A COUNTRY OF ILLEGAL VISITORS?
Tribuna, February 28, 2001, p. 1
The Russian Foreign Ministry started negotiations yesterday with the Foreign Ministry of Georgia. These talks are likely to be rather difficult.
The transition period for citizens of Georgia to remain in Russia legally expires tomorrow. According to official data, about 300,000 Georgians will stay on in Russia. The majority of them will do so illegally. The situation is not acceptable for either nation: Russia doesn’t need 300,000 illegal aliens, and Georgia has requested Russia to extend the term for which Georgians can remain in Russia legally.
ALIENS
Izvestia, February 28, 2001, p. 2
FROM THE CIS
The Foreign Ministry announced some considerable changes yesterday in the terms on which citizens of CIS countries can remain in Russia. From now on, those who still hold USSR passports from 1974 are considered people without citizenship.
So registration procedures have been established for CIS citizens, just like those for citizens of any other foreign countries. Since Russia has withdrawn from the 1992 agreement on visa-free travel within the CIS, all visitors will have to register their passports at the local police station within three days of arriving in Russia. Those who want to become permanent residents will receive the so-called “residence permit,” according to the head of the passport-visa department of the Foreign Ministry. They will have all the rights and obligations of Russian citizens, except for military service and work at high-security facilities.
According to the Foreign Ministry, last year 19,000 foreigners arrived in Russia from the CIS and other foreign countries.
EXTREMIST SENT HOME
Izvestia, February 28, 2001, p. 3
An Uzbekistan citizen using the alias of Yusup, an active member of the well-known international extremist group Muslim Brotherhood, has been extradited from Perm to Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
According to the Perm regional department of the Federal Security Service, Yusup was detained by the police in December in a joint operation with the Uzbekistan police force. However, the Perm officers decided to reveal this information only after the extremist was sent home.
Yusup was trained in guerrilla training camp in Saudi Arabia and used to be a leader of religious-extremist party Hizbut-Tahrir, which is a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. The guerrillas of Hizbut-Tahrir, which is banned worldwide, are fighting the Uzbekistan military.
The extremist was extradited in strict secrecy and with increased security measures.
MEDIA MINISTRY RESULTS FOR 2000
Rossiyskatya Gazeta, February 28, 2001, p. 2
The Media Ministry’s performance over the past year has been described as satisfactory. In 2000 the ministry spent 60.8 million rubles on restoring television and radio broadcasting in Chechnya. The fire at the Ostankino TV tower also demanded considerable expenses, as well as repayment of past debts of the ORT and RTR television networks.
