By empty (9/21/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Chechen President-elect Alu Alkhanov on Tuesday hailed news that a Russian army officer convicted in 2003 of abducting and murdering a teenage Chechen girl in 2000 had recalled an appeal for a pardon. Col. Yury Budanov withdrew his appeal after a September 15 decision by the clemency commission of the region where he is serving his 10-year sentence set off a storm of protests in Chechnya.

By empty (9/21/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Opposition Musavat party Chairman Isa Qambar testified on 20 September at the trial of seven opposition activists accused of organizing mass protests in the wake of the 15 October presidential ballot. Qambar told the court he remains convinced that he, not Ilham Aliyev, was the rightful winner of the presidential ballot. He said he personally called on his supporters to convene in Baku on 16 October to protest the authorities\' rigging of the election outcome.

By empty (9/20/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Georgian parliament speaker Nino Burdjanadze on 20 September asked Foreign Minister Salome Zourabichvili to explain to the parliament\'s committee on foreign relations why Georgia is at risk of losing its voting rights at the UN because of unpaid membership dues amounting to almost $6 million, Caucasus Press reported. Burdjanadze argued that the Foreign Ministry should have acted earlier to avert that possibility. The arrears date back at least five years, and Tbilisi has avoided forfeiting its voting rights only by paying off portions of that debt at intervals.