Vol. 8 Issue 7 - Public International Law & Policy Group

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The latest meeting, which is due to last two days, was being held under the joint auspices of the UN, the European Union and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. A UN spokeswoman confirmed that it had got underway with all sides present. UN special representative to Georgia Johan Verbeke said shortly after the last meeting in December that the Russians and Georgians had moved closer to a deal, in contrast to the fragile start to the talks a couple of months beforehand. Verbeke said only two out of the ten issues on the table, related to a mechanism to prevent and resolve security incidents, still needed to be resolved. However, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gregory Karasin has described those issues as "obstacles," while acknowledging an improved climate of understanding in the talks. A first attempt at dialogue last October collapsed when Russian and Georgian delegates failed to even sit down in the same room. A month later they accepted informal sessions, allowing the presence of representatives from Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the Moscow-backed breakaway regions which were at the centre of the conflict last August. On Friday, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to extend the mandate of the UN mission in Georgia for four months, pending the security arrangements for Abkhazia. Russian sent its army deep into Georgia in August to push back a Georgian offensive to regain control of South Ossetia from Russia-backed separatists. Russia later withdrew to within Abkhazia and South Ossetia under an EU-brokered ceasefire, but Tbilisi remains furious at the continued presence of Russian troops in the two breakaway regions. Learn about PILPG’s work in Georgia Return to Table of Contents Indonesia Former rebel gunned down in Indonesia's Aceh Associated Press, 2/13/09 A former rebel whose wife is contesting regional elections in Indonesia's Aceh province has been fatally shot, raising fears the April polls could descend into violence, police and party officials said Friday.
Tengku Syamsuddin, a spokesman for the former rebels, said assailants gunned down Taufik, the local head of the rebel-founded Aceh Party, at his home Thursday. Taufik, who like many Indonesian goes by a single name, was shot five times in the chest, he said. Police were still investigating and did not announce any suspects. Syamsuddin urged authorities to quickly find the perpetrators to create "a smooth and peaceful environment" ahead of the elections. The motive for the shooting was unclear. It followed two grenade attacks on Aceh Party offices in recent weeks in which no one was hurt. Indonesia holds general elections on April 9 to pick members of national and regional legislatures. Taufik's wife is seeking a regional seat for the Aceh Party. Aceh has been relatively calm since the government signed a peace deal with separatists in 2005, ending a 29-year rebellion in which more than 15,000 people died. Access the Indonesia/Aceh Negotiation Simulation prepared by PILPG Return to Table of Contents Ivory Coast I Coast president's ex-secretary jailed for fraud Agence France Presse, 2/11/09 Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo's former secretary was sentenced to five years in jail on Wednesday for pocketing 100,000 dollars from a mobile phone operator intended for charity. Emilienne Gome, who had already lost her job over the same case, was accused of defrauding the firm MTN-CI of a donation of 65.5 million CFA francs (99,850 euros / 129,000 dollars) by claiming the money was intended for poor people in a disaster zone. She was also fined 300,000 CFA francs, deprived of her civic rights for 10 years and banned from residing for three years on any part of the west African country's territory apart from her birthplace. The prosecutor had asked for a year's prison term for fraud.
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Page 3 and 4: Kosovo marks 1 year of independence
Page 5 and 6: Whitman said he could not discuss p
Page 7 and 8: "Now that we have realized this is
Page 9 and 10: "However, the aforesaid statements
Page 11 and 12: The court has linked the former Bos
Page 13 and 14: The military regime has promised to
Page 15 and 16: Former US President George W. Bush'
Page 17 and 18: "How can we go on without the main
Page 19 and 20: "I don't want to be on the side of
Page 21 and 22: EU enlargement commissioner Olli Re
Page 23 and 24: "Have I said that Bosco Ntaganda ha
Page 25 and 26: The first victim of the operation h
Page 27: The five-day war and Russia's subse
Page 31 and 32: India and Pakistan have fought thre
Page 33 and 34: New Delhi has noted with strong app
Page 35 and 36: Serbs consider Kosovo to be the hea
Page 37 and 38: "The key to our success is in unity
Page 39 and 40: Macedonia EU mulls economic support
Page 41 and 42: "As for the content of the document
Page 43 and 44: The UN Security Council has called
Page 45 and 46: Moro Islamic Liberation Front which
Page 47 and 48: Somalia Overcrowding at Kenya refug
Page 49 and 50: "We are happy with that," he said,
Page 51 and 52: "With a growing number of children
Page 53 and 54: Dr. Thurairaja Varatharaja, the top
Page 55 and 56: Without a borehole, water was colle
Page 57 and 58: The New York Times reported on Wedn
Page 59 and 60: The talks mediated by Doha are the
Page 61 and 62: Aid workers and human rights activi
Page 63 and 64: "They have no way out of these swam

Vol. 8 Issue 7 - Public International Law & Policy Group

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