WELCOME TO IWPR'S CAUCASUS REPORTING SERVICE, No. 394, May 31, 2007 CAUCASUS NEWS UPDATE MAY 31
ABKHAZIA'S ANTI-CORRUPTION DRIVE Sacking of city mayor triggers wider government crackdown. By Inal Khashig in Sukhum GEORGIAN DISABLED STRIPPED OF BENEFITS Reforms leave ten thousand in poverty, say campaigners. By Fati Mamiashvili in Tbilisi KARACHAI-CHERKESSIA: OPPOSITION IN RETREAT Removal of top judge will hand initiative to local president. By Murat Gekemukhov in Cherkessk **** NEW AT IWPR ****************************************************************** NEW PODCAST: THIS WEEK ON IWPR A regular audio programme produced by IWPR US, highlighting IWPR news and analysis on issues of conflict, human rights and international justice, written by our contributors around the world. To listen to the programme or for details on how to subscribe see http://iwpr.net/?apc_state=hen&s=u&p IRAQ PHOTO DIARIES, NIGHT RAIDS: Peter van Agtmael documents the late-night raids carried out by American and Iraqi troops against the homes of suspected insurgents. This series of photographs was awarded a 2nd place in the General News Stories category at the World Press Photo Awards in 2007. http://iwpr.net/?apc_state=henh&s=o&o=top_galleries_index.html 2007 KURT SCHORK AWARDS: IWPR has launched the call for this year's entries for the Kurt Schork Awards in International Journalism. The awards honour fearless freelance news reporting and local journalists who cannot leave their country when the story becomes secondary to survival. Full details of the 2007 awards and how to enter may be found on the Kurt Schork Award pages on IWPR's website www.iwpr.net PANORAMA NEWSPAPER available in pdf at: http://www.iwpr.net/?apc_state=henpcrs&s=o&o=cau/panorama/cover.html **** www.iwpr.net ******************************************************************** CAUCASUS REPORTING SERVICE RSS: http://www.iwpr.net/en/crs/rss.xml RECEIVE FROM IWPR: Readers are urged to subscribe to IWPR's full range of free electronic publications at: http://www.iwpr.net/index.php?apc_state=henh&s=s&m=p GIVE TO IWPR: IWPR is wholly dependent upon grants and donations. For more information about how you can support IWPR go to: http://www.iwpr.net/donate.html **** www.iwpr.net ******************************************************************** CAUCASUS NEWS UPDATE MAY 31 May 31 The republican prosecutor of Dagestan Igor Tkachev said that the level of kidnappings was rising in the republic, with 71 people kidnapped there in the first four months of this year. May 31 A group of Ingush refugees from North Ossetia ended a protest in Moscow after they had a meeting with members of the upper house of the Russian parliament, the Federation Council. May 31 The authorities in Tbilisi and South Ossetia exchanged accusations as to who was responsible for a breakdown in water supply affecting the city of Tskhinvali and Georgian villages in the region. May 31 The Azerbaijani opposition newspaper, Baky-Heber, ceased publication. May 31 Greenpeace volunteers erected a model of Noah's Ark on the summit of Mount Ararat as a message to world leaders about the dangers of climate change. May 30 Journalists from two recently closed Azerbaijani newspapers, Gundelik Azerbaijan and Realny Azerbaijan and a number of journalists from Azdalyq asked for asylum in the embassies of several western countries. May 30 A Russian delegation arrived in Tbilisi to discuss gaining Georgian approval for entry into the World Trade Organization. May 30 Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev launched the publication of a book by murdered Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya. May 29 A judge in North Ossetia granted an amnesty to three policemen accused of failing to stop militants seize School No. 1 in Beslan in 2004. The verdict provoked an angry reaction from relatives of those who died, who smashed windows and overturned furniture in the courtroom. May 29 Armenian prime minister Serzh Sarkisian received Anatoly Chubais, head of the Russian electricity giant UES, who was visiting Armenia to take part in the CIS Electric Power Council. May 29 Russia began to issue visas for some Georgian citizens for the first time since September 28. Visas are being granted to those whose families live in Russia or have Russian citizenship. May 28 Georgian foreign minister Gela Bezhuashvili and Russian ambassador in Tbilisi Vyacheslav Kovalenko discussed the terms of a planned meeting between Georgian and Russian presidents Mikheil Saakashvili and Vladimir Putin at the informal CIS meeting in St Petersburg on June 10. May 28 Former Georgian parliamentary deputy and businessman Zviad Tsetskhladze was found murdered in his office in the centre of Tbilisi. Five men were later arrested for his murder. May 28 Armenia and Azerbaijan both celebrated their First Republic Day. May 27 Joseph Wood, US Vice President Dick Cheney's deputy assistant for national security Affairs began a visit to Georgia and Azerbaijan. May 27 The interior ministers of Azerbaijan and Dagestan signed an agreement to jointly combat terrorism, extremism and cross-border crime in their border areas. May 26 Georgia marked Independence Day. May 26 Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili visited the village of Ganmukhuri on the border with Abkhazia and opened a "camp of patriots" where up to 2,000 young people will spend their summer holidays. ABKHAZIA'S ANTI-CORRUPTION DRIVE Sacking of city mayor triggers wider government crackdown. By Inal Khashig in Sukhum The Abkhazian leader Sergei Bagapsh has broken a longstanding taboo by declaring war on corrupt officials. Bagapsh, president of the unrecognised republic since 2004, said he intended to fight corruption in the upper echelons of power. In his annual presidential address on May 30, he said that the chief objective of the government will be to tighten control over expenditure of money from the budget. His public statements follow a scandal which cost the mayor and deputy mayor of the Abkhaz capital Sukhum their jobs. There is speculation that the crackdown was forced on Bagapsh, who was away from Abkhazia when the scandal broke. In the almost 15 years since Abkhazia broke away from Georgian rule and became de facto independent, the issue of corruption and the prohibitions contained in the criminal code have become little more than decorative anachronisms left over from Soviet times. Top officials waved the problem away by proclaiming that there is no corruption in Abkhazia. The official statistics supported this view, as no official was ever put on trial on corruption charges. Now things are beginning to change. The latest drive began with a routine audit carried out by the housing office of the department that deals with economic crimes, part of the Sukhum mayor's office. The conclusions came as a bombshell, with anti-corruption officers reporting that of the 24 million roubles (925,000 US dollars) the city authorities spent on household repairs in 2006, one third of the money was simply stolen. Some of the theft was very straightforward. For example, official records show that a Sukhum apartment block was given a new roof, which was news to the residents, who have not seen any such structure. In another case, housing officials allocated money to a building that does not even exist. Other scams were more sophisticated. For instance, someone would be awarded a sum of money in welfare benefits, but would only receive only 10 per cent, the remainder disappearing into a bureaucrat's pocket. "The checks showed that in fact, many categories of those on benefits - war invalids, the families of those who died in the war, families with many children - received financial assistance from the mayor's office," said a source in the investigation team who asked not to be named. "The level of assistance never exceeded 20,000 roubles [770 dollars]. But at the same time, people who did not fall into these needy categories received sums ten times bigger than that, which naturally aroused our suspicions." On May 2, mayor Astamur Adleiba and his first deputy Boris Achba, the head of the city's finance department Konstantin Tuzhba and the head of the housing department David Jinjolia, were all fired. All are now facing criminal charges that range from abuse of their official positions and misuse of public funds to large-scale embezzlement of government assets. In an unprecedented move for Abkhazia, both Achba and Tuchba were held in detention and then released after agreeing to pay large sums of money, presumably as compensation. Both men face long jail sentences if they are convicted. Speculation is intense about who initiated this anti-corruption drive. The checks began in February but the results were not made public until the end of April, when compromising material on the suspects was handed to independent local media. At the time, Bagapsh was undergoing treatment in a Moscow clinic, which has led many to believe that he was not behind the campaign. Both Adleiba and Achba had been close to Bagapsh. The mayor won a renewed vote of confidence from the president following local elections in February, while Achba had put in a titanic effort to ensure that pro-presidential politicians came out top in Sukhum in the March parliamentary election. However, when Bagapsh returned home at the beginning of May, the scandal had already reached such a pitch that he had no option but to sack the officials and sanction their prosecution. Nonetheless the Abkhaz leader kept silent for two weeks, generating talk of two different versions of events. One was that the crackdown was initiated by Abkhaz vice-president Raul Khajimba, Bagapsh's opponent in the 2004 election and now the unofficial leader of the opposition. Khajimba has certainly benefited from the scandal, which reflected very poorly on his political adversaries. The other explanation is that the case initiated by Prime Minister Alexander Ankvab to boost his popularity. In 2004, Ankvab was a leading candidate to replace former president Vladislav Ardzinba, to whom he was fiercely opposed. Ankvab had the reputation of being an implacable fighter against corruption, and declared that when he came to power, corrupt bureaucrats would be exchanging their offices for "prison cells with a view of the sea". However, Ankvab was barred from standing in the presidential election on the grounds that he did not fulfil residency requirements. He therefore teamed up with the other main opposition candidate, Bagapsh, and eventually emerged as his prime minister. The anti-corruption drive Ankvab promised never materialised, and as a result he has lost much of his standing, even though analysts say that he still harbours presidential ambitions. Bagapsh eventually broke silence when he was introducing the new mayor, Alyas Labakhua, to his staff. "I have warned more than once that everyone without exception is responsible for fulfilling the duties required of him, but the city administration committed serious infringements of financial discipline and misused budget funds," said Bagapsh. "In other words, a crime was committed." The Abkhaz leader appeared genuinely angry at what had occurred, saying, "those who carried out these vile acts in the administration sold out all of us - me above all". He then promised a new round of checks in all regional administrations and public services. There are already reports that evidence of abuses has been found in the Ochamchira region. The presidential administration itself is also being investigated. "It is no longer possible to tolerate this situation," Bagapsh warned. "People are tired of dishonest officials. So everyone has to understand that punishment under criminal law will follow any crime, no matter who commits it." Inal Khashig is editor of Chegemskaya Pravda newspaper in Abkhazia and co-editor of IWPR's Caucasus newspaper Panorama. GEORGIAN DISABLED STRIPPED OF BENEFITS Reforms leave ten thousand in poverty, say campaigners By Fati Mamiashvili in Tbilisi "Giorgi was ready to give his life for his homeland, but the government has even taken away his pension," said Mzia, the mother of 40-year-old Giorgi Vashadze. In May, Vashadze, who fought in the wars in Abkhazia and South Ossetia of the early Nineties, was stripped of the "category two" disabled status he was awarded in 1999 because of a long list of ailments including gunshot wounds, concussion, bouts of depression, repeated cardiac seizures and cranial problems. As a war veteran, he received a monthly benefit of 70 laris (around 40 US dollars) until it was cancelled on May 1. "My son has an unemployed wife and three young children," said Mzia. "He is unable to work, as he permanently needs to take strong painkillers." According to Georgia's statistics department, just over 231,000 people were registered as disabled last year. Only those in the more serious first and second categories are entitled to the standard allowance of 38 laris (22 dollars) a month. The new reform, instituted on May 1, is targeting people who are believed to be claiming category two status fraudulently. In January, the ministry of health abolished the expert panels that were hitherto responsible for assigning disabled status, and entrusted the decisions to ordinary doctors instead. A new state agency for regulating medical activity is being set up to monitor the doctors who will now take the decisions, and both hospitals and doctors now face severe fines if they are found to be abusing their authority. The ministry said the old system was blighted by corruption. "In 2006, we traced down 9,313 violations in which category two invalidity status was awarded following illegal, corrupt deals," said deputy minister of labour, healthcare and social security David Meskhishvili.. One of the men spearheading the changes, Devi Tabidze, who heads the department of labour and social welfare in the Georgian health ministry, told IWPR the system was badly in need of reform. "I've had my gall-bladder taken out, but I don't look like an invalid, do I?" said Tabidze. "But people like me get themselves qualified as category two invalids. In 2005 and 2006, this irresponsible behaviour cost the budget 15 million laris [nine million dollars]." "The reform has not affected those with permanent invalidity status," insisted Tabidze. "Under the new rules, 20 conditions are no longer classified as disabling. That means over 10,000 people will lose their benefits." He said that from now on, not only the medical diagnosis but also the patient's ability to work would be assessed to determine eligibility for disability status. Many Georgians say the changes are pushing them into penury. Tamara Sulaberidze, 34, who has a slight mental disability and will never be able to work, has been stripped of her category two status and the 38-lari allowance that goes with it. None of the six Sulaberidze family members works, and they are already in great financial difficulty. Now they are worried about where they will find the money to buy the medicines Tamara needs. "How can she work if she can't move around on her own?" asked Tamara's sister, Maya. "She is often aggressive and responds to situations badly." Maya says she does not believe that health minister Lado Chipiashvili knows about the impact the reforms are having. "I want to get the minister's email address and tell him about the trouble people are in after they've been stripped of their pensions," she said. Tamara's case also troubles Giorgi Geleishvili, head of Tbilisi's psycho-neurological clinic. He said her situation alone was sufficient reason to review the change in criteria. "People suffering from mild mental retardation with pathological behaviour won't ever be able to work, as they will immediately get into conflict with someone," he said. "We paid them the benefits to keep them from starving to death or stealing." Nato Khonelidze, director of the non-governmental organisation Antistigma agreed, saying the health ministry's recommendations were far too vague. "The decisions were taken under emergency conditions," she said. "These instructions should be made more transparent to avoid making mistakes when determining disability status." The new rules also impose stricter rules on people whose conditions do qualify for a disability allowance. For instance, they will now have to pay between 70 and 100 laris for a medical examination to determine their eligibility. The test used to be free. Anna Kopaliani, who is epileptic, has been told she will only receive disability status if her fits are diagnosed as frequent. This will require her to make regular trips to hospital and pay for tests that she cannot afford. "I will have to forego the benefit, as each night spent in hospital has to be paid for and an encephalogram costs 35 laris. That is one month's allowance," said Kopaliani. The abolition of the panels of experts has also drawn criticism. "Many countries carry out medical examinations to determine disability status, but it is always licensed experts, not inexperienced doctors, who do this," complained Nato Khonelidze. IWPR asked Tabidze whether the government plans to help people deprived of disability status to find jobs. He said that an employment project was being devised jointly with the business sector, adding, "But this is a problem for the future, and it's too early to talk about it right now." Georgia's business sector does not currently provide the special facilities needed if disabled people are to be employed. Fati Mamiashvili is a freelance journalist and IWPR contributor in Tbilisi KARACHAI-CHERKESSIA: OPPOSITION IN RETREAT Removal of top judge will hand initiative to local president. By Murat Gekemukhov in Cherkessk Opponents of the leader of the North Caucasian republic of Karachai-Cherkessia suffered a blow last week when the head of the Supreme Court, their unofficial leader, was told his term in office would not be extended. On May 22, Russia's Chamber of Judges refused to grant Islam Burlakov, chairman of the region's Supreme Court, another six-year term. His tenure expires on September 1. Normally, the post holder would serve more than one term. In Karachai-Cherkessia, where Burlakov had become the figurehead of opposition to the republic's president, Mustafa Batdyev, the move was interpreted as showing Moscow's backing for the beleaguered local leader. In September 2003, Burlakov was defeated by Batdyev in presidential elections. Since then, Burlakov became a rallying point for those opposed to the new president, especially many from the ethnic Karachai majority in one of Russia's most ethnically-mixed republics. Burlakov himself never spoke out in public - and the presidential administration has not commented on the rebuff given the top judge by the Chamber of Judges. But he is associated with a number of important figures opposed to Batdyev, including members of the local parliament, municipal officials and media editors. Since Burlakov had headed the Supreme Court, courts in the republic have passed a number of decisions that have undermined the power of the president. The courts blocked the election of several candidates supported by the governing administration in local elections in the republic's three most important municipalities - the capital Cherkessk, the town of Karachayevsk and Karachayevsk district. Almost half of Karacha-Cherkessia's population and over 80 per cent of its industrial capacity are concentrated in this area, which also includes the famous mountain resorts of Teberda and Dombai. The government, backed by the police, prosecutor's office and security services, fought for its protégés, while the courts opposed them, leading to a permanent power struggle. People associated with the executive branch made frequent complaints to Moscow that judges were exceeding their powers and even staged pickets in front of the Palace of Justice in Cherkessk. Last spring, a dozen political parties and non-governmental organisations close to the president wrote a letter to the head of the federal Supreme Court, Vyacheslav Lebedev, and the head of the upper house of parliament, Sergei Mironov, in which they accused Burlakov of engaging in politics and compromising his judicial neutrality. In this light, the decision from Moscow is being regarded as a vote of confidence in Batdyev. "The president has established full control over all political parties and branches of power in the republic," opposition member of parliament Kazim Khubiev told IWPR. "The only thing the discontented had was the chance to assert their rights in a court independent of the executive authorities. Now, if justice is brought under the control of the presidential team, the opposition electorate will be driven out of the legal field as well. The only thing they'll have left is to go out on the streets." "We knew [Moscow] would intervene, but we did not expect the intervention to be one-sided," opposition deputy Islam Krymshamkhalov told IWPR. "I think Moscow should either have kept both of the rivals in place or got rid of them both. Otherwise, the system of checks and balances gets upset, which could deepen the crisis of power in the republic." Krymshamkhalov himself, who was formerly the head of the Karachaevsk district, is now facing renewed criminal charges, which were dropped against him three years ago for lack of evidence. In contrast to other parts of the North Caucasus, Karachai-Cherkessia has not had a single heavyweight ruler over the past few years. Some observers say this is one reason it avoided the kind of violence that engulfed neighbouring Kabardino-Balkaria in 2005. Now Batdyev has no serious opponents. His other main rival, the leader of the Cherkess community Stanislav Derev died last year. "At first, this will give the impression of stability in the republic, however, in the long run, the authoritarian regime will inevitably lead to an economic and social decline and escalation of the crisis," predicted Murat Khatukayev, former speaker of the local parliament. However, some observers say that Batdyev himself could still be removed by Russian president Vladimir Putin. Batdyev was damaged by the long-running scandal that ended last December with a 17-year prison sentence handed down to his former son-in-law Ali Kaitov for the murder of local member of parliament Rasul Bogatyryov and six of his friends in 2004. During the case, Kaitov's lawyers said their client was not getting a fair trial as the judge was a former rival of President Batdyev. President Putin described the situation in the republic as a "crisis of authorities mixed up in criminal developments". Putin has not received Batdyev since then and Batdyev has not asked for a public endorsement from the Russian president, as most other leaders of Russian regions have done. Batdyev's term of office runs out in September 2008 and his future appears far from assured. In the mean time, Burlakov has another three months in office to try and influence events in Karachai-Cherkessia. Those who know him say he will almost certainly not keep quiet and that an eventful summer is in store for the republic. Murat Gukemukhov is a correspondent with the Regnum news agency in Cherkessk. **** www.iwpr.net ******************************************************************** CAUCASUS REPORTING SERVICE provides the international community with a unique insiders' perspective on events in the North and South Caucasus. Using our network of local journalists, the service publishes news and analysis from across the region every week. The opinions expressed in IWPR's Caucasus Reporting Service are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the publication or of IWPR. The service forms part of IWPR's Caucasus programme, which supports local media development while encouraging better local and international understanding of the region. IWPR's Caucasus programme is supported by the British government, the Norwegian government, the European Commission and the Finnish government. The service is currently available online in English and in Russian. CAUCASUS REPORTING SERVICE: Editor-in-Chief: Anthony Borden; Managing Editor: Yigal Chazan; Caucasus Editor: Tom de Waal; Senior Editor: John MacLeod; Associate Editors: Sofo Bukia in Tbilisi, Shahin Rzayev in Baku, Seda Muradian in Yerevan, Valery Dzutsev in Vladikavkaz and Timur Aliev in Nazran. IWPR PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT: Executive Director: Anthony Borden; Strategy & Assessment Director: Alan Davis; Managing Director: Tim Williams. **** www.iwpr.net ******************************************************************** IWPR builds democracy at the frontlines of conflict and change through the power of professional journalism. IWPR programs provide intensive hands-on training, extensive reporting and publishing, and ambitious initiatives to build the capacity of local media. Supporting peace-building, development and the rule of law, IWPR gives responsible local media a voice. Institute for War & Peace Reporting 48 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1X 8LT, UK Tel: +44 (0)20 7831 1030 Fax: +44 (0)20 7831 1050 For further details on this project and other information services and media programmes, go to: www.iwpr.net ISSN: 1477-7959 Copyright (c) 2007 The Institute for War & Peace Reporting **** www.iwpr.net ******************************************************************** If you wish to change your subscription details or unsubscribe please go to: http://www.iwpr.net/index.php?apc_state=henh&s=s&m=p
