By empty (3/21/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The Foreign Ministry on 21 March expressed \"outrage\" at a proposal by the Warsaw City Council to name a city street after Dzhokar Dudaev, the first president of the Chechen Republic, who was killed by federal forces in 1996, Russian and international media reported. \"It is difficult to see this decision as anything but an assault on the memory of Russia victims of terrorist attacks in Moscow and other cities and as support for international terrorism,\" the ministry\'s statement said, according to . The ministry\'s statement called Dudaev a \"leader of nationalist extremists\" and said Warsaw\'s action could harm bilateral relations.

By empty (3/20/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev issued a decree on 20 March pardoning 115 prisoners. The prisoners, including 53 who are considered by the Council of Europe to be political prisoners, include three leaders of the opposition Musavat party and leaders of two other political opposition parties. The release of the political prisoners follows a demand by a Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly delegation that was in Baku last week.

By empty (3/19/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Georgian Coast Guard units detained a Russian tanker late on 19 March outside the port of Batumi for \"violating navigation rules.\" The ship\'s 15-member crew was allowed to go ashore, although the owner must pay a 50,000 lari ($27,000) fine before the vessel is released. The Georgian coast guard has detained more than 30 foreign vessels for similar violations over the last two years, including another Russian ship in June 2004.