By empty (5/18/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Six Azerbaijani opposition parties -- AMIP, the reformist wing of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, Adalet, the Liberal Party of Azerbaijan, and the Progress and Civic Solidarity parties – have addressed a statement to Azerbaijan\'s parliament and law enforcement agencies calling for urgent measures to prevent the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) from operating from bases in Lachin. Lachin lies between the western border of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, and has been under Armenian control for the past decade. The opposition statement condemns the government\'s failure to take action against the PKK, whose presence on occupied Azerbaijani territory it terms a blow to the country\'s sovereignty and territorial integrity and a \"serious threat\" to the planned Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi Erzerum gas pipeline.

By empty (5/18/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Several thousand people participated in a sanctioned demonstration in Baku on 18 May convened by the opposition Azerbaijan National Independence Party (AMIP). Speakers denounced the Azerbaijani leadership for its failure to liberate the territories currently under Armenian control, or to conduct democratic elections and economic reform or reduce unemployment. They called on the population and other opposition forces to join forces and renew efforts to bring about the government\'s resignation.

By empty (5/19/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Russia\'s Foreign Ministry says it shares ambassadors\' concerns over a rise in attacks on foreigners and threats against embassies in Russia. But the ministry said Russians were also the victims of violent attacks, and such incidents should not be considered examples of racial intolerance. Ambassadors representing the diplomatic corps in Moscow met the Russian Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov, on Saturday to express their concerns.