-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.aci.net/kalliste/#todnews Click Here: <A HREF="http://www.aci.net/kalliste/#todnews">The Home Page of J. Orlin Grabbe</A> ----- Chechnya Russia Ultimatum: Get Out of Grozny or Die Now, hmm, which ones are the terrorists? MOSCOW - Russian planes dropped leaflets over Grozny, the ruined capital of Chechnya, on Monday that delivered a stark ultimatum to civilians: they must leave by Saturday or face increased jet and artillery strikes. Leaflets also warned defenders of the town to give up or die, and officials said new armaments would be employed to batter the city, including bombs designed to crush buildings from the air. The warnings support the growing perception that Russian generals urgently want to retake the city from which they were expelled three years ago at the end of Chechnya's independence war. They appear intent on creating an urban free-fire zone in which anything that moves will be considered a legitimate military target. [President Bill Clinton said Monday that Russia would ''pay a heavy price'' for its assault on Chechnya, suggesting the offensive would deepen anti-Russian feeling in the region and erode Russia's standing abroad, Reuters reported from Washington. [''Russia will pay a heavy price for those actions, with each passing day sinking more deeply into a morass that will intensify extremism and diminish its own standing in the world,'' Mr. Clinton said in a White House speech on human rights. His comments were his strongest to date condemning the offensive.] The expressed aim of the conflict is to free Chechnya of ''terrorists'' and restore Russian rule. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin of Russia has elevated the war to a battle for the very existence of Russia. Over the weekend, he responded to Western criticism of the campaign's brutality by saying Moscow could not be expected to build friendly relations with foreign countries ''at the price of breaking up our state.'' The timing for the new offensive contains deep political significance for Mr. Putin. Russian parliamentary elections are scheduled for Dec. 19. The outcome is regarded as a bellwether for next year's presidential vote. Mr. Putin has staked his presidential candidacy on the war's outcome, and so far his popularity has soared. Russian officials described the ultimatums as the start of a new combat phase. Rebels will be wiped out or expelled from urban areas and forced into the mountainous south, where they will be pursued by jets and artillery. The Russian advance toward Grozny has been stalled in recent weeks because of Russian caution and stiff resistance by guerrillas in two towns that flank the city: Urus-Martan to the southwest and Argun just to the east. ''For the sake of avoiding victims within the peaceful population, we ask you to leave Grozny before December 1, using all possible ways,'' said the leaflet addressed to Grozny residents. The defenders were simply told to give up. ''For those who have not yet lost their senses. You are surrounded. All roads to Grozny are blocked. You lost. ''Those staying in the city will be regarded as terrorists and bandits. They will be destroyed by artillery and air force. There will be no more talks. Everyone who fails to leave the city will be destroyed. It's up to you to choose. The countdown is already on.'' The leaflet directed at civilians advised them to leave by way of a safe northwest passage through the town of Pervomorskaya. It was not clear that the corridor was open Monday. Up to 20,000 civilians remain in the city, the Russians say. Chechen officials put the number at 40,000. The Russians say about five thousand guerrillas are defending the city. They were advised to sling their rifles over their shoulder, barrel down, remove the magazine and hold a white flag over their heads. ''It is obvious that Russian authorities want to declare Grozny a civilian-free area, so they begin to use much more powerful bombs,'' Paul Felgenhauer, a defense analyst, wrote in The Moscow Times. ''The goal is to destroy the large gangs positioned in Grozny, rather than just seize the city,'' said a spokesman for the North Caucasus Command in charge of the war. Still, the Russians intend to avert close combat, declared General Valeri Manilov, deputy army chief of staff. ''No frontal assault on the city is planned.'' Despite the reference to talks in the ultimatums, no negotiations have taken place between the government of president Boris Yeltsin and the Chechen leader, Aslan Maskhadov. International Herald Tribune, December 7, 1999 High Finance Nurse Admits Setting Safra Fire Ex-Green Beret did it; not the Russian mafia. A MALE nurse has admitted starting the blaze that killed the billionaire banker Edmond Safra and a female member of his staff. Ted Maher, 41, an American veteran of the Green Berets special forces unit, was recruited five months ago to help look after Mr Safra. Last night he was in a Monaco jail on charges of arson, causing death. The Monaco prosecutor, Daniel Serdet, said Maher had started the fire and then stabbed himself to make him appear heroic in the eyes of his employer and to highlight his poor working conditions. Maher had earlier told police that two armed intruders broke into Mr Safra's penthouse in Monaco early on Friday and set it ablaze. He claimed to have been stabbed in the stomach and thigh before being knocked unconscious as he struggled to protect Mr Safra. But yesterday it emerged that Maher had set fire to a wastepaper bin and raised the alarm as part of a feud with a woman called Sonia who led the team of nurses that looked after Mr Safra. The financier suffered from Parkinson's disease. His confession ended rumours that Mr Safra, 67, a Lebanese-Brazilian, had been the victim of a Russian Mafia gang. French detectives' suspicions were aroused by Maher's manner. They described him as "nervous and given to mood swings". Maher was placed under police guard in the Princess Grace Hospital where he had been taken for treatment. After being interrogated three times he finally admitted his story was false. M Serdet said: "He admitted to having set fire to a wastepaper bin to set off an alarm and then to have gone downstairs to raise the alert." He had expressed no regret for the deaths of Mr Safra and his female nurse. * The $9.85 billion (6 billion pounds) takeover of US bank Republic New York, in which Edmond Safra was a 29pc shareholder, by HSBC received its final regulatory clearance yesterday when it was given the go-ahead by the US Federal Reserve. London Telegraph, December 7, 1999 Social Mood Hong Kong Fears State of US Stock Market Buys up euros. Hong Kong, one of the world's largest holders of foreign exchange, has become a buyer of euros for its reserves despite the currency's slide in foreign exchange markets. Joseph Yam, head of the territory's monetary authority, said the euro's weighting in the reserves would rise to 15 per cent from 10 per cent because of worries about the US balance of payments deficit and stretched equity values on Wall Street. "I'm afraid more and more people are focusing on the vulnerability of the US market and will start moving out," Mr Yam said in an interview with the Financial Times. The disclosure came as the euro, which last week dipped below parity with the US dollar, staged a rally of more than two cents on Monday to close in Europe at $1.023. Traders who had sold the currency were forced to buy it back to cover their positions after an unexpectedly strong 3.2 per cent month-on-month rise in German manufacturing orders in October. Economists said there might be more encouraging figures from Europe today when Germany releases unemployment data for November and gross domestic product for the third quarter. Hong Kong's move contrasts with previous reluctance by central banks to hold the euro in their reserves. Mr Yam said some of the HKMA's reservations had eased. "I'm less concerned about the liquidity of the euro market than I was at the beginning of the year." He was also unperturbed by Germany's rescue of the Holzmann construction group, which was seen as too interventionist by some dealers. Financial markets will closely watch today's opening session of a congress of Germany's ruling Social Democrats to see if Chancellor Gerhard Schr�der comes under more pressure from the party's left wing to pursue less market-oriented policies. "I don't think there's any change in the underlying policies of the EU," Mr Yam said. Hong Kong's shift would simply restore the weighting of the euro in the reserves to neutral. It would only affect the portion equivalent to some $30bn of reserves which the authority manages directly, implying total purchases of around $1.5bn of euros. Outside investment advisers, who manage a further $30bn in reserves on a discretionary basis for Hong Kong, remained underweight in euros, while Hong Kong also has to set aside an additional portion of its total $90bn in reserves in dollars as backing for its currency. Mr Yam said Asia was looking at ways of monetary collaboration that would help protect smaller open economies like that of Hong Kong from unwanted currency flows. But the prospect of monetary union was a "political non-starter". Instead, one way of dealing with the problem would be to denominate more financial market transactions, such as trading of mainland Chinese shares in Hong Kong, in US dollars or other currencies, he suggested. This would shield smaller currencies but it would also require more investment in market infrastructure such as settlement systems. Mr Yam added that the Asian economic crisis had convinced him there was "no alternative" to Hong Kong's currency peg. "If anything it has strengthened our resolve." The Financial Times, December 7, 1999 ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, Omnia Bona Bonis, All My Relations. Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. 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