RUSSIA ASSERTS POLICING ROLE IN THE CAUCASUS
by Hannah Cooper

Open Democracy
rticle/security_briefings/031108
Nov 3 2008
UK

Russia’s president hosts talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan over
disputed territory. Bolivia halts US drug enforcement operation
within its borders. Violence seethes in Pakistan, Indonesia and
Iraq. Screening processes in the US war on terror suggest rampant
ethnic profiling. And much more in today’s update. 3 – 11 – 2008

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.