By empty (2/7/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed he would not talk to rebel Chechens he has accused of setting off a deadly bomb on the Moscow metro to disrupt elections next month that he is virtually certain to win. The Friday morning rush-hour bomb killed at least 39 passengers, and police said 105 people were still in hospital, 21 of whom remained in a critical condition. Soldiers and police with dogs were deployed on Saturday to beef up security at underpasses and metro stations, particularly at three close to the Kremlin.

By empty (2/5/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)

On 4 February, 145 of the 624 deputies to the European parliament signed a statement of support for the proposal by Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov to establish an interim UN administration in Chechnya. Maskhadov\'s plan calls for the establishment of a provisional government in Chechnya under UN auspices and for the disarming of the Chechen armed resistance. \"Nezavisimaya gazeta\" on 5 February quoted an unnamed organizer of the European Parliament campaign to collect signatures in support of the proposal as saying, \"I believe that this is the only way of resolving the Russian-Chechen problem.

By empty (2/5/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)

International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights Vice President Ulrich Fischer was allowed by Kyrgyz authorities to meet with the country\'s most prominent political prisoner, Feliks Kulov, on 4 February. Kulov -- who formerly served as former National Security chief, vice president of Kyrgyzstan, and mayor of Bishkek -- is serving a 10-year sentence for abuse of office. The Kyrgyz opposition says the charges against him were politically motivated to remove President Askar Akaev\'s most-credible rival from the political arena.