STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- Get a low APR NextCard Visa in 30 seconds! 1. Fill in the brief application 2. Receive approval decision within 30 seconds 3. Get rates as low as 2.99% Intro or 9.99% Ongoing APR and no annual fee! Apply NOW! http://www.bcentral.com/listbot/NextCard ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [Just yesterday NATO chief George Robertson, in commenting on drug abuse in Great Britain - not a topic covered in the original Atlantic Charter, by the way - mentioned in passing that Kazakhstan had more oil "than all the Gulf States combined." How quickly NATO and the OSCE are on the spot. The mixed message emanating from the two organizations is this: Clamp down on drug-trafficking insurgents, but treat them with kid gloves. The intent behind the message is this: As it's impossible to navigate between the Scylla of suppressing cross-border terrorism and the Charybdis of not using force to do so, someone else will have to assist you in this gentle exercise. To wit, NATO. But as the Balkans demonstrate, it's easier getting NATO into one's country than it is to get it out.] OSCE Chief Urges Respect for Human Rights in Kazakhstan ASTANA, Jun 5, 2001 -- (Agence France Presse) The acting head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Romanian Foreign Minister Mircea Geoana, urged security issues be tackled at the same time as human rights issues during a visit to former Soviet Kazakhstan Monday. Economic development and boosting regional security "should happen simultaneously with the spread of democracy and the observation of human rights," Geoana was quoted by Interfax as saying. Some Central Asian leaders have been accused of clamping down on the human rights of their citizens after the region was rocked by Islamic extremist attacks last August. Geoana was speaking after a meeting with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev on the first leg of a tour of four Central Asian republics. During the meeting Nazabayev called on the OSCE to take a more active role in resolving economic and ecological problems, Interfax reported. The two sides also discussed the possibility of OSCE participation in resolving transnational problems, such as the fight against terrorism and trafficking of drugs in the Central Asian region. Regional leaders often call on international organizations to take a more active part in fighting problems that plague Central Asia, such as resurgent Islamic fundamentalism and the smuggling of weapons and narcotics. The two men also discussed Kazakhstan's cooperation with the OSCE as well as with the European Community and NATO. Geoana will visit four Central Asian republics, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan on a tour expected to center around the promotion of human rights and democracy. ((c) 2001 Agence France Presse) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail - only $35 a year! http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
