talks on terrorism.
April 15, 2002... on 15 April Reports we have just received from Boosaaso say [Boosaaso-based Puntland leader] Jama Ali Jama and his entourage left the town midday today for Ethiopia. Shortly before he left, Mr Jama said that he got an invitation from...

Kazakh president calls for further decentralizing of power.
April 15, 2002... Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has praised the work done in Kazakhstan in the sphere of decentralizing powers from the centre to the regions, but called for further decentralization of power in Kazakhstan and the transfer of some...

Bosnian, Yugoslav, Croatian education ministers sign cooperation accord.
April 15, 2002... [Announcer] The education ministers of Bosnia-Hercegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro signed a statement on accepting education cooperation in Sarajevo today. This document stimulates exchange of experiences in education and its reforms...

Ukrainian interior minister says MP hopeful's murder not necessarily political.
April 15, 2002... [Correspondent] Ukrainian Interior Minister Yuriy Smyrnov hopes that the murderers of Mykola Shkriblyak, the Ivano-Frankivsk Region deputy governor who ran for parliament in his Region, will be found soon. [Smyrnov, in Russian] The...

Iran: University students support Palestinian struggle against Israel.
April 15, 2002... Birjand, Khorasan Province, 15 April: University students in Birjand, in a communique issued Monday [15 April] supported the Palestinian people in their struggle against the Zionist regime of Israel. The Islamic Association of Students...

Pakistani minister denies Bin-Ladin on Afghan-Pakistani border - Azeri report.
April 15, 2002... Baku, 15 April: Pakistani Defence Secretary Lt-Gen (Retd) Hamid Nawaz Khan, who is on an official visit to Baku, today denied reports about Usamah Bin-Ladin's presence on the Afghan-Pakistani border. At a news conference at the...

SAfrica: Mbeki pulls out of Senegalese summit to be in inter-Congolese talks.
April 15, 2002... as received President Thabo Mbeki has withdrawn from a Senegal conference on Africa's rescue plan in order to be available for final days of the inter-Congolese dialogue, his office said on Monday. "The president feels he should be able...

Zimbabwe: Clandestine radio said operating in Bulawayo.
April 15, 2002... It has been established that a broadcasting station is in operation in the city of Bulawayo and that it is operating without a broadcasting license. Our reporter filed this report: [Makosini Hlongwane] The radio station, known as Radio...

Senegal's Wade stresses good governance agenda ahead of Nepad summit.
April 15, 2002... Nine-hundred participants, including 500 businessmen, are expected to participate in the Nepad [New Partnership for African Development] conference on financing, taking place in Dakar today and tomorrow. More than 20 heads of state are...

Russia wants new format for cooperation with NATO, says foreign minister.
April 15, 2002... Brussels, 15 April: The Russian position on NATO expansion remains as before. Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said this here today after a meeting with George Robertson, the secretary-general of the alliance. "We propose an...

Egyptian foreign minister postpones visit to Russia.
April 15, 2002... Cairo, 15 April: The visit of Foreign Minister Ahmad Mahir to Russia, set to start on Wednesday [17 April], was postponed. Mahir, in press statements on Monday [15 April], said that the visit was held off due to the current developments...

Israel pleased with Powell remarks on regional foreign ministers' conference.
April 15, 2002... Text of studio discussion between anchor Hayim Yavin and political correspondent Qeren Neubach, broadcast by Israel TV on 15 April [Yavin] US Secretary of State Colin Powell is holding talks with Israelis and Arabs on convening a regional...

Burundi: Pro-Hutu party resumes activities in south.
April 15, 2002... Makamba [southern Burundi]: The grassroots officials of the [pro-Hutu] FRODEU [Front for Democracy in Burundi] on Sunday [14 April] held a meeting in the administrative centre of Makamba Province The meeting was chaired by Mr Oscar...

Egyptian Al-Azhar cleric opposes boycotting West.
April 15, 2002... Al-Sharq al-Awsat on 15 April Al-Azhar Shaykh Dr Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi has called upon the international community to send forces to disengage the Palestinians and the Israelis and end the injustice to which the Palestinians are being...

Hungarian election committee says about 10 people voted twice in the first round.
April 15, 2002... According to members of the National Electoral Committee [OVB], about 10 people voted twice in the first round of the elections [on 7 April]. If election frauds are proven, complaints will be filed against them [at the police]. Source:...

Kenya: Opposition in closed-door meeting over single presidential candidate.
April 15, 2002... The opposition, National Alliance for Change, NAC, today held a closed-door meeting with experts from South Africa at a Nairobi hotel. Sources told KBC [Kenya Broadcasting Corporation] that the meeting, which began at 900 a.m.this morning...

Hungary: Socialists claim evidence for bribe attempts to back appeal by opponent.
April 15, 2002... The [opposition] Hungarian Socialist Party [MSZP] has evidence to prove that the local electoral committee in Gyoengyoes [in northern Hungary] wanted to the result of the first round of the election to be annulled on the basis of untrue...

Iran: Conservative paper blasts Arab leaders as "American lackeys".
April 15, 2002... Text of editorial by Iranian newspaper Jomhuri-ye Eslami on 14 April In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Allamah Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Fadlallah, who because of his presence in the region of Lebanon and Syria - which is...

Documents on new Russia-NATO relations nearly ready - foreign minister.
April 15, 2002... Brussels, 15 April: Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov [has] said documents on a new mechanism of Russia-NATO relations were ready to a considerable degree. Meeting NATO Secretary-General George Robertson on Monday [15 April], the...