A12


EZ SU


KLMNO THE WORLD


Russia close to taking seat at economic table


With WTO membership at hand, Moscow turns to seeking investors


BY KATHY LALLY


moscow—After a century in the economic cold, Russia is close to coming inside, with encourage- ment and promises of help from an array of Americans, including President Obama, Arnold Schwarzenegger and intrigued venture capitalists. First comes membership in the


ISSOUF SANOGO/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE VIA GETTY IMAGES Niger beefed up its military presence after seven foreign nationals were taken hostage Sept. 15 in Arlit by al-Qaeda in the IslamicMaghreb. ‘Emir of the south’ appears on the rise Abdelhamid Abu Zeid looks poised to be next chief of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb


BY EDWARD CODY IN PARIS


F


ormany Europeans, Islamic terrorism has a new face: Abdelhamid Abu Zeid, the


“emir of the south.” Abu Zeid, also known as Abid


Hammadou, is a wiry Algerian with a black beard, going on 50, whocommandsoneof twosquads of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb active outside Algeria. The turbaned combatants,Algeri- ans and other North Africans al- lied with Osama bin Laden, have been marauding for nearly a de- cade in desolate Sahelian waste- lands along the borders of Mali, Niger,Mauritania andAlgeria. Because of their small numbers


— a few hundred — and their remoteness in sparsely inhabited fringesof theSahara, the far-flung combatantswere longregardedas a less potent threat than themain al-Qaeda units insideAlgeria, and far less worrisome than Pakistan- and Afghanistan-based militants more directly tied to bin Laden. Europe’s current terrorism alert, for instance, arose from intelli- gence onjihadis inPakistan. But with the capture of a num-


ber ofEuropean hostages over the past several years — and now a calculated effort to impose Abu Zeid’s brand name on terrorist activities in the Sahel — he has emerged in the public eye as a substantial threat inmineral-rich northwestern Africa and, in the assessmentof some experts,as the possible next chief of al-Qaeda in the IslamicMaghreb. “This guy is on the rise,” said


MathieuGuidere, aNorth African terrorismspecialist at theUniver- sityofGenevaandauthorof sever- al books onIslamic radicalism. Abu Zeid’s activities may have


his 100-manunit “lions of Islam.” Such gestures have separated


AL-ANDALUS VIA AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE VIA GETTY IMAGES


Abdelhamid Abu Zeid was identified in a video released two weeks ago to show the French government that the hostages were alive.


caught the attention of U.S. coun- terterrorismauthoritiesaswell. In recentdeclarations,hisgroupsaid U.S. personnel have been spotted on an Algerian military base at Tamanrasset,near theMalianbor- der hills where Abu Zeid is head- quartered, with the apparent as- signment of helping local govern- ments monitor al-Qaeda move- ments across the region. Guidere, who systematically


monitors al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb Internet traffic, said the United States has supplied elec- tronic intelligence on Abu Zeid to France to help track French hos- tages, with U.S. personnel either stationed at or passing through Tamanrasset apparently part of the operation. U.S. military and National Se-


curity Agency officials declined to comment on the reports. Com- menting more generally, Lt. Col. Tamara Parker, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said, “The coun- tries in North and West Africa have demonstrated important leadership in addressing terror- ism in the region and the United States supports theregion’sefforts to increase its long-termcounter-


terrorismcapacity.” Although anti-terrorism spe-


cialists have long followed his ca- reer, Abu Zeid caught the atten- tionofmostEuropeansonlyabout twoweeksago.Hewas theunsmil- ing figure, wearing a camouflage military vest, a white jelabiyah and a beige turban, who was squatting on his heels just to the left of five French hostages cap- tured Sept. 15 at a French-runura- niummine in northernNiger and displayedinavideotoprove tothe French government that they are still alive. The other combatants in Abu


Zeid’s squad posed for the camera by carefully wrapping their tur- bans toconceal their faces, leaving only slits for their eyes to look out. But Abu Zeid left his entire face exposed and stared straight into thelensinwhatwasinterpretedas a declaration of leadership and a gesture ofdefiance. Moreover,Guiderenoted, anal-


Qaeda operative in the Islamic Maghreb communique announc- ing the French hostages’ capture departed from tradition by nam- ingAbu Zeid as leader of the oper- ation, hailing himas a “sheik” and


Abu Zeid from his principal col- league,MokhtarBelmokhtar,who commands al-Qaeda in the Islam- ic Maghreb’s other main unit south of Algeria. Belmokhtar, an Algerian who lost an eye fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan, has been played down by European anti-terrorism specialists be- cause, they say, he is oftenfocused less on jihad than on raising cash by protecting cigarette and co- caine smuggling that has tradi- tionally flourishedinthe area. According to European coun-


terterrorismofficials,AbuZeidor- dered or carried out the execu- tions of a British hostage, Edwin Dyers, in2009andofa78-year-old French hostage, Michel Germa- neau, in July.Overall, he has been accused of involvement in the ab- ductionofmorethan20European hostages in the Sahel countries since 2008, many of them ran- somed formillions of dollars that fuel jihad. Germaneau’s executionwas an-


nouncedsoonafterFrenchspecial forces joined Mauritanian com- mandos in a raid on Abu Zeid’s combatants. President Nicolas Sarkozy decided on the attack partly on the basis of intelligence onthecamp’s locationgatheredby U.S. electronic monitoring, ac- cording to specialists inParis. Seven of Abu Zeid’s followers


were killed during the skirmish, according toMauritanian author- ities, and he swiftly pledged re- venge against Sarkozy. In that light, observers noted that seven hostages weretakenintheSept. 15 mine raidinArlit,Niger. codyej@washpost.com


Staffwriters EllenNakashima and CraigWhitlock contributed to this report.


DIGEST PAKISTAN


Spate of political violence paralyzes Karachi Streets, shopping malls and schools were shut Wednesday in


Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and financial hub, after the deaths of more than 60 people over the past several days in violence attributed to political rivalries. President Asif Ali Zardari summoned Interior Minister Rehman


Malik and other top officials to determine how to stem the attacks, which have terrified residents of the southern city of 18 million in the past week.Thoughofficials ruled out military action, theyweremulling a curfewin the most dangerous neighborhoods, according to televised reports. The outbreak of violence, which has included targeted killings apparently meant to intimidate entire communities, has been linked to a special election last Sunday to replace Raza Haider, a provincial assembly member from the Muttahida Quami Movement who was gunned down in August. Police have blamed rivalry between that party and the AwamiNational Party for the assassinations. Inaddition to political killings,Karachi has been plagued byongoing


violence pegged to tribal sectarian rivalries and to Islamist extremists operating in a city that is a key business hub and supply line forNATO’s war in Afghanistan. Before the latest attacks, there had already been more than 300 targeted killings in the city this year.


—David Nakamura INDONESIA


Protests, skirmishes mark anniversary Violent protests flared in sever-


al Indonesian cities Wednesday on the first anniversary of the start of President Susilo Bam- bang Yudhoyono’s second term. Cars were overturned and


some protesters threwstones and scuffled with security forces, who deployed tear gas. The violence


followed growing frustration withwhat critics callYudhoyono’s slow progress in fighting corrup- tion and pushing badly needed reforms since winning reelection in a landslide last year. —Financial Times


CHINA


Tibetan students rally for language Tibetan students in western


China marched to protest uncon- firmed plans to use the Chinese language exclusively in classes, teachers said Wednesday, an un- usually bold challenge to authori- ties that reflects unease over the marginalization of Tibetan cul- ture.


About 300 students went from


school to school Tuesday in the town of Tongren inQinghai prov- ince, a teacher said. Free Tibet and U.S.-funded broadcaster Ra- dio Free Asia put the number of marchers at 1,000 to 7,000. —Associated Press


Iran confirms trial for U.S. hik- ers: Iran’s intelligence minister confirmed that two U.S. citizens detained formorethan a year will face trial, the ISNA news agency said. “We will hand any evidence we have to the judiciary,” Intelli- gence Minister Heidar Moslehi wasquoted as saying. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday that she had heard Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal would be tried startingNov. 6.


Typhoon Megi bears down on China: Residents stockpiled food and ships were ordered to dock as southern China braced for a ty- phoon that killed at least 20 peo- ple when it lashed the northern Philippines this week with winds of up to 140 miles per hour. In Vietnam, flooding from a differ-


World Trade Organization, which has been under negotiation for 17 years. Russia is expected to join the global economic club within a matter of months after resolving lingering economic issues with the United States, high among them clamping down on piracy and enforcing intellectual prop- erty rights. And now Russia, which has


often been interested in foreign cash unaccompanied by foreign ownership, is courting investors. Last week, California’s Gov. Schwarzenegger tweeted his way through a Moscow visit — “Just landed in Moscow. Beautiful day. Can’t wait to see PresMedvedev” — with a bevy of venture capital- ists in tow who wanted to look over the landscape. This week brought still more


executives, this time from Alcoa, Procter & Gamble and Ernst & Young, who listened to a speech by PrimeMinisterVladimir Putin and then talked to officials from his government about the oppor- tunities — and impediments — they sawin investing here. What kind of economic world


will be created if Russia joins the WTO and opens up more to in- vestment remains to be seen.This is still a country notorious for corruption—a 2009 Transparen- cy International report said 31 percent of those surveyed report- ed having paid a bribe in the last year,andpublic officials are wide- ly distrusted. ButPresidentObamaandPres-


ident Dmitry Medvedev made WTO membership a priority dur- ing a White House meeting in June, setting a Sept. 30 deadline to resolve certain disagreements between the two countries, and they met the deadline. WTO membership would give Russia a voice in setting global economic policy in return for agreeing to submit to world trade rules and regulations. And the Obama administra-


tion, after declaring its diplomat- ic “reset” with Russia successful — citing agreements on Afghani- stan, arms control and coopera- tion on Iran — is turning its attention to developing a deeper economic relationship. “The potential of this market


for American business is very great,” Lawrence H. Summers, Obama’s top economic adviser, said at a press briefing here


Wednesday, “and it’s important for the goal President Obama has set for doubling exports over the next five years.” Medvedev,whohadtoured Sili-


con Valley before meeting with Obama in June, asked for U.S. help in creating a Russian ver- sion. Schwarzenegger (R) an- swered that call by bringing a delegation of Google, Oracle, Tri- dent Capital and more to meet with Medvedev at Skolkovo, a new graduate business school near Moscow that Russia hopes will nurture its Silicon Valley. The venture capitalists sug-


gested that Russia follow China’s example: set rules, get things up and running and then get out of theway, allowing venture capital- ists to support the entrepreneurs they deemed promising. JohnT.ConnorJr., founderand


portfolio manager of the Third Millennium Russia Fund, who accompanied the delegation, said many of the executives were im- pressed.They liked the 13 percent flat tax on personal income. “Oh boy, these guys get it,”wastheway they put it, Connor said. Thus far, Russia’s journey to-


ward deeper economic ties with the rest of the world has been unpredictable. When Putin first became president a decade ago, he was very interested in the WTO, according to Dmitri V. Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, but as he grew cynical about the West, he changed his mind and thought Russia was better off going it alone, buoyed by its oil and gas revenue. “Theeconomiccrisismadehim


change his mind again,” Trenin said. “He realized thatRussia was very much a part of the global economy and needed to be at the table when decisions were made.” Now, with Medvedev pledging


to modernize Russia, there’s a desire to develop an economy that goes beyond exporting raw materials and importing finished goods,andthatmeansjoining the economic club. Trenin said membership will


be a good thing, even though farmers are worried about a cut in agricultural subsidies — part of theWTO agreement. “Russia will be integrated into the global sys- tem of rules and norms,” he said. “Eventually, that will help in es- tablishing rule of law.” Complications still lie ahead.


The European Union has con- cerns over timber export duties. Georgia, which lost territory in a war with Russia in 2008, could put up obstacles. The United States would have to repeal the Cold War-era Jackson-Vanik amendment, which imposed trade penalties on Russia for pre- venting the emigration of Soviet Jews. “A process like this is not fin-


ished until it’s finished,” said Summers, who was optimistic nonetheless. “I can now say the end is in sight.”


lallyk@washpost.com


THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2010


BEAWIHARTA/REUTERS


Protesters try to remove barbed wire during a rally in front of Indonesia’s presidential palace in Jakarta. ics in the run-up to the vote.


ent weather system has killed at least 45 people in the past week.


China denies planning to slash metal exports: Beijing officials denied a report in theChina Daily newspaper Tuesday that the gov- ernment plans to cut export quo- tas of rare earth metals by 30 percent next year, seeking to ease international fears caused byChi-


na’s strangleholdonsupplies.The metals are used to make parts for vehicles, computers, cellphones, missiles and energy technology.


Egypt sets date for vote: Presi- dent Hosni Mubarak set Nov. 28 as the date for Egypt’s parliamen- tary elections. Authorities have launched a crackdown on the news media and government crit-


Saudi prince sentenced: A Brit- ish court sentenced Prince Saud Abdulaziz binNasser al-Saud, 34, to a life term without the possibil- ity of parole for 20 years for beating and strangling one of his servants at a London hotel in February.


—From news services


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78