WARSAW, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - Europe's top elections watchdog said Thursday it was still awaiting an invitation to monitor Russia's December parliamentary polls and that even if it gets the go ahead the delay could hamper its work.

'We haven't gotten any invite yet. We've received assurances from Russian representatives that an invitation will be forthcoming, but we haven't had one,' said Urdur Gunnarsdottir, spokeswoman for the elections division of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

CORDOBA, Spain, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - Europe's first major conference on intolerance against Muslims wrapped up in Spain Wednesday with participants stressing that media and education hold the key to solving the problem.

'Education is a fundamental instrument in the prevention and treatment of intolerance and discrimination against Muslims,' Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos told the two-day gathering organized by the OSCE in the southern city of Cordoba.

CORDOBA, Spain, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - Education is the key to fighting intolerance against Muslims, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said Wednesday, adding that no 'event or political question' could justify discrimination.

'Education is a fundamental instrument in the prevention and treatment of intolerance and discrimination against Muslims,' he said at the end of a two-day OSCE conference on the issue held in the southern city of Cordoba.

CORDOBA, Spain, Oct 9, 2007 (AFP) - Islamophobia gathered pace in the West with the end of the Cold War, long before the September 11, 2001 attacks against the US, participants at a two-day OSCE conference that began in Spain Tuesday said.

'After the end of the Cold War, certain people took Muslims and Islam to be the new scapegoat and enemy,' Mustapha Cherif, an expert on Islam at the University of Algiers, told AFP on the sidelines of the gathering.

WARSAW, Oct 9, 2007 (AFP) - The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said Tuesday that it would monitor television time given to Poland's ruling party ahead of an election on October 21 following opposition complaints.

The OSCE on Tuesday launched an election monitoring mission that was initially blocked by the Polish government of President Lech Kaczynski and his twin Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, which accused the organisation of treating Poland like a 'third world country.'

JAEN, Spain, Oct 8, 2007 (AFP) - Islamophobia is on the rise in Europe and governments should do more to protect the continent's 15 million Muslims from discrimination, experts meeting in Spain said Monday.

'The situation is very serious,' said Mustapha Cherif, an expert on Islam at the University of Algiers who is known for his commitment to battling religious hatred.

'Islamophobia is a rising phenomena,' added Jasser Auda of Britain's Forum Against Racism and Islamophobia, which is made up of representatives of the British Muslim community.

MADRID, Oct 7, 2007 (AFP) - A two-day international conference gets underway in Spain on Tuesday that seeks to analyse the intolerance and discrimination faced by Muslims in the West and discuss ways to fight it, organisers said.

'There is a lack of data regarding the phenomena. It is important to collect data to avoid overestimating or minimising Islamophobia,' said Gema Martin Munoz, the director of Arab House, a public body which works to strengthen ties between Spain and the Arab world.

VIENNA, Oct 4, 2007 (AFP) - Kazakhstan is unfit to chair the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in 2009 because of its poor human rights record, a Vienna-based rights group said on Thursday.

'The Kazakh authorities have not taken Kazakhstan's candidacy seriously, as evidenced by their unwillingness to demonstrate genuine commitment to the Helsinki human rights standards,' the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights said in a statement.

BRUSSELS, Oct 3, 2007 (AFP) - The European Commission on Wednesday urged Russia to allow observers from the OSCE, Europe's top elections watchdog, to monitor legislative polls in December.

'What we are looking for, is first that the parliamentary elections are held in an open atmosphere by all the political parties, and secondly that Russia invites the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) to monitor the elections,' said external relations spokeswoman Christiane Hohmann.

WARSAW, Oct 3, 2007 (AFP) - Poland said Wednesday it would allow monitors from Europe's top elections watchdog to observe legislative polls scheduled for later this month.

'On October 2, an invitation was sent to the OSCE to observe the parliamentary elections set for October 21, 2007,' the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Poland had earlier refused to allow observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), arguing that the country's democratic principles were firmly established and did not require outside monitoring.

KIEV, Oct 1, 2007 (AFP) - Ukraine's snap parliamentary election this weekend was 'open and competitive,' monitors from the international OSCE group said Monday.

The polls 'confirm an open and competitive environment for the conduct of election processes,' the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said in a preliminary report.

WARSAW, Sept 29, 2007 (AFP) - Poland's combative government is already considered a troublemaker in the European Union and is strengthening its toughnut reputation in battles with other international bodies.

While wrangling is common currency in the EU, the confrontational style of Poland's conservative government, tough-talking Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski and his twin President Lech Kaczynski, has also put it at odds with the more sedate Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

WARSAW, Sept 28, 2007 (AFP) - Russia stormed out of a conference of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe Friday to protest the participation of a Chechnya-focused campaign group, officials said.

The Russian delegation had earlier warned that it would 'take measures' if a representative of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society was given the floor at the OSCE meeting, according to participants.

WARSAW, Sept 28, 2007 (AFP) - Poland said Friday that it wanted Europe's top elections watchdog to reword a request to monitor the country's parliamentary polls next month, arguing that a previous version was unacceptable.

'We expect a change in the tone used to ask Poland to host an OSCE support mission for the elections,' Foreign Minister Anna Fotyga said after meeting with her Spanish counterpart Miguel Angel Moratinos, whose country is currently at the helm of the watchdog.

WARSAW, Sept 25, 2007 (AFP) - Poland is ready to reconsider its refusal to allow Europe's top elections watchdog to monitor next month's parliamentary polls, Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski said Tuesday.

'We are ready to re-examine the issue, provided we receive a properly formulated note,' Kaczynski told reporters.

WARSAW, Sept 25, 2007 (AFP) - Poland is ready to reconsider its refusal to allow Europe's top elections watchdog to monitor next month's parliamentary polls, Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski said Tuesday.

'We are ready to reexamine the issue, provided we receive a properly formulated note,' Kaczynski told reporters.

Poland said Friday it would not allow the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to monitor its October 21 elections, on the grounds that it already respects democratic principles.

COPENHAGEN, Sept 24, 2007 (AFP) - Europe's top elections watchdog condemned Monday Poland's 'unprecedented' snub in refusing to allow it to monitor next month's legislative elections and said it was still hoping for an invite.

'Poland's decision not to invite OSCE election observers to monitor its parliamentary elections on 21 October is unprecedented and runs contrary to the commitments signed by all the 56 OSCE participating states,' Goran Lennmarker, president of the OSCE parliamentary assembly, said in a statement.

WARSAW, Sept 24, 2007 (AFP) - The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) still hopes to be invited to monitor Polish elections next month, an official said Monday, as delegates gathered in Warsaw for the group's annual meeting.

'We still hope to receive an invitation in time for the Diet (parliamentary) elections in Poland, as well as for elections in Russia in December,' said the head of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Christian Strohal.

WARSAW, Sept 22, 2007 (AFP) - Poland will not be treated like a 'third world country' the government said Saturday, a day after refusing to allow Europe's top election watchdog to monitor next month's parliamentary polls.

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) 'is not behaving in a very correct manner,' said government spokesman Jan Dziedziczak.

'We cannot permit them to treat us like a third world country,' he told the private television channel TVN24.

WARSAW, Sept 21, 2007 (AFP) - Poland on Friday rejected monitors from Europe's top elections' watchdog for parliamentary polls next month after what it said was an unusual invitation from the Vienna-based body.

'We were surprised, we did not see why we should be treated differently to previous elections,' said foreign ministry spokesman Robert Szaniawski after the offer from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

WARSAW, Sept 21, 2007 (AFP) - Poland confirmed Friday that it would not be allowing observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe to monitor its parliamentary elections next month.

A spokesman for the foreign ministry, Robert Szaniawski, said the Vienna-based watchdog had taken the initiative in proposing observers for its October 21 election, while it was normally the countries themselves who asked for monitors to be sent.

'We were surprised, we did not see why we should be treated differently to previous elections,' he said.

VIENNA, Sept 21, 2007 (AFP) - Poland has rejected allowing observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to monitor its parliamentary elections next month, diplomats told AFP on Friday.

'The OSCE Secretariat has been informed by the Polish government that it would not welcome foreign observers to national parliamentary elections on the 21st of October,' a diplomat said on condition of anonymity.

The report was confirmed by diplomats close to the Vienna-based OSCE, Europe's top election watchdog.

ZAGREB, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) - The European security body OSCE should remain in Croatia to monitor war crimes cases although the government wants to see its mission closed soon, a European Parliament official said on Wednesday.

'International monitoring remains an essential part of meeting the legacy of the bloodshed of the last decade,' Richard Howitt, president of the European Parliament's human rights monitoring mission to Croatia, told journalists.

MADRID, Sept 14, 2007 (AFP) - Discrimination and intolerance towards Muslims will be the subject of an October 9-10 conference in the Spanish city of Cordoba under the aegis of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), organisers said Friday.

The meeting will investigate the 'roots of intolerance towards Muslims, the consequences and the role of the media,' a Spanish Foreign Ministry statement read.

Spain currently holds the presidency of the OSCE and Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos will chair the meeting.

HELSINKI, Sept 12, 2007 (AFP) - Europe's top elections watchdog Wednesday was tight-lipped on whether it will send monitors for Russia's parliamentary elections this year, saying this would depend on the yardsticks set by Moscow.

'I am not sure that there will be no invitation at all,' Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, secretary general of the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) told AFP.

'The main problem is whether the invitation that comes will conform to the expectations of certain member states,' he said.

TBILISI, Sept 4, 2007 (AFP) - Europe's leading security watchdog will present its findings Thursday on an alleged Russian missile strike on Georgian territory last month, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said.

Officials from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) are preparing a report on the incident following meetings in Georgia and Russia, said Moratinos, who holds the rotating OSCE chairmanship.

MOSCOW, Sept 1, 2007 (AFP) - The Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe will likely send a mission to monitor Russia's parliamentary vote in December, Russian election officials said Saturday.

'It is highly likely that the OSCE may send ... the evaluation mission that they usually send to European states with developed democracies to monitor Russian election activities,' news agency Interfax quoted central elections commission member Igor Borisov as saying.

BELGRADE, Aug 24, 2007 (AFP) - Europe's leading security organisation urged Serbia on Friday to take measures to protect its Roma minority, following a spate of recent attacks and insulting graffiti.

'Assaults on Roma, destruction of their homes and hate speech graffiti represent attacks on the integrity of the Roma and violate their basic human rights,' said Hans Ola Urstad, the head of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) mission in Serbia.

TBILISI, Aug 21, 2007 (AFP) - Russia dismissed claims that it dropped a missile on Georgia in a report to the OSCE Tuesday and dismissed international investigators as 'politically motivated' for backing the allegations.

'The position of the so-called group of independent experts... is surprising and looks more like a politically motivated statement,' said the report in reference to an international team which Georgia said supported its claims.

'It is not clear who was conducting the investigation, what methods were used and what the established facts are.'

ASTANA, Aug 19, 2007 (AFP) - Kazakhstan's parliamentary election was an improvement on previous votes but still failed to meet international standards, the western-led Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe said on Sunday.

'While the 2007 parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan reflected welcome progress, a number of international standards were not met,' the OSCE said in a statement that accompanied a news conference in the Kazakh capital.

MADRID, Aug 17, 2007 (AFP) - European security body OSCE appointed Friday a former Croatian foreign minister as a special envoy to probe an alleged Russian missile strike on Georgian territory earlier this month.

Miomir Zuzul was appointed by the chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, and will travel to Russia and Georgia next week, the Spanish foreign ministry said.

ALMATY, Aug 16, 2007 (AFP) - Kazakhstan has a three-letter answer to its numerous critics: oil.

Never mind the country's image problem ahead of Saturday's parliamentary elections -- the long history of vote-rigging allegations, suspicions of human rights abuses, or even last year's raucous, slapstick mockumentary about a Kazakh journalist 'Borat.'

Billions of dollars' worth of oil and gas lie under the ex-Soviet republic's steppe and off its Caspian Sea coast. And that, as President Nursultan Nazarbayev has discovered, wins a lot of friends.

VIENNA, Aug 9, 2007 (AFP) - European security body OSCE on Thursday demanded a halt to the investigation of 17 German journalists accused of printing confidential documents linked to counter-terrorism issues.

'I call on the German authorities to stop prosecuting the journalists and ensure that media professionals can continue informing the public of important matters without intimidation,' media liberties specialist Miklos Haraszti said in a statement issued from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's headquarters in Vienna.

TBILISI, Aug 9, 2007 (AFP) - Georgia released on Thursday what it said was an internal report by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) demonstrating that a plane that fired a missile into Georgian territory came from Russia.

The copy of the report -- which has not been released or publicly confirmed by the OSCE -- says that military observers saw 'one aircraft flying from north-east,' before turning around and flying back along the same route.

MADRID, Aug 8, 2007 (AFP) - The Organisation for Security and Cooperation on Wednesday called for 'all implicated parties' to cooperate with a probe into a missile strike Georgia claims was launched by Russia earlier this week.

The current chairman of the pan-European security watchdog, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, said in a statement posted on the OSCE website that 'a cooperative approach' was needed.

The OSCE statement urged 'an inclusive investigation' with 'participation of all implicated parties.'

MADRID, Aug 7, 2007 (AFP) - The head of European security body OSCE said Tuesday that he was concerned over a suspected aerial rocket strike against Georgia which the country blames on Russia.

'While I am happy that no one was hurt, I would like to express my deepest concern over the incident,' Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said in a statement.

VIENNA, July 27, 2007 (AFP) - The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said Friday it had appointed a special co-ordinator to oversee parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan next month.

Consiglio Di Nino, who is head of the Canadian delegation to the OSCE assembly, will lead a team of observers to Kazakhstan 'to observe polling in several regions of the country, including in both Astana and Almaty' during the August 18 vote, the Vienna-based organisation said in a statement.