Albania Crash

Macedonia is a multiparty parliamentary democracy. The current multi-ethnic coalition Government, led by Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski of the ethnic Macedonian Social Democratic Union of Macedonia, came to power in September 2002 in elections deemed free and fair by international observers. After former President Boris Trajkovski died in an airplane crash in February 2004, then-Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovksi was elected president in April in an election generally considered free and fair. A divisive national referendum challenging new municipal-redistricting laws failed due to low voter turnout in November, and local elections on the basis of newly formed, ethnically diverse municipalities are scheduled for March 2005. ... [Read More]

J) Europe and Central Asia

Heroin trafficking continues to be the primary drug problem facing Russia. The Taliban stepped up production and export of opium and heroin into Tajikistan and Kazakhstan and on into Russia just as the economic crash of 1998 plunged Russia into a period of economic crisis. The crash resulted in a sharp drop in the standard of living for many Russians, high unemployment rates, and a decrease in the technical and financial resources available to law enforcement and drug treatment programs. Alcohol and substance abuse increased. The crisis, coupled with the widespread availability of cheap heroin, contributed to a rapid increase in serious heroin abuse and addiction, and a concomitant steep increase in HIV and AIDS. It is believed that as much as 80 percent of Russian HIV infections are related to intravenous drug use. Russian authorities resist needle exchange programs for fear of appearing to encourage heroin abuse. HIV-suppressing therapies exceed the financial capability of most Russi ... [Read More]

Europe and Eurasia

MACEDONIA, FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OFMacedonia is a multi-ethnic, multi-party parliamentary democracy. The current multi-ethnic coalition Government is led by Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski. In February 2004, President Boris Trajkovski was killed in a plane crash; the first round of presidential elections for his successor will be held April 14, 2004. In an improvement from 2002, the Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens, although serious problems remained. Impunity for state agents, a corrupt and inefficient judiciary and trafficking in persons were problems. The police's human rights record improved during the year, and the state acted to combat trafficking in women. The U.S. Ambassador and EU Special Representative, in their capacities as co-facilitators of the 2001 Framework Agreement (FWA), which brought the 2001 insurgency to an end, monitored and encouraged implementation of the agreement. Legisl ... [Read More]

Daily Press Briefing for April 7 -- Transcript

MR. BOUCHER: The simple answer is I really don't. I think the Defense Department has announced there are three civilian contractors who were killed in the crash, along with -- there's 12 or 13 of our military personnel. I don't remember -- 13 of our military personnel. And so, obviously, we're saddened to hear about the crash and offer our thoughts and condolences for them. But at this point, I don't have any definitive information on the identities or nationalities of the contractors. ... [Read More]

J) Europe and Central Asia

Heroin trafficking continues to be the primary drug problem facing Russia. The Taliban stepped up production and export of opium and heroin into Tajikistan and Kazakhstan and on into Russia just as the economic crash of 1998 plunged Russia into a period of economic crisis. The crash resulted in a sharp drop in the standard of living for many Russians, high unemployment rates, and a decrease in the technical and financial resources available to law enforcement and drug treatment programs. Alcohol and substance abuse increased. The crisis coinciding with the widespread availability of cheap heroin contributed to a rapid increase in serious heroin abuse and addiction and a concomitant steep increase in HIV and AIDS infections, 80 percent of which are related to intravenous drug use in Russia. Russian authorities resist needle exchange programs on the grounds that they may encourage heroin abuse. HIV suppressing drug therapies exceed the financial capability of most Russian clinics and vic ... [Read More]

Europe and Central Asia

Agreements and Treaties. Italy is a party to the 1961 UN Single Convention, the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, the 1972 Protocol and the 1988 UN Drug Convention. In December 2000, an international conference was held in Palermo, Italy, for the signing of treaty on transnational crime. The treaty must be ratified by a quorum of 40 countries before it comes into force. This new treaty will strengthen governments against serious crimes, including drug trafficking, money laundering, trafficking of human beings and arms trafficking. As a member of the European Union, Italy participates in the Dublin Group, UNDCP Pompidou group, Europol, the EU Commission, and attendant committees and working groups.Cultivation/Production. There is no known coca bush cultivation in Italy. However, opium poppy grows spontaneously in the southern part of Italy and the island of Sicily. It does not present a threat due to the low alkaloid content. [Read More]

The Administration’s Priorities in Europe

We have been actively encouraging Russia at every opportunity to take the steps necessary to fulfill the commitments it undertook at the 1999 OSCE Istanbul Summit to remove materiel and forces remaining in Moldova and to agree with the Georgian government on the duration and modalities of the functioning of its remaining military bases in Georgia. We have made it very clear that ratification of the Adapted CFE Treaty requires Russia first to meet these obligations. Just a word about U.S.-Russian economic relations. The trends are essentially positive, although Russia remains a difficult place to do business. Bilateral trade is improving, and our FREEDOM Support Act assistance on economic reform is a success story: increasingly we will target assistance projects to democracy-building and civil society rather than economic reform programs. Russia wants to join the World Trade Organization. The United States supports Russia’s members ... [Read More]

Frequently Asked Historical Questions

Laurence A. Steinhardt, who was Ambassador to Canada, was killed in a plane crash near Ramseyville, Ontario on March 28, 1950. Arnold L. Raphel, who was Ambassador to Pakistan, was killed in a plane crash near Bahawalpur on August 17, 1988 ... [Read More]

Macedonia (05/05)

On February 26, 2004 President Trajkovski died in a plane crash in Bosnia. Presidential elections were held April 14 and 28, 2004. Then-Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski won the second round and was inaugurated President on May 12, 2004. The parliament confirmed Hari Kostov, former Interior Minister, as Prime Minister June 2, 2004. Prime Minister Kostov resigned November 15, 2004. On December 17, 2004, former Defense Minister Vlado Buckovski was confirmed by parliament as Prime Minister, maintaining the coalition with the ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) and the Liberal-Democratic (LDP) parties. ... [Read More]

Department of State Washington File: Transcript: State Department Noon Briefing, August 24, 2000

There have been six diplomatic couriers who have died in plane crashes. The last time a diplomatic courier was killed in a plane crash, however, was on May 10, 1963, in Douala, Cameroon. And the other deaths were between 1943 and '63. ...

If I can take the occasion to fill in a little bit for those who may not know a little bit about the job the couriers do and some of the background on the situation. First on the crash itself, Bahraini authorities have told us there are no survivors. Obviously, our sympathies and our prayers are with the families and loved ones of the 143 passengers and crew who lost their lives in this tragic accident. There was only one American aboard, our diplomatic courier, and he died in the crash. ... [Read More]