NEWS:

10 Sep 07 until 01 Nov 07

Caucasus Reporting Service 411 until 417

Agonising Scenes at Razed Baku Cemetery
Relatives distraught as bodies exhumed to make way for new highway.
By Leila Amirova in Baku (CRS No. 411, 20-Sept-07)

Armenia: Sad Fate of Azeri Graves
Government won’t fund restoration of Azerbaijani cemeteries, saying they do not have any intrinsic cultural value. By Naira Bulghadarian in Saral (CRS No. 411, 20-Sept-07)

Karabakh Mosques Restored
Officials want to refute Baku’s claims that Muslim monuments are being systematically destroyed. By Karine Ohanian in Nagorny Karabakh (CRS No. 411, 20-Sept-07)

Kabardino-Balkaria Leader Offers Way Out in Land Dispute
President proposes a major rethink on laws that ethnic Balkars say will deprive them of their lands. By Aishat Osmanova in Nalchik (CRS No. 411, 20-Sept-07)


Georgian Ex-Minister Arrested After Denouncing President
Police swoop following former minister Irakli Okruashvili’s lurid allegations about the Georgian president. By David Paichadze in Tbilisi (CRS No. 412, 28-Sept-07)

Ingushetia: Fears of “Second Chechnya”
Murders, shoot-outs in the streets and “mop-up operations” shatter island of stability. By Umalt Dudayev in Karabulak (CRS No. 412, 27-Sept-07)

Azerbaijan: Crackdown on Foreign Workers
Proposed legislative amendments impose large penalties on companies that lie about the number of foreigners they employ. By Rashad Suleimanov in Baku (CRS No. 412, 27-Sept-07)


Georgian Opposition Raises the Heat
New coalition calls for release of jailed ex-defence minister, and answers from president. By Veriko Tevzadze in Tbilisi (CRS No. 413, 04-Oct-07)

Circassians Voice Olympian Anger
North Caucasian activists say the Sochi Olympics will write them out of history. By Azamat Bram in Maikop (CRS No. 413, 05-Oct-07)

Outrage at “Fake” Circassian Anniversary
Events of hundreds of years ago become a live political issue as Moscow-sponsored festivities are dismissed as an attempt to rewite history. By Marina Marshenkulova in Nalchik and Azamat Bram in Maikop (CRS No. 413, 05-Oct-07)


Georgian Ex-Minister in Public Climbdown
Former defence minister retracts his allegations against President Saakashvili and is released on bail. By Mikhail Vignansky in Tbilisi (CRS No. 414 11-Oct-07)

Azeri Government Launches NGO Programme
Observers debate whether a new programme funnelling government money into non-governmental organisations will help or harm the NGO sector. By Sevinj Telmanqizi in Baku (CRS No. 414 11-Oct-07)

Dagestan Militant’s Death “No Breakthrough”
Analysts caution that death of Dagestan’s most wanted man will not change the situation in the republic. By Diana Aliev in Kizilyurt (CRS No. 414 11-Oct-07)

Project Highlights
Caucasus: Sept ‘07
IWPR event examines heated debate provoked by celebrations of anniversary of the Circassian people’s unification with Russia. By Alan Tskhurbayev, IWPR North Caucasus editor and Salla Nazarenko, CCJN project leader

Reporting Impact
Caucasus: Sept ‘07
IWPR visit to Samtskhe-Javakheti challenges biased reporting on this neglected region. By Salla Nazarenko, CCJN project leader


Armenia Hails Genocide Vote
As Armenians celebrate following a US Congressional vote, their kinsmen in Turkey brace themselves for a rise in nationalist sentiment. By Tatul Hakobian in Yerevan (CRS No. 415 18-Oct-07)

Cancer Epidemic in Chechnya
War-torn republic struggles to cope with a sharp rise in cancer sufferers. By Asya Umarova in Grozny (CRS No. 415 18-Oct-07)

Georgian Vineyards in Ferment
Vine-growers’ anger at depressed market conditions spills over into political row. By Zviad Ruadze in Gurjaani (CRS No. 415 19-Oct-07)


Dagestan’s Pre-Scripted Phone Chat With Putin
The Russian president gets only a censored view of a North Caucasian village’s problems. By Diana Alieva in Botlikh (CRS No. 416 26-Oct-07)

Azerbaijani Refugees Angered by Resettlement Plan
The government is offering Karabakh refugees new homes, but many say they would be losing far more than they gained. By Shahla Abusattar in Baku (CRS No. 416 26-Oct-07)

Armenia: Yezidis Endure Years of Living Dangerously
Ethnic minority blames official discrimination for failure to remove potentially lethal electricity pylons from their village. By Gayane Mkrtchian in Zovuni (CRS No. 416 26-Oct-07)


Georgia Demands Russian Exit from Abkhazia
Abkhaz talk of war as Tbilisi calls for end to Russian peacekeeping mission. By Irakly Lagvilava in Ganmukhuri, Dmitry Avaliani in Tbilisi and Inal Khashig in Sukhum (CRS No. 417 01-Nov-07)

Abkhazia Welcomes Mountain Minority
Ethnic kin encouraged by promise of land and jobs to move to Abkhazia. By Bella Ksalova in Karachai-Cherkessia and Anahit Gogorian in Abkhazia (CRS No. 417 01-Nov-07)

Armenian Government Moves against Ex-President
Official media campaign waged against former president as he launches new leadership bid. By Diana Markosian in Yerevan (CRS No. 417 01-Nov-07)

Azerbaijanis Flock to Turkish Town
Turkish border city’s population booms as Azerbaijanis come in search of work. By Sabuhi Mammadli in Igdir (CRS No. 417 01-Nov-07)