Chechnya Music

Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their GovernmentThe Constitution provides citizens with the right to change their Government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through periodic, generally free and fair elections held on the basis of universal suffrage. The Constitution establishes four branches of Government: The Presidency; the Federal Assembly made up of two houses (the State Duma and Federation Council); the Government and Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister; and the Judiciary. The Constitution gives predominance to the Presidency, and the President utilized his many powers to set national priorities and establish individual policies. After President Yeltsin's December 1999 resignation, Vladimir Putin assumed the post of acting President. In a March 2000 election, Putin was elected President. While some ... [Read More]

Russia (05/05)

Alexander I (1801-1825) began his reign as a reformer, but after defeating Napoleon’s 1812 attempt to conquer Russia, he became much more conservative and rolled back many of his early reforms. During this era, Russia gained control of Georgia and much of the Caucasus. Throughout the 19th century, the Russian Government sought to suppress repeated attempts at reform from within, particularly under the reign of Nicholas I (1825-1855). Its economy failed to compete with those of Western countries. Russian cities were growing without an industrial base to generate employment, although emancipation of the serfs in 1861 foreshadowed urbanization and rapid industrialization late in the century. At the same time, Russia expanded into the rest of the Caucasus, Central Asia and across Siberia. The port of Vladivostok was opened on the Pacific coast in 1860. The Trans-Siberian Railroad opened vast frontiers to development late in the century. In the 19th century, Russian culture flour ... [Read More]

Georgia (02/05)

The Georgian Government stakes much of its future on the revival of the ancient Silk Road as the Eurasian energy transportation corridor, using Georgia's geography as a bridge for transit of goods between Europe and Asia. Georgians are renowned for their hospitality and artistry in dance, theater, music, and design. ... [Read More]

IRC ALERT AUGUST 2000, AIRC Karachi

American Visions, June/July 2000, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 14-20 Soprano Audra McDonald is one of the more gifted new personalities on the U.S. music scene -- winner of three Tony awards for performances in singing and acting roles on the Broadway stage, a top recording artist who champions new theater music, and a constantly sought concert singer. And she's accomplished all this before her thirtieth birthday. She has brought blazing reality to roles that might have emerged as stereotypical, and has brought the compositions and hopes of new artists to the foreground. She infuses all types of serious music -- from theater songs to religious works to jazz and pop -- with just the right touch of what is needed, be that passion, pain, vulnerability, strength, mystery, truth, irony, lust, despair, humor. 8A/22.THE ... [Read More]

Introduction

In Turkey, Parliament suspended for 3 years the sentences of writers and journalists convicted of crimes involving freedom of expression through the media. By the end of the year, at least 25 had been released. However, the law did not apply to crimes committed through speech, and human rights observers and some released writers said the conditions for the suspension amount to censorship. Limits on freedom of speech and of the press remained a serious problem. Authorities banned or confiscated publications and raided newspaper offices, and security forces occasionally beat journalists. Police continued to interfere with the distribution of some Kurdish newspapers, and radio and television broadcasts in Kurdish remained illegal. Although Kurdish music recordings were widely available, bans on certain songs and singers persisted. The Committee to Protect Journalists estimated at year's end that at least 18 journalists remain in prison. ... [Read More]

Department of State Washington File: Transcript: State Department Noon Briefing, April 16

MR. BOUCHER: I think -- from the United States' point of view, and this has been consistent for many years when these questions have been raised, we feel that it's important to raise the issues. And by putting them forward, by making countries face some scrutiny, even if there is no action, we can put forward the facts to the international community; we and others can make clear that countries that do violate human rights need to be held to account and held up to scrutiny; we and others who share these views can sometimes pass resolutions. But even if we don't, we can highlight these cases. We can make these countries face the music to some extent and raise these things there. So this Administration and others felt it was important for us to go there to make the case, to press as hard as we could, to lobby hard outside of the Commission, to try to get these resolutions, and to make countries that are violators of human rights face up to that fact through this process. ... [Read More]

State Department Terrorism Report: Europe, Eurasia Overview - US Department of State

A new group calling itself the Kurdistan Liberation Hawks (TAK) used pro-PKK/KADEK/Kongra-Gel media sources in Germany to claim responsibility for several attacks on civilian targets this year, including two Istanbul hotels, the governor of Van province, and a music festival in Mersin. Several civilians, including international tourists, were killed and dozens were wounded in these attacks. ... [Read More]

2004 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Germany

Distribution of the propaganda of proscribed organizations is illegal, as are statements inciting racial hatred, endorsing Nazism, and denying the Holocaust. The authorities sought to block what they considered dangerous material on the Internet. In March, police nationwide raided over 300 apartments to search for and seize rightwing extremist CDs and other banned music products. For example, there were a growing number of neo Nazi musical bands in Lower Saxony that called for violence or employed xenophobic or racist lyrics. As in other states, rightwing extremists planned the distribution of such CDs in Lower Saxon schools. The government of Lower Saxony deterred rightwing extremists from distributing these CDs by officially declaring it a criminal offense. In 2003, members of the Berlin neo Nazi band Landser were convicted of forming a criminal organization and sentenced to terms ranging from 3 years and 4 months in prison to 21 months' probation. ... [Read More]