By empty (4/25/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Kyrgyz Defense Ministry press service head Merbek Koilubaev predicted that Kyrgyz citizens will want to serve in the Russian armed forces on a contract basis now that Russia has decided to accept volunteers from other CIS countries. Koilubaev said he expects the Russian air base that is being set up at Kant in northern Kyrgyzstan will attract Kyrgyz military pilots. He said he expects there will be volunteers from other branches of the military as well.

By empty (4/25/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Chechen Security Council Secretary Rudnik Dudaev rejected on 25 April as untrue a report posted on kavkazcenter.com and chechenpress.com that administration head Akhmed-hadji Kadyrov was severely injured in an attack on his car the previous evening.

By empty (4/25/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Saying that if Tajikistan\'s Constitution can be changed so can decisions of the parliament, the Tajik Democratic Party has issued a statement calling for the cancellation of the referendum on constitutional amendments scheduled for June. The Majlisi Namoyandagon (parliament) approved holding the referendum on a series of amendments that are supposed to modernize the constitution but which have generated a storm on the political scene. The most controversial of the amendments would lift the restriction that a president may serve only one seven-year term in office.