Off the Wire

RUSSIAN WORRIES: Russian President Vladimir Putin told NATO Secretary General George Robertson during talks between NATO and Russian leaders on Feb. 20, that Moscow continued to view NATO's eastward expansion as a clear danger. "We have noticed your statement that the alliance does not view Russia as an adversary. We welcome this statement and appreciate it," the Associated Press quoted Putin as telling Robertson in a Kremlin meeting. "But the expansion of the defensive union to the borders of Russia cannot be explained by anything else than a threat," Putin said. Russia strongly objected to the first wave of NATO enlargement, when the alliance took in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic in 1999. Robertson said that "an open-door policy to NATO membership in no way threatens Russia, because we do not see Russia as an adversary but a partner in an increasingly integrated security architecture in Europe and in the Euro-Atlantic area."

USUAL SUSPECT: The U.S. Court of Appeals has upheld the deportation of a Lithuanian citizen who served in a Nazi-sponsored battalion blamed for the murder of 19,000 Jews during World War II. The court agreed Feb. 15 with a U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals decision a year ago to deport Juozas Naujalis, an 81-year-old retired Chicago-area machinist because of his service in the infamous 2nd security battalion. The Justice Department's office of special investigations, which hunts suspected Nazi collaborators in the United States, applauded the ruling. "This decision is a powerful reminder that, even as we begin a new century, individuals responsible for the most infamous crimes of the century just ended can, and must, be brought to justice," said Eli M. Rosenbaum, director of special investigations.

DON'T SHOOT: The opposition Center Party sent a press release to foreign embassies and offices of international organizations in Tallinn Feb. 20 complaining about bias in the media and the military's alleged involvement in politics. The statement, which comes in the wake of allegations that Prime Minister Mart Laar and his aides shot at a photograph of Center Party leader Edgar Savisaar during target practice at an army range two years ago, was signed on behalf of the Center Party by foreign relations secretary Toomas Alatalu. "This is unprecedented and reminds one a bit of Africa," member of the Parliament's foreign affairs committee Kristiina Ojuland from the ruling coalition's Reform Party said.

CRIME WAVE: The number of crimes recorded in Tallinn in January this year, 2,427, was 40.7 percent higher than the previous January when 1,725 crimes were registered in the capital, figures released by the municipal authorities on Feb. 20 show. Officials have called the trend worrying, especially taking into account that crime was on the decline in Tallinn during 2000. In the 12 months of 2000, crime in Tallinn was down 3.6 percent compared with 1999, while the number of cases solved by police increased 25.1 percent. The increase in crime in January was mostly due to a greater number of thefts, drug-related crimes, hooliganism and street crimes. Drug crimes were up a breathtaking 1,927 percent, with much of the rise attributed to legislative amendments which demand, for instance, that a second positive drug test be recorded as a crime.

MILES AHEAD: Former Lithuanian President Algirdas Brazauskas, who was elected to head the country's new Social Democratic Party last month, has seen an increase in his popularity. He has moved way ahead of his closest competitors in the country's popularity list. According to a poll published in the Lietuvos Rytas daily on Feb. 17, Brazauskas enjoys the trust of 31.4 percent of respondents, up by 2 percentage points from a similar poll carried out a month ago. The support of almost one-third of those polled puts Brazauskas far ahead of Liberal Party leader Prime Minister Rolandas Paksas, who is in second position with 15.8 percent popularity. Parliamentary Chairman Arturas Paulauskas, who also leads the Social Liberals, ranks third with the support of 14.4 percent of respondents. His popularity subsided by 0.3 percentage points since January. Fourth comes Christian Democratic Union leader Kazys Bobelis, and in fifth is Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus.

PEOPLE'S CHOICE: The leading party in Estonia's ruling coalition, the Pro Patria Union, is calling for holding a referendum on entry to the European Union before the signing of an accession agreement. MP Mart Nutt suggested at a Feb. 17 meeting of the party's policy-making council that June 28, 2002, the 10th anniversary of the referendum on the nation's constitution, should be the date of an EU referendum. Nutt, a member of the parliamentary constitutional committee, told BNS it would be right to find out people's opinion before signing the accession agreement. The Pro Patria Union has urged the parties represented in the Parliament to begin preparing for the referendum this fall, as it's a long process.

LOST LANDS: Lithuanian Deputy Interior Minister Ramunas Darulis from the center-left New Union (Social Liberals), who behaved inappropriately in a meeting with teachers, has received a warning but will remain in his post. His behavior in the company of teachers of the Salcininkai region, widely covered in the media, was "unacceptable and inappropriate," concluded a special meeting of his party. The deputy interior minister drew the wrath of conservatives after he met with the heads of private schools. The Salcininkai area has a large population of ethnic Poles and has been a hotbed of controversy since Lithuania began introducing educational reforms there after independence. Darulis is quoted as having said, "It is still a question whether these lands have ever been ethnic Lithuanian lands."