Tajikistan Russia cooperate in several spheres
The 10th session of the Tajik-Russian intergovernmental commission for economic cooperation co-chaired by Tajik Prime Minister Oqil Oqilov and Russias Minister of Energy Sergey Shmatko was recently held in Dushanbe Asia-Plus learnt from the source at the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade MEDT . Participation of Russian capital in...

Turkmenistan considers issues of reforming UN
Addressing the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York Turkmenistans President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said that the current state of global realities the nature and trends of political economic and social processes require objectively a more closer coordinated cooperation between states and major international organizations around the...

Pakistani goods in great demand in Kyrgyzstan
Speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce Industry Kyrgyz Ambassador to Pakistan Bektur Asanov said that Pakistani garments sports goods furniture rice cutlery pharmaceutical products and surgical instruments are in great demand in Kyrgyz Republic so he called on the Pakistani entrepreneurs to tap the opportunities in these sectors Irinnews.org...

Dushanbe-Khujand-Chanak highway complete in Nov
 Rustam Abdulloyev the deputy director of the project implementation unit PIU recently announced that first phase of the Dushanbe-Khujand-Chanak rehabilitation project is expected to be finished in early November Asia-Plus rpeorted. The total cost of the project is 295.9 million Euro including 281.1 million Euro provided by the Chinese government...

Bids to transform into Costa del Sol on the Caspian
Under late era of Saparmurat Niyazov the self-styled Turkmenbashi or Father of the Turkmen who ran the worlds most repressive regimes Turkmenistan was solely closed to foreigners. However his successor President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has passed decree which envisage that the country should become at tourist magnet Turkmenistan.ru reported. The former...

Economic model offered as example to world
Azerbaijani Vice Prime Minister Abid Sharifov recently stated that the government is strong enough to offer a new model of economic development to the world which will be built on the basis of global prognoses and programs experience of countries with free economics Trend news agency reported. The new model...

Azerbaijani FM to visit Qatar
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov is scheduled to pay a visit to Qatar on 23-24 November Qatars embassy to Azerbaijan told Trend News. He will meet Qatars Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani and Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani. Both sides will discuss cooperation between Azerbaijan...

Toshiba inks metal deal in Kazakhstan
Japanese firm Toshiba recently signed a letter of intent with Kazatomprom the national uranium company of Kazakhstan to create a joint venture in rare metals such as beryllium and tantalum and rare earth elements such as dysprosium and neodymium alongside uranium mining Gazeta.kz reported. A Japanese government official said that...

Uzbekistan India to expand ties
President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov recently received Indian Foreign Minister Somanahalli Krishna in Tashkent. During the talks the head of Uzbekistan said that the relations between the two states were developing successfully Uzbekreport.com reported. They are based on historical cultural and spiritual closeness of the people of the two countries....

Georgia may join NATO without MAP
Georgian State Minster on Reintegration Issues Temur Iakobashvili recently announced in Tbilisi that Georgia can become a member of NATO without obtaining a Membership Action Plan MAP The Messenger reported. We have a mirror mechanism for the process of NATO integration an annual programme of actions which leads us towards...

Saakashvili sees turning point for economy
Speaking at an outdoor ceremony of opening a new terminal in port of Poti Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said on October 24 that despite war the present global financial crisis and deepening unemployment problem in recent months now it is a turning point for Georgias economy Civil Georgia reported. He...

Government committed to reforms
The Armenian government is committed to implementing the kind of reforms which according to Western donors are crucial for Armenias sustainable economic development. This statement made by Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian through an aide Aram Ananian was in response to the warning issued by the World Banks managing director Ngozi...

Brown determined to provide security for Afghan poll
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown pledged on 21 October that British troops would continue to provide security for the second ballot run-off in Afghanistans disputed presidential election. Speaking in parliament Brown said he was determined to ensure that security would be maintained in the interest of helping the infant Afghan...

Warrant issued for Turkish mogul in France
An Istanbul court has issued an arrest warrant for Cem Uzan an industrialist and former media magnate who is currently seeking asylum in France. It became the second arrest warrant issued for Uzan who is suspected of embezzlement and of violating banking laws. Uzan is the former owner of the...

Germany warns of dangerous pesticides in Turkish pears
The agriculture ministry in the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg warned on 19 October against eating Turkish pears after tracing dangerously high levels of insecticide. The problem affected Turkish pears across Germany the Stuttgart- based ministry said adding that they had passed on the alert to a Europe-wide warning system. The...

Investment fund industry grows significantly
Delivering the opening speech at the Funds World Turkey 2009 conference Gulsevin Yilmaz CEO of Yapi Kredi Asset Management said the investment fund market in Turkey has grown significantly but is still well below the world average in terms of its ratio to the gross domestic product GDP . She...

Budget 2010 drafted without reference to IMF deal
Turkeys budget 2010 which focuses on overcoming the crisis was submitted to Parliament for approval and includes no specific reference to a potential stand-by deal with the International Monetary Fund IMF . Outlining the details of the new budget Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said that Turkey had prepared its...

Reforms planned for agriculture sector
The government of Tajikistan will soon adopt a long-term strategy to develop the agriculture sector which is considered as a central part of the countrys economy Asia-Plus reported. The plan will tackle issue land reform and land registration as well as the problems besetting the deeply indebted cotton sector. While...

China Kyrgyzstan pledge to bolster relations
Only businessmen know how to boost trade and industrial interaction between the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Igor Chudinov said at the meeting of the SCO Council of heads of government in Beijing Irinnews.org reported. Chudinov was the first Kyrgyz Prime Minister to visit China in...

Tajikistan China expand cooperation
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met with visiting Tajikistani Prime Minister Akil Akilov who came to China to attend the eighth prime ministers meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization SCO member states Asia-Plus reported. In the course of talks both sides pledged to expand bilateral ties. Wen said the economic and...

UNWTO secretary general to visit March 2010
Lochin Fayzulloyev the deputy head of the Committee for Youth Sports and Tourism Affairs recently announced that The World Tourism Organization UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai is expected to pay visit to Tajikistan in March 2010. Rifai made the statement during the 18th session of the UNWTO General Assembly that...

Kazakhmys to sell 25% stake in Kazakh power plant
Kazakhmys the Kazakh mining giant announced that it is selling a 25% stake in its Ekibastuz power plant the biggest power plant in Kazakhstan to the countrys state welfare and sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna for €339 million in cash Gazeta.kz reported. Samruk-Kazynas acquisition of the stake in the plant further...

Cotton market stronghold maintained
The cotton industry in Uzbekistan underwent radical changes during the years of independence. The quality of cotton fiber has increased thanks to the successive reforms undertaken to develop new technologies of cultivation reads a press release. Wide introduction of the principles and mechanisms of market economy has been steadily increasing...

IMF mission concludes visit at Uzbekistan
A mission of Executive Directors of the International Monetary Fund IMF recently concluded its visit to Uzbekistan. The mission comprised of Meg Lundsager Messrs. Age Bakker Ambroise Fayolle HE Jianxiong Thomas Moser and Klaus D. Stein. The mission is grateful for the opportunity to visit the country and thank the...

Uzbekistan hosts international industrial fair on 20-24 Oct
The Uzexpocentre in Tashkent recently played a host to the International industrial fair and Cooperation exchange on 20-24 October. The aim of the event is to strengthen the cooperation between and within the industrial sectors which will lead to increasing the production of the import-substituting and competitive products and growth...

China Kazakhstan to increase energy infrastructure cooperation
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Kazakh counterpart Karim Masimov met in Beijing and both sides pledged to strengthen cooperation in energy and infrastructure. In the course of talks Wen said China-Kazakhstan relations had been seen great achievements and the two countries enriched strategic cooperation in the past 17 years Gazeta.kz...

Energy tourism drum to Cuban beat
Cuban ambassador to Azerbaijan Marcello Caballero recently stated that Azerbaijan-Cuba relations have been strengthened in recent years Trend news agency reported. He said that since establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries in 1992 relations between the two countries has dynamically developed. He said Azerbaijan and Cuba were planning...

PM slams Transport Communications ministry
Speaking at a weekly cabinet session Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian recently slammed Transport and Communications Minister Gurgen Sargsian publicly for misuse of government funds earmarked for the reconstruction of rural roads across the country Armenia Liberty.org reported. The Premier also accused the ministry of inflating the cost of ongoing...

Chinese businesses boom in Georgia despite crisis
A few years back Georgia witnessed a boom of Chinese retail networks but this year many small sized importers became bankrupt mainly due to the global financial crisis. This statement was made by Chen Runyun Counsellor of Economic and Commercial Counsellors Office of the Embassy of the Peoples Republic of...

ADB agrees on 2nd tranche of water MFF
This January Baku-based Asian Development Bank ADB resident office had already reported its intentions to agree on the second tranche of the Multi-Tranche Financing Facility MFF on Water Supply Sanitation Improvement Programme Trend news agency reported. ADB is not waiting for the signing and commencement of the agreement on the...

EU Oks anti-crisis Aid to Armenia Georgia
The European Commission recently announced loans of € 100 million to Armenia and € 46 million to Georgia to tackle the impact of the financial crisis. This will be conditional on adherence to the existing adjustment programmes between the 2 countries and the International Monetary Fund Armenia Liberty.org reported. The...

US Assistant Secretary of Defense visits Tbilisi
Alexander Vershbow the U.S. assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs paid a visit to Tbilisi later on 19 October to discuss security issues with the Georgian authorities in frames of the US-Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership. The agenda includes discussions on democracy security and economic development the US...

Government endorses draft budget for 2010
AT A recent government session chaired by Tajik President Emomali Rahmon the government endorsed the draft budget for 2010. Around 50 issues were considered at the session of which the draft law on the national budget for 2010 was a major topic. The draft national budget for 2010 attaches prime...

International Investment Forum begins on 15 October
TURKMENISTAN Chamber of Commerce and Industry and IC Energy will hold the Turkmenistan International Investment Forum in the Exhibition Palace Sergi Koshgi in Ashgabat. The event is scheduled to be held from October 15-17 Turkmenistan.ru reported. The three-day event will cover areas of investment opportunities in the following sectors: oil...

New financing for Kyrgyz microentrepreneurs
THE European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EBRD recently announced a new local currency credit line worth one million Kyrgyz som for micro and small enterprises MSEs . The move will boost the availability of finance to private businesses in Kyrgyz Republic. The EBRD is providing the loan to Mol...

Rixos to invest in Avaza freetrade zone
TURKISH businessman Fettah Tamince the chairman of luxury hotel chain Rixos was warmly welcomed by Turkmenistans President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov In the course of talks Tamince informed the president of his companys investment projects in Turkmenistan. The company intends to actively engage in the construction of modern resort infrastructure in the...

Afghanistan border top priority for new Ambassador
NEW Ambassador of the United States to Tajikistan Kenneth E. Gross recently presented his credentials to Tajik President Emomali Rahmon. After talks with the president Gross outlined the priorities of his activities as the chief of the US diplomatic mission in Tajikistan. These will include issues related to security such...

Plans made for development fund
KYRGYZSTANs Development Fund plays a vital role in the governments ambitions to buttress the economy and stimulate priority sectors. The appointment of a fund manager - MGN Asset Management and the allocation of €285 million in capital will make the project more effective Irinnews.org reported. In addition to the initial...

Russian diaspora living in harmony
ACCORDING to the Statistics Agency of Kazakhstan as of 2008 year-end there were around 3.9 million Kazakhstanis of Russian origin which constitutes 25.5% of the total population of Kazakhstan. And overwhelming majority of representatives of the Russian ethnic group follow Russian Orthodoxy which is the second-largest denomination in Kazakhstan after...

OmaniUzbek forum explores trade avenues
THE Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry OCCI recently organized the Oman-Uzbekistan Forum to develop trade co-operation between the Sultanate and Uzbekistan. The forum was held under the auspices of Khalil bin Abdullah Al Khonji chairman of OCCI in the presence of Elyor Ganiyev the Uzbek minister of foreign economic...

UzbekBrazil business forum in Tashkent 
ENTREPRENEURS from Uzbekistan and Brazil recently participated in a forum in Tashkent organized by the Ministry of foreign economic relations investments and trade of Uzbekistan and the Ministry of development industry and foreign trade of Brazil. The forum was chaired by Uzbekistan Vice Foreign Trade Minister Akmal Kamalov and Brazilian...

Cabinet approves 2010 budget 
UZBEKISTANS ministerial cabinet approved the forecast of the main macroeconomic parameters the concept of the tax and budget policy and the draft state budget for 2010 on 2 October. The forecast envisages the preservation of the high growth rates in GDP and the volumes of industrial production including consumer-goods production...

Kazakhstans Islamic finance market starts to grow 
SEVERAL local and international Islamic institutions have been established in the country since the adoption of Kazakhstans law on Islamic finance and banking which took place eighth months ago. The new law is part of Kazakhstans efforts to develop its financial infrastructure and establish Almaty as a regional financial centre....

Azerbaijan reaches out to Russia
TRADE representative of Russia in Azerbaijan Yuri Shedrin recently attended a meeting of Azerbaijan-Russia Chamber of Business Cooperation. At the meeting Shedrin said that Russia still remains one of the major trade partners of Azerbaijan and exports to Azerbaijan occupies a leading position with a percentage of 17.5% percent. Shedrin added...

IMF and World Bank see positives in TurkishArmenian Border opening
ON THE sidelines of the ongoing International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Istanbul senior officials from the two multilateral lending institutions welcomed the economic implications of the unprecedented softening of Turkish-Armenian relations which will result in the signing of key fence-mending agreements between Ankara and Yerevan Armenia Liberty.org...

Asian Bank to fund road projects in Armenia and Georgia
THE Asian Development Bank ADB recently approved €1 billion in loans that will help to upgrade most of Armenias main highways and facilitate the landlocked countrys commercial access to Georgias Black Sea coast Armenia Liberty.org reported. One of the loans worth €500 million will be channeled to Georgia to support...

EBRD to launch preparation of new strategy on Azerbaijan
THE European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EBRD has started reconsidering the strategy on operations in Azerbaijan. According to Francis Delay a representative of the bank in the country the preparation of new strategy on the country for Azerbaijan will begin officially by the end of 2009. The board of...

Foreign investments decline in Georgia
LEADING analysts agree that the Russian military aggression against Georgia has tarnished Georgias image and increased the risks The Messenger reported adding that investors now think twice before investing in Georgia. Finance Minister Kakha Baindurashvili has stated that the major task of the government this year is to ensure that...

President calls for development of renewable energy resources
TAJIKISTAN President Emomali Rahmon recently attended the UN Climate Change Summit in New York. He said that the current scenario around the globe is changing due to the financial and economic crisis. It does not merely undermine our efforts and capacity to achieve the MDGs but makes us face new...

Disarmament is key says Turkmen president
TURKMENISTAN President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov recently attended the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. During his stay in the US Berdimuhamedov had a series of bilateral meetings and negotiations with the leaders of foreign countries as well as with representatives of the world business community Turkmenistan.ru...

Caspian News - New Europe News
Caspian News - New Europe News: The European News Source.

 

CrisisWatch N°75, 1 November 2009

Three actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated and four improved in October 2009, according to CrisisWatch. In Pakistan a military operation against the Taliban in South Waziristan triggered a brutal escalation in militant attacks. Over 150 were killed in Iraq by several explosions that hit government buildings in Baghdad, while parliamentarians failed to reach agreement on a crucial electoral law. In Zimbabwe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai disengaged from the unity government. The situation improved in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, Honduras, Armenia/Turkey and Mali. CrisisWatch again identifies a conflict resolution opportunity between Armenia and Turkey for November, and a conflict risk alert for Afghanistan.

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"Soccer diplomacy - lessons for Armenia and Azerbaijan", Sabine Freizer in Today's Zaman
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Nagorno-Karabakh: Getting to a Breakthrough

Armenia and Azerbaijan should endorse a document on basic principles to end stalemate on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by the end of the year, or they will face an eventual return to full-scale hostilities. The International Crisis Group’s latest policy briefing examines the two-decades-old conflict and concludes there is reason for optimism that the political stalemate can be broken in today’s more supportive regional environment. However, it also warns that both governments and the international community must step up their efforts, as the status quo is increasingly untenable.

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CrisisWatch N°74, 1 October 2009
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Crisis Group - Caucasus
The International Crisis Group (Crisis Group) is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisation committed to preventing and resolving deadly conflict.

 

Azerbaijan: Judge Rules Youth Activists Can't Access Cell Phone Records
BY JESSICA POWLEY HAYDEN The high-profile prosecution of two Azerbaijani youth activists and bloggers continued on November 6, marking the beginning of the third month of proceedings. In addition to testimony from the alleged victims, cell phone records from the investigatory file were introduced into evidence. Citing privacy concerns, the judge, however, refused to grant the defense access to the alleged victims’ records.

Central Asia: Swine Flu Fears Helping to Keep Potential Hajj Pilgrims Home
BY ALISHER KHAMIDOV Concerns about the spread of swine flu are creating an additional hurdle for Central Asian believers hoping to make the Hajj, or the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. Some believers in the region say that Central Asian governments do more to frustrate than facilitate the Hajj, which is a moral obligation for every Muslim to undertake at least once in his or her lifetime.

Mongolia: Shamanism is Making a Comeback
BY JOSHUA KUCERA When Degi, a 24-year-old web designer in Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar, hit a pedestrian in July 2008 with his Daewoo sedan, his luck took a turn for the worse. His company didn’t get a contract he was hoping for, and misfortune seemed to hover over his personal life. The family of the victim extorted money from him, threatening to sue and warning him that they had connections in the courts. So Degi, like many Mongolians, took his troubles to a shaman.

Tajikistan: Business Climate Improving, But Corruption Remains an Obstacle to
BY DAVID TRILLING Not so long ago, entrepreneurs opening businesses in Tajikistan would routinely complain of visits by government inspectors from myriad state agencies, each with a discerning eye for anything amiss and a voracious appetite for somoni, the local currency. An official would enter the premises and notice the fire extinguisher, for example, was fastened too high or too low on the wall. Another would say some document hadn’t been stamped in the right place. Unless the appropriate bribe was proffered, the business would be closed for an investigation, or registration withheld.

Turkey: Ankara Pressing Ahead with Diplomatic Make-Over
BY YIGAL SCHLEIFER Autumn has been a busy -- if not dizzying -- period for Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. Turkey is attempting a drastic diplomatic make-over, one that would transform Ankara into a regional power broker.

Mongolia: Ethnic Kazakhs Eye Land of Opportunity to the West
BY JOANNA LILLIS There was a festive mood in a village in Mongolia’s Khovd District recently as family and friends gathered to celebrate the birth of a baby into an ethnic Kazakh family. A new arrival is always cause for celebration in a Kazakh household, marked with a succession of events from the "cradle party" soon after the birth to the "string cutting" ceremony to snip a symbolic string when the child starts walking.

Playing the Slots: Georgia’s Hidden Addiction?
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY PAUL RIMPLE AND SOPHIA MIZANTE Amid a Tbilisi slot-parlor boom, experts believe that problem gambling is on the rise in Georgia. The gaming industry may be pouring millions each year into state coffers, but the social costs of gambling are going unmeasured.

Tajikistan: Cotton Harvest Relies Heavily on Child Labor
When it comes to the use of child labor to help bring in Tajikistan’s cotton crop, the government’s heart may be in the right place. Officials in Dushanbe have tried to prohibit the practice. But practical circumstances in the impoverished Central Asian nation mean that children are still found out in the fields during the harvest season.

Eurasian Energy: Circumstances Pushing Iran and Pakistan to Link Up
A EURASIANET COMMENTARY BY STEPHEN BLANK For most of 2009, a pipeline deal involving Iran, Pakistan and India, has been stalled. But recent indicators suggest that a new version of the pipeline could get moving again.

Georgia: Free-Speech Debate Swirls in Tbilisi over Patriarch Parody
BY MOLLY CORSO The Georgian government is conducting an investigation into a series of video clips posted on Facebook that insult the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Ilia II. The clips are fueling a debate about the boundaries of freedom of expression in Georgia.

Afghanistan: Karzai Declared President, But Is Abdullah the Real Winner?
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR In Afghanistan, the loser of the presidential election may end up the winner, and the victor may be the one who reflects on the result as a severe political setback.

Turkmenistan: Is Berdymukhamedov Spinning a Web Fantasy?
In the hands of the Turkmen people, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov’s regime tends to view the Internet as a dangerous implement. Yet, kept under proper supervision, Berdymukhamedov evidently feels the web can make the Turkmen government more efficient.

Georgia: Luxury Hotel Goes Up on Stalin-Era Secret Prison Site
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY MOLLY CORSO Secret prison cells from the Stalin era have been discovered on a Tbilisi construction site for a $90-million luxury hotel for the international Kempinski Hotel chain. The cells, located in the city’s former Institute of Marxism and Leninism, are believed to be the first of their kind to be found in Georgia since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Kazakhstan: US Diplomats Rap Astana’s Democratization Performance
As Kazakhstan prepares to assume the chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, US diplomats are exerting pressure on Astana to enact promised reforms.

Turkey: Kurdish Peace Initiative Builds Momentum
BY NICHOLAS BIRCH Turkey’s government is vowing to push forward with an initiative aimed at ending a 25-year Kurdish war. Changing geopolitical circumstances are helping to make Kurdish militants more open to a lasting peace deal.

Kazakhstan: A Showpiece of Energy Wealth Rises in the Western Desert
BY JOANNA LILLIS AND DAVID TRILLING Kazakhstan’s port city of Aktau on the Caspian Sea has had some ups and downs in its short history. Founded just half a century ago, it thrived as a center of the Soviet uranium and chemical industries but then plunged into decline amid the economic chaos that accompanied the collapse of Communism. The last decade has seen Aktau reinvent itself as an oil town, and it now figures prominently in President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s ambitious development strategy.

Kyrgyzstan: Government Shakeup Highlighting Regional Rifts
BY ALISHER KHAMIDOV Kyrgyzstan’s regional rivalries are deepening, as various elite groups, especially those with their power bases in northern Kyrgyzstan, are growing discontent with recent personnel and organizational decisions made by President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s administration.

Turkmenistan: Ashgabat Set to Silence Civic Activist
BY DEIRDRE TYNAN Human rights groups are calling for top-level Western and Russian diplomatic intervention to halt the politically motivated prosecution of an environmental activist in Turkmenistan. Political and economic considerations make it unlikely that such outreach will be forthcoming, however.

Afghanistan: Kabul Fortunetellers Find Niche amid Ongoing Turmoil
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY ELISSA BOGOS Through centuries of conflict, fortunetellers have been a steady source of consolation for Afghans. Some date their practice to the time of Alexander the Great, whose army sought out soothsayers during its conquest of the region. Today, falbins, as they are known, operate in Kabul out of small shops, shacks or on street corners outside mosques and shrines. Their popularity is persisting, despite the occasional police sweep and criticism from mullahs, who believe their practices to be un-Islamic.

Afghanistan: International Community Quiet as Independent Election Commission Flouts Law
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR Although Afghanistan’s key political players have acknowledged the need for a second round of presidential voting, a crisis of legitimacy continues to grip the electoral process, with the Independent Election Commission (IEC) disregarding some decisions issued by the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC).

Mongolia: Global Warming Hits Mongolia’s Nomads Hard
BY JOSHUA KUCERA Global warming is having a harsh effect on Mongolia’s nomadic herders, who comprise about 40 percent of the country’s overall 3 million inhabitants. Since 1940, the mean air temperature in the country has increased 1.6 degrees Celsius. Heat waves are longer, and rain patterns have shifted. The Gobi Desert, in the south of the country, is creeping northward.

Georgia: Are Guantanamo Bay Prisoners Heading for Tbilisi?
BY MOLLY CORSO A senior Georgian official tells EurasiaNet that Tbilisi and Washington are discussing the possibility of Georgia accepting suspected terrorists currently being held at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay on the island of Cuba.

Book Review: Tracing the History of Russian Involvement in the Caucasus
BY ALEX VAN OSS Bruce Grant’s intriguing new book, The Captive and the Gift, causes readers to reflect not only on Russia’s two centuries of military involvement in the Caucasus, but also upon the United States’ involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Kyrgyzstan: US Military Tries to Boost Local Participation in Defense Contracting Process
BY DEIRDRE TYNAN Kyrgyz firms are being invited to take advantage of commercial opportunities connected with the presence of an American transit center outside Bishkek. From the American military perspective, it’s a win-win situation if Kyrgyz companies get more involved in the procurement process: the Defense Department generates local goodwill that can improve the operation of the Northern Distribution Network, while the local economy stands to receive a financial boost.

Turkey: The Internet Helps Some Rural Men Practice Polygamy
BY YIGAL SCHLEIFER To get a sense of how modern technology can be put to use in the service of ancient tradition, one might want to consider a visit to the Yildirim internet cafe in Gokce, a small, poor and dusty village near Turkey’s southern border with Syria.

Georgia: Tbilisi Tries to Improve Prison Conditions
BY MOLLY CORSO Human rights advocates have long assailed Georgia for the squalid conditions of its prisons. Reforms implemented in early 2009 have produced few tangible improvements inside prisons, activists say. Officials insist, however, that the overhaul of the prison system is moving forward ahead of schedule.

Kyrgyzstan: Ethnic Minority Expands Ties to South Korea
BY EVAN SPARLING Sasha, a 17 year-old ethnic Korean student in Bishkek, only knows one word in Korean: hello. She has lived all her life in the former Soviet Union, speaks Russian, and physically resembles a Kyrgyz so much that few can guess her true ethnicity. She does not even know when, exactly, her relatives migrated to the Soviet Union. But none of this stops her from emphatically declaring, "Of course I am proud to be Korean."

Uzbekistan: European Union Looks Likely to Lift Arms Embargo
BY DEIRDRE TYNAN The European Union appears poised to lift its four-year arms embargo against Uzbekistan. EU officials say strategic necessity is exerting pressure on Brussels to fully engage Tashkent. Critics, however, contend that by compromising on principles, the European Union is sacrificing long-term interests for immediate, but likely fleeting gains.

Armenia: Opposition Journalist Trial Reopens Old Wounds
BY MARIANNA GRIGORYAN A freedom-of-expression controversy in Armenia is intensifying amid the opening of the trial of one of ex-president Levon Ter-Petrosian’s most influential supporters, opposition journalist Nikol Pashinian.

Turkmenistan: Ashgabat Energy-Reserve Controversy Continues to Flare
BY REGIS GENTE Are Turkmenistan’s energy reserve figures fudged or not? Just over a week after allegations first surfaced that the Turkmen government’s claims are grossly hyped, the controversy over Ashgabat’s export capacity is still flaring. Representatives of the firm that conducted the original audit are vigorously defending their reputation for thoroughness. Meanwhile, a whistleblower says he remains confident in the accuracy of his sources’ information.

Georgia: Hollywood Takes Over Tbilisi for Film About War with Russia
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY GIORGI LOMSADZE AND SOPHIA MIZANTE Hollywood occupied downtown Tbilisi on October 20 to shoot scenes for a movie about the 2008 Georgia-Russia war. The government made available tanks to serve as props for the film, which stars one-time Oscar nominee Andy Garcia in the role of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.

Central Asia: The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan Undergoing Dangerous Transformation
BY DEIRDRE TYNAN The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) is undergoing a metamorphosis that could transform the Islamic militant group into a far more dynamic foe for Central Asian governments, as well as for the US and NATO troops in Afghanistan.

Armenia: Yerevan Counts on Bank to Strengthen Ties with Diaspora
BY HAROUTIUN KHACHATRIAN The Armenian government is trying to systematize long-standing economic relationships between the mother country and its vast diaspora community. The centerpiece of the initiative is the creation of an All-Armenian Bank, which would be used as an economic engine for domestic development. Even before its launch, however, some experts in Yerevan are expressing skepticism about the bank’s ability to achieve its stated aims, citing a lack of conceptual clarity.

Kyrgyzstan: Bakiyev’s Reform Push Strives to Contain Corruption in Bishkek
BY ALISHER KHAMIDOV Kyrgyzstan’s cabinet resigned on October 20 as President Kurmanbek Bakiyev announced a broad plan to restructure the government. Political experts in Bishkek offered guarded praise for Bakiyev’s reform scheme, with some suggesting that it represented perhaps the last, best hope for his administration to contain corruption in the Central Asian state.

Afghanistan: Human Rights Commission Disregards UN
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR Afghanistan’s political deadlock deepened October 19 as the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) announced that it had invalidated a large number of the ballots cast in the August 20 presidential poll. The commission did not specify an exact number, but many experts now believe the ECC’s action will require a run-off between the incumbent, Hamid Karzai, and his top challenger, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah.

Turkmenistan: Investment Conference Highlights Slow Pace of Reform
Attempting to develop an image as an investment-friendly destination, Ashgabat hosted what was billed as the inaugural International Investment Forum of Turkmenistan in mid-October. Turkmen leaders spent lavishly to produce a slick three-day event. Nevertheless, some business executives were not sold on the concept of Turkmenistan being an open economic environment.

Turkey: Relations Between Ankara And Israel Becoming Chilly
BY YIGAL SCHLEIFER The once-vital relationship between Turkey and Israel is going through a distinctly frosty period. The chill began after the invasion of Gaza earlier this year, which Ankara criticized harshly. But now ties between the two Middle East allies are diving further and some experts are now wondering if the relationship is coming to end.

Kyrgyzstan: New Documentary Puts a Human Face on an Economic Conundrum
BY LAURIE RICH Swedish documentary filmmaker Magnus Gertten and veteran journalist Elin Jönsson followed the Sultanov family in both Kyrgyzstan and Russia from November of 2005 to April of 2008. Their three-year effort produced an intimate work that puts a human face on the issue of Central Asian labor migration.

Georgia: Debating the Fate of Stalin’s Statue
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY GIORGI LOMSADZE AND TEMO BARDZIMASHVILI Amid an ongoing exercise in national self-examination, Georgians are confronting the legacy of the country’s most famous, and notorious, native son -- Joseph Stalin. A significant number of Georgians now blame Stalin’s legacy for the country’s present-day woes. This trend, in turn, is fueling a debate over what to do with the most tangible symbol of that legacy -- the Stalin statue in the city of Gori.

Afghanistan: Is Power-Sharing Deal in the Offing in Kabul?
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR Widespread evidence of fraud marred Afghanistan’s August 20 presidential vote and subsequently raised disturbing questions about the future legitimacy of Afghanistan’s executive branch. It now seems that the country’s leading political actors are exploring a way to restore the election’s integrity. Ironically, it appears as though a back-room bargain, rather than continued reliance on the ballot box, may be the preferred way to solve the crisis of legitimacy.

Georgia: Will the Theories of Economic Deregulation Face Harsh Reality in Tbilisi?
BY MOLLY CORSO Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili insists that a package of constitutional reforms will transform Georgia into a global showcase for the benefits of economic deregulation. However, a sharp recent decline in foreign investment, coupled with a gaping trade deficit, is raising questions about whether Saakashvili’s deregulatory push will do more harm than good to the Georgian economy, analysts say.

Kyrgyzstan: Gangs Govern Life in Many Kyrgyz Schools
BY WILLIAM O'CONNOR Organized crime is making inroads into Kyrgyz schools. This trend is forcing students like Turgunbek, a 16 year old at Bishkek’s School Number 67, to worry just as much about carving out a safe spot in the school’s pecking order as he does about his studies.

Turkey: Soccer Diplomacy Plays Out During Turkish-Armenian Cup Qualifier
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY MONIQUE JAQUES The Turkish and Armenian national teams met for a World Cup qualifier on October 14. The outcome on the field turned out to be of secondary importance to the action in the stands. Turkish President Abdullah Gul and his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan watched the match from a VIP box, hoping to boost a reconciliation initiative to end almost a century of enmity between the two nations. Turkish fans, meanwhile, were generally upbeat about the rapprochement, but that didn’t stop some from trying to show solidarity with Turkey’s ally Azerbaijan.

Afghanistan: Rethinking the Af-Pak Strategy
It is true that Afghanistan and Pakistan are fighting a common enemy in the Taliban and al Qaeda. But the nature of insurgency and engagement is quite different in the two countries. The Pakistani military is fighting an insurgency mainly against its own people. It’s different in Afghanistan: government forces are fighting both local militants and terrorist mercenaries that primarily infiltrate from, and are trained and equipped by, elements from across the country’s southeastern border.

Kyrgyzstan: Bishkek and Tashkent Weigh Gas and Water Concerns
BY ALISHER KHAMIDOV What’s more valuable in Central Asia, natural gas or water? Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan may soon find out. A recent Uzbek move to cut gas supplies has many Kyrgyz worrying about how to stay warm this winter. But experts say the gas cut-off may end up being counterproductive for Tashkent because it will encourage Kyrgyzstan to develop its hydro-power generating capacity. That would be a development which potentially causes a significant reduction in the volume of water flowing into Uzbekistan.

Kazakhstan: Domestic Politics Bubbling as Astana Prepares to Assume OSCE Chair
BY JOANNA LILLIS Domestic critics of President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s administration in Kazakhstan are rising again. The opposition’s revival may create an internal challenge for Nazarbayev and increase international attention on Kazakhstan’s democratization process, as Astana prepares to lead the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 2010.

Turkey: Fans Tense ahead of Turkey-Armenia game
BY NICHOLAS BIRCH The October 14 soccer match between Turkey and Armenia is going to be a tense time for Mehmet Guzelsoz. "Did they really have to chuck this fireball into our laps while the whole world was watching?" asks this 39-year old chairman of Texas, an 8,000-strong fan cub in Bursa, the Turkish city where the game will take place. "Why didn’t they give us Turkey versus Spain?"

Afghanistan: Central Asian States Now Allowing Military Cargo Bound for US, NATO Forces
Signaling a sense of strategic urgency to counter recent Taliban gains, the Northern Distribution Network is being adapted to handle the transit of weaponry and hardware destined for US and NATO troops fighting in Afghanistan.

Turkmenistan: More Empty Talk about the Resumption of Gas Exports to Russia?
BY REGIS GENTE Turkmenistan has proven a fickle energy-export partner for all foreign companies trying to do business there. Yet, a Kremlin spokesperson’s recent statement that Russia would resume natural gas imports as soon as the end of October, confirms that hope springs eternal when it comes to the question of Ashgabat and energy.

Azerbaijan: Baku Hopes Turkish-Armenian Rapprochement Means Deal on Karabakh
BY SHAHIN ABBASOV On the eve of the October 10 signing of protocols for reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia, Azerbaijani officials have muted expectations that a rapprochement between Yerevan and Ankara can translate in a breakthrough in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process.

Georgia: Using Tea to Promote Peace in the South Caucasus
One of the few things that all residents of the South Caucasus have in common is a love of tea. Betting on local tea-drinking customs, a group of regional manufacturers hopes that a joint tea brand -- involving individuals and entities from Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, as well as the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh -- may help ease feelings of enmity in the region.

Georgia: After Decades in Exile, Meskhetian Turks Return to Lost Homeland
A EURASIANET SLIDESHOW BY TEMO BARDZIMASHVILI Roughly 65 years ago, Osman, a 90-year-old Meskhetian Turk, lost his home in Georgia to Stalin’s dictat. Now, after a lifetime in Central Asia, Osman, along with hundreds of other Meskhetian Turks, is trying to come home again.

Kazakhstan: Convicted Rights Activist Files Appeal
BY CATHERINE A. FITZPATRICK Prominent human rights activist Yevgeny Zhovtis of Kazakhstan, imprisoned in September on a vehicular manslaughter charge, is appealing his conviction. Zhovtis’ legal team is basing the appeal in part on an assertion that the court was biased against the defendant.

Azerbaijan: Defense Hits Snags in Youth Activist Trial
BY MINA MIRADOVA The presiding judge in the trial of two Azerbaijani youth activists rebuffed a fresh motion to set the pair free on bail. Trial testimony on October 7 dealt an additional setback to the defense, as an expert witness failed to clearly corroborate the defendants’ contention that they did not assault two individuals in a Baku café back in July.

Afghanistan: Women Strive to Make Voices Heard in Strategic Debate
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR Women have struggled to make their voices heard in Afghanistan. It turns out that many Afghan women’s rights activists are ardent supporters of a strong US military presence in the country. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan, might do well to broadcast their opinions amid the continuing debate over US war strategy.

Kyrgyzstan: Prime Minister Chudinov Pledges Action on Stalled Adoptions
BY LAURIE RICH Kyrgyz Prime Minister Igor Chudinov has promised US legislators that he will urge his country’s parliament to expedite the adoptions of 65 Kyrgyz orphans by American families.

Turkey: IMF Meeting in Istanbul Marked by Police-Protester Confrontation
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY JONATHAN LEWIS The Tsarist-era Russian anarchist gadflies Mikhail Bakunin and Peter Kropotkin are widely credited with coming up with the slogan "anarchy is the mother of order." But on October 6, protesters mainly demonstrated that anarchy is the progenitor of destruction.

Uzbekistan: Officials Forcing Entertainers to Sing Praises to the Government -- or Else
As it struggles to keep a lid on political dissent while also trying to keep the wheels from coming off the economy, the government of Uzbekistan is co-opting the country’s entertainment industry. Local show-biz personalities are being forced to conform to the state’s wishes, and those who don’t get with the program are having the plugs pulled on their careers.

Armenia: Karabakh Talks Poses Big Challenge for Armenian-Turkish Rapprochement
Recent comments by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on the status of the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh suggest that the peace process remains at an impasse. That, in turn, could complicate Armenian-Turkish reconciliation efforts.

Armenia: Archeologists Say They’ve Found Remains of World’s Oldest Human Brain
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY GAYANE ABRAHAMYAN An Armenian-American-Irish archeological expedition claims to have found the remains of the world’s oldest human brain, estimated to be over 5,000 years old. The team also says it has found evidence of what may be history’s oldest winemaking operation. The discoveries were made recently in a cave in southeastern Armenia.

Turkmenistan: Gazprom Won’t Be Buying Gas from Ashgabat for the Rest of ’09
Gazprom and the government of Turkmenistan have tried to turn over a new leaf in their contentious energy relationship. But the page is proving to be uncommonly sticky.

Afghanistan: New Supply Route May Create Fresh Headaches -- Expert
The opening of the US- and NATO-backed Northern Distribution Network (NDN), a second resupply route for coalition forces fighting in Afghanistan, may be a mixed blessing for Central Asia. On the one hand, it has the potential to ease a logistics bottleneck, but it also threatens to become a magnet for Islamic militant violence.

Armenia: Yerevan in Uproar Over Protocol Signing Date with Turkey
BY MARIANNA GRIGORYAN Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s announcement that Turkey and Armenia on October 10 will sign protocols on diplomatic normalization ties is having an unsettling effect on domestic politics in Yerevan. Some Armenian opposition politicians are complaining that the signing-date announcement makes a mockery of a parliamentary debate on the issue, scheduled to take place on October 1.

Caspian Basin: Pentagon Web Initiative Sparks Debate on Best Methods for Winning Hearts and Minds
BY DEIRDRE TYNAN A US Defense Department Internet initiative is stoking a debate among experts about whether the Pentagon is overreaching.

Georgia’s Abkhaz IDP Schools Keep Dream of Return to Abkhazia Alive
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY MOLLY CORSO Nearly 20 years after Georgia’s disastrous war against Abkhaz separatists, Georgian children whose families fled the breakaway region still study in segregated schools designed to keep the memory of Georgian-controlled Abkhazia alive. Now that the dream of reunification seems to be fading, critics fear that the schools’ existence will complicate efforts to integrate displaced families into mainstream Georgian society.

Azerbaijan: Karabakh IDPs Emerge to Promote Baku’s Peace Plan
BY SHAHIN ABBASOV Azerbaijani Internally Displaced Persons from Nagorno-Karabakh have emerged as a potential new lever of influence for Baku in its protracted negotiations with Armenia over a conflict-resolution plan for the disputed territory, analysts say.

Turkey: Is Ankara Set to Become a Vital Player in Revamped US Anti-Missile Shield?
BY YIGAL SCHLEIFER Speculation is building in Turkey over whether Ankara will play a part in a revamped US missile-defense network, one designed mainly to contain Iran. Conjecture is being fueled by two recent developments: the Obama administration’s decision to scrap the construction of an anti-missile shield in Central Europe, and Turkey’s own announcement that it intends to purchase its first missile-defense system.

Afghanistan: Russia Genuinely Concerned that America is Losing It
A EURASIANET COMMENTARY BY MARK KATZ Russia is allowing US military equipment destined for Afghanistan to pass through Russian airspace without charging a transit fee, thereby saving the Pentagon an estimated $133 million per year. Some in Washington and other Western capitals hope Moscow’s stance is a harbinger of broader US-Russian cooperation to come, especially on Iran. But others suspect the Kremlin has ulterior motives, wanting to trade cooperation on the Afghan re-supply effort for American acquiescence to a controlling role for Russia in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Kazakhstan: Nazarbayev President-For-Life Trial Balloon Draws Lots of Darts
BY JOANNA LILLIS Kazakhstan is buzzing with speculation in the wake of a proposal floated earlier in September to make Nursultan Nazarbayev president for life. The timing of the suggestion is just a little awkward for Astana, given that Kazakhstan will soon take over the chair of Europe’s leading democratization group -- the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Uzbekistan: Officials Mum on Terror Trial
In Uzbekistan, justice may not be blind, but officials in the judicial system seem to turn mute when asked for details about legal proceedings.

Kyrgyzstan: US and Kyrgyz Legislators Seek Way to End Adoption Delay
BY LAURIE RICH The 65 American families whose adoptions of Kyrgyz orphans have been stalled for more than a year are picking up political support in both the United States and Kyrgyzstan, as they hope to bring their ordeal to a quick conclusion.

Kyrgyzstan: On Anniversary of Language Law, Kyrgyz-First Policies Encounter Harsh Criticism
BY CHINGHIZ UMETOV On this, the 20th, anniversary of the adoption of Kyrgyz as the state language, government language policies remain a source of contention in Kyrgyzstan.

Afghanistan: Balkh Governor Trumpets Security Warning for Northern Afghanistan
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR When Afghan President Hamid Karzai appointed General Atta Mohammad Noor as governor of the northern province of Balkh in 2004, the move seemed motivated by a presidential desire to curb the influence of Abdul Rashid Dostum, then the most powerful warlord in Northern Afghanistan.

Afghanistan: Pentagon Strives to ’Wrest the Information Offensive’ away from the Taliban
The NATO-led International Security Force in Afghanistan (ISAF) is preparing to launch a media offensive aimed at reducing deaths, both military and civilian, from improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Armenia: Which Way is Up for the Armenian Economy?
BY MARIANNA GRIGORYAN The Armenian government is predicting the imminent return of sunny days for the country’s economy. But talk to Armenians outside the capital of Yerevan and their forecast calls for extended periods of gloom.

Kyrgyzstan: Soviet-Era Boom Town Literally Being Sold for Scrap
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY DAVID TRILLING Nestled high in a stunning valley with an abundance of mineral deposits, residents of Min Kush once had many reasons to boast.

Afghanistan: Despite Fraud, Female Electoral Participation Registers Gains
BY RICHARD WEITZ Amid the blight that is Afghanistan’s ongoing election fraud scandal, there is a bright spot: the August presidential and provincial council elections showed that more Afghan women than ever participated in the political process.

Uzbekistan: Cash Crunch Causing Retail Gridlock
A summer-long shortage of cash in Uzbekistan’s portion of the Ferghana Valley shows no signs of abating, and the phenomenon appears to be spreading to other parts of the Central Asian nation.

Mongolia: Herders Move with the Seasons
BY JOANNA LILLIS Fall is approaching, and Mongol and Kazakh herders in the Altay Mountains of western Mongolia are on the move. The herders migrate four times a year, taking with them all their possessions -- animals, yurts, furniture, milking stools, and other equipment. This year, the summer has been especially trying, thanks to a blizzard that hit the valleys around Tavan Bogd in mid-August, killing livestock and migratory birds. In this EurasiaNet slideshow, correspondent Joanna Lillis explains how the herders coped with nature’s surprise.

Central Asia: Pentagon Plans for Deployment of Special Forces to States Outside Afghanistan
BY DEIRDRE TYNAN The US military is preparing for a worst-case scenario in Central Asia. The Pentagon is presently developing plans covering the potential deployment of elite Special Forces to Central Asian states other than Afghanistan.

Afghanistan: Democratization Process Threatened as Façade of International Unity Crumbles
A EURASIANET COMMENTARY BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR The international community is bitterly divided as it struggles to find a solution to the democratization dilemma posed by evidence of widespread fraud in the recent presidential election.

Central Asia: New Report Calls for Education Policy Changes for Special Needs Children
Despite almost 20 years of educational reforms in Central Asia, children with special needs continue to face hardships in Central Asia. A new review of regional education policies by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is recommending that governments in the region do more to integrate children with special needs into a mainstream educational environment.

Azerbaijan: First Day of Baku Blogger Trial Features State Witness with Faulty Memory
Testimony began on September 16 in the high-profile prosecution of two Azerbaijani youth activists and bloggers on charges of hooliganism. Defense attorneys ridiculed one of the government’s chief witnesses, alleging that officials didn’t do a good job in coaching his responses. The trial is seen by civil society activists both inside and outside Azerbaijan as a pivotal case concerning free speech in the South Caucasus country.

PACE: Russia’s Membership in Key European Human Rights Organization Challenged
Europe’s top human rights body will consider suspending Russia’s membership in retaliation for Moscow’s refusal to withdraw its forces from the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and to retract its 2008 recognition of the two territories as independent states.

Kyrgzystan: Turkmen Student-Visa Controversy Creates Void at One Bishkek University
BY AZAT JENISH The academic year is getting underway at American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, but only about one-third of the expected contingent of Turkmen students is in position to begin classes. That’s because the Turkmen government is continuing to prevent dozens, if not hundreds, of students from going abroad for their higher education.

Armenia: Nationalists Launch Hunger Strikes against Turkey Reconciliation Deal
BY MARIANNA GRIGORYAN The tentative Armenian-Turkish plan for diplomatic normalization has sparked Armenia’s oldest political party, the nationalist-oriented Armenian Revolutionary Federation, to take to the streets with sit-down protests and hunger strikes. Public support for the party’s criticism that the Armenian government risks selling out Armenia’s national security interests appears to be spreading, even though it remains far from uniform.

Georgia: Ethnic Georgian District in Abkhazia Becomes Election Issue
BY PAUL RIMPLE For many in the breakaway region of Abkhazia, Russian recognition of Abkhazia’s independence means the promise of economic development and a guarantee of security against Georgia. But in Abkhazia’s predominantly ethnic Georgian district of Gali, Russian recognition has come to mean renewed emphasis on assimilation into Abkhaz society.

Central Asia: Rising Taliban Threat Prompt Regional Border Cooperation
A joint operation, involving the border services of every Central Asian state except Turkmenistan, is underway. The operation aims to enhance security along Central Asia’s southern frontier in response to the rise of Islamic militant activity in northern Afghanistan.

Uzbekistan: Arbitrary Land Redistribution Feeds Discontent
Local officials in Uzbekistan are manipulating regulations aimed at improving the efficient use of agricultural land to reward friends, relatives and political allies. This arbitrary action threatens to diminish crop production at a time of profound economic distress, and fuel popular distrust of the government.

Turkey: Government Using "Tax Terror" to Muzzle Independent Press -- Critics
BY YIGAL SCHLEIFER Is the Turkish government trying to break the back of a media conglomerate that has served as its most vocal opposition by slapping it with a whopping $2.5 billion tax penalty?

Afghanistan: Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan Fighters Active in Kunduz
BY DEIRDRE TYNAN Afghan government troops and foreign forces have gone on the offensive against Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) militants who are active in northern Afghanistan.

Uzbekistan: Nukus Contemporary Art Museum Survives amid Hardship
Lost in the rough of present-day economic hardship and environmental degradation, Uzbekistan’s state art museum in Nukus is a little-known treasure that houses a trove of the Soviet era’s unacknowledged cultural heritage. The museum, which contains perhaps the best collection of Russian avant-garde art outside of Moscow, recently celebrated 25 years since the death of its remarkable founder.

Azerbaijan: Blogger Trial in Baku Boosting Local Interest in Internet
BY MINA MIRADOVA Azerbaijani media watchdog organizations do not share the optimism recently expressed by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that two young video bloggers imprisoned for hooliganism will be released from jail soon.

Afghanistan and Pakistan: Examining the Obama Administration’s Eurasian Strategy
BY RICHARD WEITZ As concern about troop numbers in Afghanistan grows in Washington, the Obama administration remains optimistic that its strategy can, over the long-term, foster important economic, political, and military gains in South and Central Asia.

Turkey: Whither the Bulwark of Secularism?
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY JONATHAN LEWIS For decades the Turkish military has seen itself as the chief pillar of Turkish society, always ready to step in should civilian leaders stray from secular orthodoxy, as established by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey. Now, feeling increasingly threatened legally and organizationally, generals are taking steps to remind government leaders that, as an institution, the Turkish military retains a powerful policy voice.

Kazakhstan: Zhovtis Case Turning into Test of Astana’s OSCE Credibility
BY JOANNA LILLIS Domestic and international pressure on Kazakhstan appears to be building as the case of prominent human rights activist Yevgeniy Zhovtis, who was convicted earlier in September of vehicular manslaughter a car that killed a pedestrian, is moving into the appeals phase.

Kyrgyzstan: New Military Base Plans Fuel Uzbekistan’s Ire
BY ALISHER KHAMIDOV Bishkek’s recent agreement with Moscow to create a new military base in southern Kyrgyzstan is complicating relations among Central Asian states. Uzbek and Tajik leaders are questioning the logic behind the Kremlin’s decision, and are warning that a new base could turn into a source of regional instability.

Kyrgyzstan: Adoption Reform Leaves Kyrgyz orphans, American families, in Limbo
Last November, Suzanne Boutilier was sitting outside a Kyrgyz orphanage, cradling the slight 6-month-old baby girl she was set to adopt. She sang to her daughter-to-be and kept returning to a Carly Simon tune with the refrain "Lovin’ you is the right thing to do," and every time she came to the chorus "Even though you’re 10,000 miles away," she would sob.

Uzbekistan: Authorities Link Tashkent Shootout in August to Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
BY DEIRDRE TYNAN Authorities in Uzbekistan contend that Shaukat Makhmudov, one of three men killed in a Tashkent shootout in late August, was a top figure in the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Makhmudov, officials add, is suspected of orchestrating assassinations earlier in the summer and was one of the alleged masterminds of 1999 bombings in Tashkent.

Mongolia: Boom Times Ahead for Some Gobi Desert Villages
BY JOSHUA KUCERA Khanbogd, a remote town in southern Mongolia, has no paved roads, electricity only 5 ½ hours a day, and a single restaurant that is closed on Saturdays. But its location, not far from what is about to become the biggest copper mine in the world, means that it is about to undergo a transformation so rapid and expansive that no one -- not mining company officials, outside experts or residents themselves -- can predict what will happen to their quiet hamlet.

Afghanistan: Dark Days for Democratization Hopes amid Burgeoning Electoral Fraud Controversy
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR Two developments on September 8 seem likely to plunge Afghanistan into a long and debilitating battle over the country’s electoral process and the government’s very legitimacy. The crux of the unfolding problem is that the country’s two main electoral institutions appear at odds with each other.

Afghanistan: Northern Distribution Network Grapples With Growing Security Threat
The escalating insurgency in northern Afghanistan is threatening American and NATO efforts to develop the Northern Distribution Network (NDN). As the NDN gains greater strategic importance, observers warn it will increasingly become the focus of attacks. And such potential strikes could have consequences for Afghanistan’s northern neighbors in Central Asia.

Armenia: Fugitive Businessman Comes in From the Cold
BY MARIANNA GRIGORYAN One of Armenia’s most prominent entrepreneurs, who also happens to be a major supporter of opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian, is now in custody after spending more than a year in hiding. The fugitive businessman, Khachatur Sukiasian, has expressed a desire to clear his name of charges that he helped instigate political violence in March 2008.

Georgia: South Ossetians Cling to Arms
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY KAREN MIRZOYAN Guns have been a fixture of life in Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia for almost 20 years, needed by citizen-soldiers in the fight for their sovereignty. But now with Russian troops protecting the territory, the South Ossetian leadership is trying to disarm the population. As this EurasiaNet photo essay by Karen Mirzoyan shows, many Ossetians are unwilling to part with their guns.

Kazakhstan: Rights Activist Calls Guilty Verdict "Political Setup"
BY JOANNA LILLIS Yevgeny Zhovtis, one of Kazakhstan’s leading human rights activists, was found guilty on September 3 of vehicular manslaughter and sentenced to four years in prison. Prior to the reading of the verdict, Zhovtis denounced his two-day trial as a "political setup."

Kazakhstan: Rights Activist’s Manslaughter Trial Opens amid Intense International Scrutiny
BY JOANNA LILLIS One of Kazakhstan’s most prominent human rights activists went on trial September 2, charged with causing death by dangerous driving. The trial has cast a spotlight on Kazakhstan’s judicial system. It is also being viewed as a litmus test of Astana’s commitment to democratic procedures, coming as it does just four months before Kazakhstani officials take over the helm of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Turkey Reconciliation Deal Cause for Controversy in Armenia, Azerbaijan
BY HAROUTIUN KHACHATRIAN AND SHAHIN ABBASOV After years of mud-slinging, Turkey and Armenia appear ready to restore diplomatic ties, but the initial reaction within Armenia suggests that the process could meet with strong political opposition. Watching closely from the sidelines, Turkish ally Azerbaijan, meanwhile, states that it expects Turkey to keep its word -- no diplomatic ties with Armenia until territories bordering the disputed region of Nagorno Karabakh are returned to Azerbaijani control.

Armenia, Turkey Prepare to Open Border
Late on August 31, Turkey, Armenia and mediator Switzerland released a protocol on "The Establishment of Diplomatic Relations" that acts as a guideline for Ankara and Yerevan to sign an agreement on diplomatic recognition.

On Turkey-Armenia Border, Slight Hope for Change
A EURASIANET AUDIO SLIDESHOW BY SOPHIA MIZANTE The Turkey-Armenia border has been closed since 1993. A EurasiaNet photographer spent two weeks capturing what it's like for those who live on both sides of the line.

Abkhazia Maintains "We Do It Our Way," Despite Russian Aid
BY PAUL RIMPLE Abkhazia celebrated the first anniversary of Russia's 2008 recognition of its independence with its borders guarded by Russian soldiers and its seaside resorts packed with Russian tourists. Abkhaz officials claim that it is a relationship between equals. But an August 29 announcement that the Russian Federal Security Serviceis Coast Guard will monitor Abkhaziais Black Sea coastline has again demonstrated the contradictions inherent in that assertion.

Uzbekistan: Tashkent Shootout Stokes Fears of Independence Day Clashes
Reports of shootings in Tashkent on the evening of August 29 have sparked fears the Uzbek government is using the cover of independence celebrations to crack down on alleged militants.

Afghanistan: Election Endorsement Threatens to Harm International Community’s Credibility
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR In a hurry to score quick public relations points, some international observers and foreign diplomats cast Afghanistan’s August 20 presidential vote as an unequivocal triumph for the democratization process. But that initial rush to endorse the integrity of the process may well come back to haunt the international community, as reports of electoral irregularities continue to surface.

Eurasia: Bracing for a Technological Counter-Revolution
A EURASIANET COMMENTARY BY STEPHEN BLANK The advent of social networking platforms such as Twitter and Facebook has changed the nature of political dissent. But as this summer’s unrest in Iran and China has demonstrated, authoritarian-minded governments have done their homework, and have kept pace with the revolution in communications.

Afghanistan: Narco-Cartels a Growing Threat, UN Drug Agency Warns
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR A report released September 2 by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has good news and bad news about narcotics cultivation and trafficking in Afghanistan. The good news is that 800,000 Afghan farmers have stopped cultivating poppies; the bad is that those who continue to grow illicit crops are becoming more efficient, and traders are forging stronger ties with criminal and insurgent groups, as well as corrupt officials.

Georgia: Ex-Jailor-in-Chief Tapped to Head Defense Ministry
A former prison boss, who has been both credited and criticized for a clampdown on organized crime in Georgia, has been nominated as the country’s latest defense minister.

Mongolia: Ulaanbaatar Performs Strategic Juggling Act with US, Russian Military Maneuvers
BY JOSHUA KUCERA Mongolia, a nation with abundant mineral wealth, has emerged in recent days as a showcase for the US-Russian rivalry. The Mongolian military has found itself in the unusual position of participating in separate joint exercises involving US and Russian troops going on at the same time.

Kyrgyzstan: Artists Use Creative Dialogue to Foster Social Change
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY JOHN COUPER On a recent summer’s day, visitors to the recently opened Koldo Art Gallery in central Bishkek watched professional artists create new work, inspired by the art of children with physical and mental handicaps. The event was designed to foster interaction between children, artists and the public, enabling all involved to find new strengths, and to help open minds.

Uzbekistan: Washington Denies Interest in Returning to Khanabad Airbase
US diplomats are steadfastly denying that the American military seeks to return to the Uzbek air base at Karshi-Khanabad.

Afghanistan: Internationals Claim Victory While Afghans Cry Fraud
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR Diplomats have rushed to declare Afghanistan’s August 20 presidential and provincial council elections a success, while downplaying credible reports of disenfranchisement and widespread electoral irregularities. The apparent reluctance to acknowledge circumstantial evidence of substantial vote-rigging could have damaging, even irreparable consequences for Afghanistan’s democratization process, some experts contend.

Azerbaijan: Fresh Charges Brought against Detained Bloggers
Azerbaijani prosecutors have charged detained youth activists and video bloggers Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade with causing "mild injury" to an unspecified victim, the pair’s defense attorney told an August 24 news conference in Baku. The two young men were originally charged with hooliganism in what has become a cause célèbre for free speech rights in the South Caucasus.

'Nothing is More Persistent than the Temporary': Documenting a Troubled Economic Transition
Red Journey By Nick Hannes A EURASIANET BOOK REVIEW BY LAURIE RICH Belgian photographer Nick Hannes’ photo book, "Red Journey," sets out to show the lives of people dealing with the looming questions that dog all the nations of the former Soviet Union: What happens when one day you wake up and discover your heroes aren’t heroes at all? Your past isn’t your past? How do you rebuild a house when the foundation is irreparably cracked?

Afghanistan: Presidential Election Essential for Legitimizing Kabul Government
BY RICHARD WEITZ Initial tallies suggest that incumbent Hamid Karzai and former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah are in a tight race in Afghanistan’s presidential election.

Afghanistan: Government Declares Elections Success Amidst Mixed Turnout
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR Counting the ballots in Afghanistan’s second presidential and provincial council elections has begun. Despite some reports of attacks and election irregularities throughout the country, polls closed on August 20 without any major violent disruptions by insurgents.

Afghanistan: "Corruption is Eating Our System"
A EurasiaNet Q&A with Presidential Contender Abdullah Abdullah INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY CAMELIA ENTEKHABI-FARD Afghans braved Taliban threats and other problems to cast ballots August 20 in the country’s presidential election. Initial estimates suggested that turnout on August 20 would be lower than in the 2004 presidential vote. On the eve of the election, EurasiaNet caught up with one of the prominent presidential candidates, Abdullah Abdullah, to get his impressions of the campaign and the meaning of the election for Afghanistan.

Armenia: Wave of Hacker Attacks Blamed on Azerbaijan, Turkey
BY MARIANNA GRIGORYAN A surge in hacker attacks on several Armenian government and private websites has prompted Armenian information technology experts to demand that Armenia’s Internet security become a matter of state security.

Afghanistan: Uncertainties and Fear Loom Day Before Vote
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR Polling for the second presidential and provincial council elections in Afghanistan will open early on August 20 in a milieu of competing hopes and fears, uncertain logistics and precarious security conditions. The 2009 polls also take place in a state of political flux unprecedented since the forced removal of the Taliban in 2001.

Georgia: IDPs Have Found Homes, but Not Work
A EURASIANET PHOTO STORY BY MOLLY CORSO The Georgian government created housing in a matter of months for the thousands of families displaced by the 2008 war with Russia. But nearly a year later, one key question remains -- how to provide the work these families need.

Uzbekistan: Inflation Worries Prompting Tashkent to Consult Soviet Playbook
Inflation fears are prompting Uzbek officials to resort to an old Soviet trick -- trying to drastically curtail the amount of cash in circulation. Such draconian government measures, however, risk creating a crisis atmosphere, some analysts caution.

Turkey: Educational Reforms Reflect Changing Balance of Power in Ankara
BY NICHOLAS BIRCH Recent educational reforms that make it easier for students at religious schools to attend university have sparked celebration among conservative Turks, anger among secularists, and shrugs of indifference among some education officials who are disgusted with the way politicking has overshadowed what they see as a need for a complete overhaul of the education system.

Afghanistan: Vote May Disenfranchise Women
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR With only three days before presidential and provincial council elections in Afghanistan, the Independent Election Commission is sending out desperate appeals. In nearly a quarter of the country’s provinces, despite repeated pleas, the Afghan institution charged with managing the elections has been unable to recruit enough women to staff polling stations. Female staff members are necessary for searching women coming to vote, an essential part of the security matrix in polling stations across the country. Unless they are recruited -- rapidly -- in many areas women may be unable to cast their vote.

Azerbaijan Mum about Israeli Spy Plane, Satellite Projects
BY SHAHIN ABBASOV A month and a half after Israeli President Shimon Peres’ trip to Azerbaijan, both Baku and Tel Aviv are keeping mum about reported plans for the joint manufacture of reconnaissance planes and satellites.

Turkey: Ankara Grapples with Dropout Conundrum
BY DANIEL KOEHLER At the age of 17, Mazlum is mature beyond his years. He has been contributing to the family income since the age of eight and is known in his predominantly Kurdish neighborhood as a conscientious citizen. Mazlum’s formal schooling, however, is severely lacking. In his third year of primary education, he left school after his teacher hit him for speaking Kurdish on school premises. He can read and write and his Turkish is fluent, but he has been unemployed for a year and has had much more difficulty finding work than his more educated relatives. "I wouldn’t be in this position if I’d stayed in school," he says with visible regret.

Tajikistan: Festival Connects Central Asian Musicians
A EURASIANET SLIDESHOW BY DAVID TRILLING Under sharp shale peaks glowing golden-grey in the mid-summer sun, musicians from four Central Asian countries gathered in Tajikistan’s remote Badakhshan Province recently to perform and exchange their respective musical traditions, and enjoy a slice of watermelon.

Turkey: Is Ankara Trying to Tame the Russian Bear?
BY NICHOLAS BIRCH There is an odd little detail at the back of a 1928 statue depicting Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, standing in Istanbul’s central Taksim Square: found among the adoring crowd of figures surrounding Ataturk, a group dominated by children and peasants, are two stern-faced men with stars on their bronze lapels. They are two Red Army generals Mikhail Frunze and Kliment Voroshilov.

Fergana Valley: Stringent Border Measures Fuelling Tension in Enclaves
BY ALISHER KHAMIDOV A recent clash on the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border is highlighting a simmering social problem found in and around the Fergana Valley’s many isolated enclaves. Public frustration is mounting over the inability of officials in the region to grapple with border-related issues, experts say.

Georgia: Opposition Arrests, Beatings Spark Fresh Controversy
BY MOLLY CORSO Less than one month after Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili pledged to step up democratic reforms, human and civil rights monitors state that a disturbing pattern of arrests, beatings and kidnappings involving opposition members and supporters has developed in Georgia over the past four months.

Russia: Central Asia’s Female Labor Migrants Grapple with Uncertainty
BY WILLIAM O'CONNOR According to some calculations, nearly half of the estimated 300,000 Kyrgyz workers in Russia are female. The number of Tajik and Uzbek women seeking work is growing, analysts say. While the flood of Central Asian men to Russia’s cities in search of work has been well documented, the past few years have also seen a quiet upsurge in female labor migrants.

Kyrgyzstan: US Air Hub at Manas Busier Now than Before
BY DEIRDRE TYNAN The American air hub outside Bishkek may have a new name -- the Manas Transit Center -- but its operational capabilities remain largely unchanged. The new lease agreement covering activities at the American facility does not differ substantially from the previous pact. The only major change is that Washington is now paying Bishkek a whole lot more in rent.

Russia: Central Asia’s Female Labor Migrants Grapple with Uncertainty
BY WILLIAM O'CONNOR According to some calculations, nearly half of the estimated 300,000 Kyrgyz workers in Russia are female. The number of Tajik and Uzbek women seeking work is growing, analysts say. While the flood of Central Asian men to Russia’s cities in search of work has been well documented, the past few years have also seen a quiet upsurge in female labor migrants.

Turkey: Anti-Smoking Advocates Pleased with Early Results of Restaurant/Bar Ban
A EURASIANET PHOTO STORY BY JONATHAN LEWIS It’s just over three weeks since a ban on smoking tobacco products indoors took hold in Turkey. Despite initial concern about how the public would react to prohibition, anti-smoking campaigners are so far delighted with the early results.

Armenia: Putin Visit to Turkey Sparks Hopes and Fears in Yerevan
BY HAROUTIUN KHACHATRIAN Armenians watched Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s August 6-7 visit to Turkey with a mixture of hope and suspicion. While many in Yerevan see potential benefits arising out of closer Turkish-Russian ties, worries persist among Armenian leaders and experts that Turkey’s importance in the eyes of the Kremlin may come to outweigh that of Armenia.

Georgia: South Ossetia -- One Year Later: Running on Empty, Despite Russian Help
PHOTOS BY KAREN MIRZOYAN South Ossetia on August 7-9 marked the first anniversary since Georgia attempted to forcefully regain control of the breakaway territory. A series of bittersweet events both mourned the loss of life during last summer’s war and celebrated the Russian-backed "independence" achieved in its aftermath.

Afghanistan: Elections Shaping Up as a Complicated Step Forward
A EURASIANET Q&A WITH EUROPEAN COMMISSION DELEGATION AMBASSADOR HANSJORG KRETSCHMER BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR The difficulty in achieving consensus among its 27 member states is a major factor in keeping the European Union from playing a more robust role in Afghanistan’s reconstruction, despite the considerable resources provided through the European Commission and individual bilateral contributions. In June, however, the EU agreed on the need to deepen its engagement with Afghanistan. Change is already evident. The EU is providing 35 million euros to help ensure a fair-and-secure presidential election on August 20, and will be deploying a 100-member Election Observer Mission. The European Commission delegation’s ambassador in Kabul, Hansjörg Kretschmer, talked recently with EurasiaNet’s Aunohita Mojumdar on the importance of elections, the current situation and the engagement of the international community with Afghanistan.

Georgia: Saakashvili Shows Staying Power on Anniversary of War with Russia
A EURASIANET PHOTO STORY: MOLLY CORSO AND TEMO BARDZIMASHVILI War, political instability and economic crisis. Despite it all, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has endured in office. And a year after Georgia’s devastating war with Russia, Saakashvili’s staying power is an image the Georgian government is eager to convey.

Turkmenistan: Hundreds of Students Caught in Educational Limbo
They threaten to become a new class of refuseniks. They are students in Turkmenistan seeking to study at foreign universities and technical schools who are not being allowed to leave by Turkmen authorities.

Azerbaijan: With Departure of Two Karabakh Mediators, Future of Talks Unclear
BY SHAHIN ABBASOV The expected departure of the American and Russian envoys to talks over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory is diminishing Azerbaijani expectations about a potential breakthrough in the peace process.

Kazakhstan: The Forgotten Women of the Gulag
A EURASIANET SLIDESHOW BY JOANNA LILLIS Just outside the Kazakhstani capital of Astana stands a black and sliver monument called the Arch of Grief. It sits at the entrance to a museum dedicated to a particularly unfortunate subset of victims of Stalin-era repression -- the wives of "enemies of the state." EurasiaNet correspondent Joanna Lillis recently visited the museum. Her impressions are contained in this EurasiaNet slideshow.

Pakistan: A Look at Daily Life at the Jamba Erabia Madrasa
BY A EURASIANET SLIDESHOW BY JONATHAN ALPEYRIE The Pakistani government is waging a high-profile offensive in tribal areas near the Afghan border to contain Islamic militants. But part of the struggle is also playing out in madrasas, or religious schools, across the country. EurasiaNet photojournalist Jonathan Alpeyrie takes a close look at the daily routine of one madrasa on the outskirts of Islamabad in a EurasiaNet slideshow.

Tajikistan: Labor Migrants Facing Grim Choices
BY NADIRA ARTYK Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, in Tajikistan for a two-day stay that concluded July 31, touched on a variety of security and energy issues in his discussions with his Tajik counterpart, Imomali Rahmon. But perhaps the most important issue on Tajikistan’s political and economic agenda -- labor migration -- did not figure prominently in bilateral talks.

Tajikistan: Russian President Medvedev Arrives in Dushanbe for Talks
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arrived in Tajikistan on July 30, beginning a two-day trip with important ramifications for Central Asian security.

Armenia: Military Planners Confront Conscript Shortfall, Mull an End to College Exemption
BY GAYANE ABRAHAMYAN A looming shortfall in conscripts for the Armenian army is forcing the country to mull tough choices. A fierce debate has erupted over a plan to remove university enrollment as grounds for an exemption from military service. The proposal reflects both concern over the country’s shrinking male population and worries about the growing military strength of the country’s long-time archrival, Azerbaijan.

Georgia: New York Exhibit Marks Georgian Modernism’s US Debut
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY PAMELA RENNER "The Fantastic Tavern: The Tbilisi Avant-Garde," at Chelsea’s Casey Kaplan Gallery, is the first public display of Georgian Modernism in the United States. Its silent films, sound poetry, stage design, experimental music, photography, paintings and Futurist books reflect a critical period in Georgian history -- a period when Georgia was an independent state and enjoyed three years of creative freedom and cultural interaction with Europe.

Georgia: Washington Declines Tbilisi’s Request for "Defensive" Weapons
BY JOSHUA KUCERA The United States does not intend to give or sell Georgia weapons, or to participate in the European Union monitoring mission in Georgia, senior US officials are saying.

Azerbaijan: No Jitters Over Turkmenistan’s Caspian Sea Threat
BY SHAHIN ABBASOV Turkmenistan’s pledge to take Azerbaijan to court over the two countries’ rival claims to Caspian Sea oil fields has sparked more confusion than anger in Baku. Some Azerbaijani experts even believe that an international arbitration hearing could prove the best way to resolve a long-standing energy dispute.

Turkmenistan: Rules Switch Hampering Young Scholars from Studying Abroad
Soon after assuming power in late 2006, Turkmenistan’s leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov sent signals that education would be one of his top policy priorities. But over the past few days, Berdymukhamedov’s status as Turkmenistan’s "education president" has taken a hit, as authorities in Ashgabat have been hindering students from departing the country to begin their studies at foreign universities.

Afghanistan: Karzai Braces for Emboldened Challengers as Election Nears
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR Afghan citizens will go to the polls next month amid an escalation of Taliban violence. The first four months of 2009 saw a 46 percent increase in security-related incidents over the previous. Since then, the fighting has continued to intensify with a new large-scale military operation in southern Helmand Province. While those operations are being touted as an effort to boost security before the polls, most observers expect violence will continue to increase until election day on August 20.

Azerbaijan: For SOCAR, Bigger Means Better with Azerigaz Takeover
BY SHAHIN ABBASOV The Azerbaijani government’s recent decision to make state-owned gas distribution company Azerigaz part of the mammoth State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR) signals that Baku wants to transform SOCAR into an "economic symbol" similar to Russia’s Gazprom or Kazakhstan’s KazMunaiGas, experts say.

Armenians Put Aside the Past and Choose Turkey for Summer Vacation
BY MARIANNA GRIGORYAN Some Armenians call it "a disgrace." Others put it down to price. Turkey’s popular Mediterranean resort town of Antalya ranks as Armenians’ number-one summer vacation destination, travel agents say, and no amount of controversy over Turkish-Armenian ties looks likely to reverse the trend.

Georgia Bets on Mountains and Toilets for Post-War Tourism Comeback
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY GIORGI LOMSADZE Almost a year after war with Russia sent foreign tourists scurrying away, Georgia is telling travelers that it is safe to come back, and betting on a combo of Georgia’s idyllic mountain scenery, new hotels and public toilets to cinch their interest.

Kazakhstan: Activists Assail Internet Law as Step Back for Democratization
BY JOANNA LILLIS Journalists and civil rights activists in Kazakhstan have reacted with dismay to the passing of a new Internet law they say will severely restrict freedom of expression in a country set to take the helm of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2010.

Georgia: Tbilisi Welcomes Biden
BY MOLLY CORSO US Vice President Joseph Biden’s July 22-23 visit to Tbilisi may have been more about show than results, but for Georgians wearied by war and wary of Russia that show of support was all that mattered.

Central Asia: Northern Supply Network for Afghanistan Hits Snags
BY DEIRDRE TYNAN The Northern Distribution Network, an American-assembled logistical pipeline designed to ease and expand the flow of supplies to coalition forces in Afghanistan, is off to a lackluster start.

Azerbaijan: Detention of Youth Activists Causes Storm in Blogosphere
BY MINA MIRADOVA AND GIORGI LOMSADZE The decision to detain two youth activists and bloggers on charges of hooliganism is stoking concern in Azerbaijan about the future of the country’s nascent blogosphere, arguably among the most robust in the South Caucasus. Some observers believe that a government attempt to clamp down on new media will only cause the blogosphere to blossom.

Kyrgyzstan: Bakiyev Odds-On Favorite to Win Reelection in July 23 Vote
Political analysts are predicting no surprises for Kyrgyzstan’s July 23 presidential election. The incumbent, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, is expected to secure reelection in a walk-over.

Georgia: Controversy Surrounds Claim of Russian, South Ossetian Advance in Racha
BY MOLLY CORSO A controversy in the remote mountainous region of Racha is highlighting the fact that in some areas of Georgia, the border separating Georgian and Russian forces is blurred.

Afghanistan: First Local Team Conquers Afghanistan’s Highest Peak
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR It may not be a feat that matches walking on the moon, but a small group of Afghan villagers are nevertheless stoking national pride in their war-ravaged nation. The group has become the first local expedition to successfully scale Afghanistan’s tallest peak, the Noshaq, situated in the remote northeastern Badakhshan region.

CIS: The Example of Iran Could Fuel Repression in Former Soviet States -- Experts
BY JOSHUA KUCERA The election in Iran and its violent aftermath could create an undesirable precedent for authoritarian governments in the former Soviet Union, according to a former Bush administration democratization official.

Caspian Basin: Nabucco Moves Ahead of South Stream in Regional Energy Race
A EURASIANET COMMENTARY BY STEPHEN BLANK July has seen a sudden reversal of fortune in Caspian and Black Sea Basin pipeline politics. The Nabucco pipeline project has staged a noteworthy comeback, while a competing Russian-backed route, dubbed South Stream, now seems to be losing steam. Uncertainty surrounding future demand, however, raises the possibility that neither pipeline ever becomes a reality.

CIS: Disappointing Turnout for Race-Day Summit
Having fallen on hard economic times, Russia isn’t getting the respect that it used to from its immediate neighbors. Only six heads of states from the 11-member Commonwealth of Independent States showed up in Moscow for an informal summit, held at a horse-racing track.

Turkey: Smoking Ban Takes Effect in Restaurants, Cafes
A EURASIANET PHOTO STORY BY JONATHAN LEWIS Smoking in Turkey can almost be considered a national pastime. But the Turkish government is now taking firm action to get Turks to break off their long love affair with tobacco.

Pakistan: Swat Valley Sweep against Taliban Spurs Displacement Crisis
A EURASIANET SLIDESHOW BY JONATHAN ALPEYRIE The Pakistani military’s push against Taliban strongholds in the Swat Valley has created a forced migration emergency, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Kazakhstan: Despite Downturn, Nazarbayev’s Numbers Stay Up
BY JOANNA LILLIS Although Kazakhstan has been battered by the global financial downturn, the Central Asian nation’s citizens are still upbeat. Recent polling data shows that economic troubles have not dented the popularity of President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s administration, and that a healthy majority believes the country is moving in the right direction.

Tajikistan: President Rahmon Appeals to Tajik Believers to Make Charitable Donations
BY KONSTANTIN PARSHIN Tajik President Imomali Rahmon’s administration is discouraging believers in the impoverished Central Asian nation from making the Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca, this year. Instead, authorities are asking that would-be pilgrims make a donation to charity.

Azerbaijan: Baku Becomes a Question Mark for Nabucco Project
BY JESSICA POWLEY HAYDEN The Nabucco pipeline project took a major step forward when five transit countries recently signed an agreement after years of hesitation. But at least one wild card remains in the path of the project’s realization -- Azerbaijan. Although Baku has voiced strong support for Nabucco, experts caution that the country’s recent gas deal with Gazprom could complicate Baku’s ability to serve as a major supplier for the long-planned pipeline.

Georgia: US Vice President Biden to Visit Tbilisi in Late July
BY JOSHUA KUCERA In the wake of US President Barack Obama’s early July visit to Moscow, US Vice President Joe Biden will soon visit Georgia. But it’s not entirely clear whether the message that Biden delivers to Tbilisi will be of strong US support for Georgia, or an admonition to not antagonize Russia.

The Music of China's Nomads
See and hear how Kazakhs and Kyrgyz living in China's western Xinjiang Province are using music to preserve their cultural heritage.

Kazakhstan: Astana Takes the Lead in Lobbying for Nuclear-Free World
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY JOANNA LILLIS In August, Kazakhstan will mark the 60th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s first nuclear blast at the Semipalatinsk test site. President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s administration is using the anniversary to raise Kazakhstan’s profile as an anti-nuclear advocate.

Afghanistan: United Nations Report Highlights Problem of Violence against Women
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR One of the first women to be elected to a public post in conservative Afghanistan, Zarghuna Kakar serves as a member of the provincial council in Kandahar. Public service has come at a high price for her. She and her husband were attacked and her husband killed in a Kandahar market, and she now fears for her own life and wonders why she ever entered politics.

Armenia: Spurned by MCC, Yerevan Looks to Iran, Russia for Road Money
BY MARIANNA GRIGORYAN The Millennium Challenge Corporation’s recent decision to slash funds for its Armenia program has prompted the Armenian government to seek alternative financing for infrastructure improvements from Iran and Russia.

Georgia: Tracking International Reconstruction Assistance
BY MOLLY CORSO In the nine months since international donors agreed to give Georgia $4.5 billion in war-recovery aid, Tbilisi has taken in nearly half of that sum. These days, monitors are busy examining how Tbilisi is employing the funds. One international anti-corruption watchdog and a major American donor deem the government’s performance adequate to date, but some monitors caution that tracing all the money is close to impossible.

Tajikistan: Mysterious Death Raises Concerns About Militant Returns
BY SAODAT MAHBATSHO The mysterious killing of Mirzo Ziyoev, a former opposition commander and cabinet minister, is prompting foreign officials to voice concern about instability in mountainous areas of Tajikistan along the Afghan border. Tajik officials, while attempting to project an image that they remain in control of the security situation, say the rising violence in the South is connected to the return of militants from Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Caspian Energy: The End of the Beginning for the Nabucco Pipeline
BY YIGAL SCHLEIFER The troubled Nabucco pipeline project -- designed to diversify Europe’s energy supply and loosen Russia’s grip on the continent’s natural gas market -- took a major step forward on July 13 with the signing of a transit agreement between Turkey and five European Union countries involved in the undertaking.

Turkmenistan: Berdymukhamedov Makes Nabucco Pledge, Moscow Takes Energy Hits
BY DEIRDRE TYNAN Even before the July 13 signing of an intergovernmental agreement to formally launch the Nabucco pipeline, the project received a potentially important boost from Turkmenistan, which pledged to ship an unspecified amount of natural gas via the long-planned route.

Kyrgyzstan: Russia Seeks Second Military Base in Central Asian Nation, Rattling Uzbekistan
The Kremlin is playing a geopolitical game of ’can-you-top-this’ in Central Asia. Russia is looking to offset its failure to dislodge American troops from Kyrgyzstan’s air base at Manas by securing Bishkek’s agreement to open a Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) base in southern Kyrgyzstan’s Ferghana Valley.

Kyrgyzstan: Sacred Mountain Declared Country’s First UNESCO World Heritage Site
BY DAVID TRILLING Long a center of pilgrimage in the Ferghana Valley, in recent times Osh’s Sulaiman Too mountain, which forms the backdrop to much of the ancient Silk Road city, has been subject to both Soviet revisionist history and picnickers keen to leave their mark.

Central Asia: As Some Labor Migrants Leave Russia, Hate Attacks Continue
BY CATHERINE A. FITZPATRICK Even as a growing number of labor migrants from Central Asia and the Caucasus are returning to their homelands due to the global economic downturn, hate crimes against them are continuing unabated, independent monitors in Russia report.

Kazakhstan: Corruption Scandals an Indicator of Clan Infighting in Astana?
BY JOANNA LILLIS If reports coming out of Astana are to be believed, corruption and mismanagement are eating away at the core of the Kazakh state. According to official information, bureaucrats -- from ministers on down -- have either been helping themselves to government funds or, at the very least, making ill-informed decisions that have incurred billions of dollars in losses. But some opposition figures believe the proliferation of corruption cases in Kazakhstan is an outgrowth of a behind-the-scenes power struggle.

Amidst Crisis, Georgian Banks Go International for Financial Health
BY NINO PATSURIA Georgian Prime Minister Nika Gelauri recently issued an appeal for an additional $200 million in funding from international financial institutions for Georgia’s private banks. The catch lies in how Georgian these banks actually are. International financial institutions, in fact, already own 75 percent of Georgia’s total bank equity capital, according to Georgian regulators.

China: Examining the Root Causes of Xinjiang’s Ethnic Discontent
A EURASIANET COMMENTARY BY STEPHEN BLANK The early July inter-ethnic violence that hit China’s western Xinjiang Province may have been shocking, but it shouldn’t have been surprising. Tension between the Uighur and Han Chinese communities had been steadily building over the past three decades, and Communist authorities in Beijing hadn’t been doing much to defuse simmering anger.

Tajikistan: Migrant Worker Woes Cause Trickle-Down Effect of Misery
BY DAVID TRILLING Stuck in Moscow, Zaron’s husband cannot afford a ticket home. "When he was working, he sent us 150 or 200 dollars every month. For three months, he hasn’t sent anything," she says. A mother of five, Zaron’s youngest child, now almost two, hasn’t yet met her father. Unfortunately, Zaron’s story is far from unique these days in Tajikistan.

Georgia: Obama’s Russia Visit Eases Georgians’ Fears of Renewed Conflict with Moscow
BY GIORGI LOMSADZE US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s early July summit may not have resolved the Georgia-Russia conflict, but, for many Georgians, it did succeed in allaying fears of a fresh military confrontation with Moscow. Nevertheless, worries persist about whether or not Obama’s words of reconciliation will have a permanent effect on the Kremlin.

Pakistan: US Officials Working to Sway Hearts and Minds in Islamabad
BY JOSHUA KUCERA US officials are developing a new communications strategy in order to reduce tension stoked by drone air strikes in Pakistan.

Afghanistan: Private Security Contractors Become a Source of Public Scorn
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR A recent shootout in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar that left 10 people dead is helping to focus attention on the issue of private security companies, and the existing lack of accountability concerning their activities.

Turkmenistan: Ashgabat Hosts US Military Refuelling, Resupply Operations
BY DEIRDRE TYNAN Turkmenistan is quietly developing into a major transport hub for the northern supply network, which is being used to relay non-lethal supplies to US and NATO forces in Afghanistan. The Pentagon has confirmed a small contingent of US military personnel now operates in Ashgabat to assist refueling operations.

Kyrgyzstan: Adopt-a-Babushka Program Keeps Some Elderly Kyrgyz Citizens Going
BY DAVID TRILLING At 91, Dr. Tamara Shevchenko was born the year the Bolsheviks seized power in Petrograd. Her life was dedicated to science and advancing the Soviet ideal. She never married; never had children. And now she is alone.

Kyrgyzstan: For Marginalized Lyuli, Kyrgyz Language is an Antidote to Isolation
BY UMID ERKINOV For members of Kyrgyzstan’s Lyuli community, marginalization has been a constant fact of life. Even the totalitarian ways of Soviet authorities never succeeded in integrating the Lyuli into mainstream Kyrgyz society. But now there’s hope that young Lyuli will be able to break the cycle of hardship.

Georgia: European Monitors in Georgia: A Case of Great Expectations?
BY MOLLY CORSO Georgia is hoping the European Union will help keep the peace in the sensitive border areas near the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. But a recent tour with European Union monitors suggests that Tbilisi’s expectations may be too high.

Russia: Can Obama Visit Close Values Gap Between Washington and Moscow?
A EURASIANET NEWS ANALYSIS BY IGOR TORBAKOV US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev got down to business on July 6, trying to place US-Russian relations back on a solid foundation after an extended period of rancor connected to last August’s fighting in Georgia. Perhaps appropriately, a chill was in the Moscow air as discussions got underway.

Kazakhstan: President Stamps His Personality on the Nation
A PHOTO SLIDESHOW BY JOANNA LILLIS Visitors to Astana, Kazakhstan’s glittery capital, love to zoom up to the top of the Bayterek Tower in an elevator for a panoramic view over the new city that has sprung up on the steppe over the last decade or so.

Russia: Foreshadowing the Obama-Medvedev Summit
A EURASIANET COMMENTARY BY RICHARD WEITZ The main topic of the July 6-8 summit meeting in Moscow between US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will be settling the main elements of an agreement to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). The current arms control pact expires in early December.

Armenia: Return of Fugitive Journalist Puts Amnesty to Test
BY MARIANNA GRIGORYAN Armenia's amnesty will meet its first serious political test on July 3 with the hearing of the government's case against Nikol Pashinian, a confidante of ex-President Levon Ter Petrosian and pro-opposition journalist, who came out of hiding on July 1.

Turkey: IMF Talks Provide Way to Gauge Ankara’s Fiscal Discipline
BY NICHOLAS BIRCH Turkey and the International Monetary Fund will be making a final push in the coming weeks to see whether they can conclude a loan agreement, according to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkish analysts say the Turkish-IMF wrangling is masking a more important question: is Ankara committed to sustaining fiscally prudent policies that have made it an attractive foreign investment destination during this decade?

Central Asia and Caucasus: Dark Days for Democratization - Report
BY JOSHUA KUCERA The countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia experienced a decline in their democratic development in 2008, according to a report issued June 30 by the American watchdog group Freedom House.

Russia: Obama Trip to Moscow Offers Chance for Better US-Russian Cooperation on Iran
A EURASIANET COMMENTARY BY STEPHEN BLANK In advance of US President Barack Obama’s July 6 trip to Moscow, Russian officials have made some interesting gestures concerning the Kremlin’s Iran policy. Some of these signals might offer the possibility of new movement on international efforts to address the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.

Azerbaijan Abandons Controversial NGO Amendments
BY JESSICA POWLEY HAYDEN Azerbaijani rights activists are hailing as a rare victory the passage of amendments to a law on non-governmental organizations after a fierce fight with the government over earlier, more restrictive proposed changes. Worries nonetheless persist about the bill’s long-term implications for civil liberties within Azerbaijan.

Georgia: OSCE Terminates Its 17-Year Georgian Mission
BY JEAN-CHRISTOPHE PEUCH The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is effectively affixing the seals on the door of its Tbilisi field office on June 30 and wrapping up its 17-year monitoring operation in the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict zone.

Russia Scores Double Match Point with Azerbaijani Gas Deal
BY SHAHIN ABBASOV Russian President Dmitri Medvedev only visited Baku for a day, but walked away with a gas deal likely to bring Moscow benefits for years to come.

Kazakhstan: Team Astana Gets New Backing Just in Time for Tour de France
After several months of high-profile financial problems, the Astana Cycling Team has secured funding to keep the wheels turning, just before this year’s Tour de France kicks off in Monaco on July 4. Kazakhstan’s state assets holding company will become the national team’s premier benefactor.

Azerbaijan: Peres Baku Visit Highlights Possibilities of Israeli-Azerbaijani Cooperation
BY SHAHIN ABBASOV Israel’s president, Shimon Peres, wrapped up a landmark visit to Azerbaijan on June 29, during which he endorsed Baku’s efforts to retain control of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia: Crackdown Victims’ Families Have Little Hope for Justice
BY GAYANE ABRAHAMYAN Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s decision to shut down the commission investigating the deaths of the 10 people killed during March 2008 clashes between police and protesters has prompted families of the deceased to fear that those responsible for the deaths will escape punishment.

Kyrgyzstan: Bakiyev Courts Support of Believers
BY ALISHER KHAMIDOV With Kyrgyzstan’s July 23 presidential election fast approaching, President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s administration is trying to court the support of Muslims, while cracking down on suspected members of radical Islamic groups.

Turkey: Football Referee, Barred for Being Homosexual, Fights for Rights
BY NICHOLAS BIRCH Turkey’s football authorities are at the center of a developing scandal, in which the dropping of a referee is turning into a civil rights test case. The referee at the center of the case, Halil Ibrahim Dincdag, maintains he was let go because of his homosexuality, and he is challenging the Turkish Football Federation’s decision in a local court.

Armenia: Saakashvili Visit to Yerevan Produces Lots of Smiles, Little Action
BY MARIANNA GRIGORYAN Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili arrived in Armenia touting a "bright future" for bilateral relations. But now that his two-day visit is over, experts say the visit failed to make much headway on two issues that are a source of friction between the states -- relations with Russia and the fate of ethnic Armenians in Georgia.

Azerbaijan: Monitoring Iranian Events for Political Lessons
EURASIANET COMMENTARY BY SHAHIN ABBASOV Political leaders in Azerbaijan are paying careful attention to the turmoil in Iran. It’s not just the fact that Iran is home to roughly 20 million ethnic Azeris that explains the strong interest in Iranian events. Both government officials and opposition politicians in Baku are searching for political lessons in the news coming out of Tehran.

Iran: Larijani Faction Emerges as Third Force in Iranian Power Struggle
BY KAMAL NAZER YASIN It appears that a third force, centering on Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and his influential relatives, is taking shape in Iran. This new political force -- whose leaders have strong ties to Iran’s religious establishment, and who possess strong revolutionary credentials -- is working hard to establish a public profile apart from hardliners led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and from progressives led by aggrieved presidential challenger Mir Hussein Mousavi.

Kazakhstan: Geopolitical Rivalry Flares at NATO Forum in Astana
BY JOANNA LILLIS NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer used a June 25 security forum in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana to encourage debate on how the Atlantic Alliance can evolve in the age of globalization. He also sought to reassure cautious Central Asian leaders that partnership with NATO was a "two-way street."

Turkey: Iran Upheaval Poses Diplomatic Challenge for Ankara
BY YIGAL SCHLEIFER Turkey seems to be searching for a proper response to the upheaval in Tehran. The Turkish public has greeted the crisis in Iran with a mix of indifference and confusion, while on the official side, Ankara is treading with extreme caution. Not wanting to possibly strain bilateral ties, Turkish officials are refraining from criticizing Iranian hardliners, or questioning the results of the country’s recent contested elections.

Kazakhstan: Rights Group Urging Improvements, as OSCE Chair Looms
BY JOANNA LILLIS A global human rights watchdog says Kazakhstan is risking a public relations debacle unless it takes fast action to ease restrictions on mass media and promote political openness.

Afghanistan: Afghans Tracking Tehran Power Struggle
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR During Afghanistan’s nearly 30 years of civil strife, over 2 million Afghans found refuge in neighboring Iran. Most Afghan refugees have returned in recent years, and now, with Iran gripped by political turmoil, some in Kabul and elsewhere are waiting and watching anxiously to see what happens in their former country of residence. The outcome, the Afghans say, will exert considerable influence over Afghanistan’s own development.

Afghanistan: Kabul Court Ruling Could Free Afghan Terrorism Suspects Held at Guantanamo
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR A short message on the back of Maj. Eric Montalvo’s business card reads: "My lawyer has told me not to talk to anyone about my case, not to answer any questions and not to reply to any accusations." The message is intended for those who try to approach his clients. Montalvo has one of the most difficult jobs anywhere. As a soldier and prosecutor for the US military, he is tasked with defending those suspected by the US government of committing acts of terrorism in Afghanistan and around the world. Some of his clients have not even been charged.

Iran: Azeris Cautious About Supporting Native Son Mousavi in Tehran Political Fight
BY SHAHIN ABBASOV Iran’s ethnic Azeri community numbers roughly 15-20 million, or almost a quarter of the country’s overall population. Most Azeris harbor deep feelings of resentment toward Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s administration in Tehran, and they are believed to have voted strongly for the aggrieved presidential challenger, Mir Hussein Mousavi, who is himself an Azeri from Tabriz. Even so, most Azeris remain unwilling to take an active part in the continuing battle for control of Iran’s social and economic agenda.

Kyrgyzstan: US Armed Forces to Remain at Air Base for Afghan Resupply Operations
BY DEIRDRE TYNAN Kyrgyzstan and the United States have agreed to keep the Manas Air Base in operation, albeit under a different name.

Armenia: Amnesty Does Little to Deflect Opposition Ire
BY MARIANNA GRIGORYAN More than a dozen Armenian opposition activists have now been released from prison under a June 19 amnesty, but little sign exists that Armenia's opposition is content with the outcome.

Iran: Rafsanjani Poised to Outflank Supreme Leader Khamenei
Looking past their fiery rhetoric and apparent determination to cling to power using all available means, Iran’s hardliners are not a confident bunch. While hardliners still believe they possess enough force to stifle popular protests, they are worried that they are losing a behind-the-scenes battle within Iran’s religious establishment.

Turkey: UFO Believers Seek to Shed "Quack" Status
BY NICHOLAS BIRCH With his neatly-clipped moustache and his shirt buttoned up to his neck, 51-year-old Yalcin Yalman doesn’t project the image of a trendsetter.

Kazakhstan: President Nazarbayev Marks Two Decades in Power
BY JOANNA LILLIS When Nursultan Nazarbayev took charge of Soviet Kazakhstan 20 years ago, he could scarcely have imagined that two years later he would be running his own country, and less that two decades later he would still be at the helm of an energy-rich state.

Iran: The Start of the End Game in Tehran
It would appear that Iran’s political crisis is entering the end-game phase. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared to slam the door June 19 on any chance of a political compromise. In a sermon at Tehran University, he resolutely defended the integrity of the country’s rigged presidential election result, and threatened protesters with retribution. The only way now open for Iran to resolve the presidential election controversy is through a test of strength.

Iran: Pondering a Popular Revolution in Iran?
A EURASIANET COMMENTARY BY MARK N. KATZ Many analysts in the West have expressed the opinion that Iranian hardliners will eventually suppress ongoing demonstrations in Tehran and elsewhere. Given this likelihood, they add, the best course of action for the United States is not to do anything that alienates either Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei or President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and thus do nothing that might jeopardize US-Iranian rapprochement possibilities.

Armenia: Parliament Approves Amnesty
BY MARIANNA GRIGORYAN After heavy lobbying by the international community, a special session of Armenia’s National Assembly on June 19 approved President Serzh Sargsyan’s request for a prisoner amnesty.

Iran: Youth-Led Protests Attaining Critical Mass
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY A chain reaction of hope in Iran is fueling youth-led street protests that seem poised to beat back Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s power grab. Over 1 million demonstrators gathered for a Tehran rally on June 18, by far the largest anti-government crowd to assemble since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran: Hardliners Losing Nerve, Preparing for Desperate Gambit - Source
Hardliners in Iran are preparing to make a desperate bid to preserve their power in the face of burgeoning public opposition. A source within Iran’s law enforcement agency revealed late on June 18 that backers of presumptive president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will try to deploy special Revolutionary Guard units to confront protesters in Tehran.

Armenia: Washington Cuts Millennium Challenge Funding
BY JOSHUA KUCERA The United States has cut aid for a $67-million road construction program in Armenia, due to displeasure over the slow pace of democratization in Yerevan, US officials say. But some in Armenia and in the Armenian diaspora dispute that rationale, and instead suggest that Yerevan is being punished for geopolitical reasons.

Georgian Wine, Water Take the Back Door to Russia?
BY NINO PATSURIA Three years after Moscow banned agricultural imports from Georgia, a Kremlin-financed business publication claims that Georgian wine, mineral water, fruit and vegetables are now entering Russia via third countries.

Turkey: European Union Court Ruling Could Expand Women’s Rights
BY NICHOLAS BIRCH A European Court of Human Rights ruling in early June could turn into a landmark decision that opens the way for the expanded protection of women’s rights in Turkey.

Azerbaijan: NGO Amendments Put Civil Society at Risk - Activists
BY JESSICA POWLEY HAYDEN Controversial amendments that would impose new restrictions on non-governmental organizations could force numerous local and international NGOs in Azerbaijan to cease operations. Some activists go so far as to say the amendments, if passed, would throttle civil society development in the country.

Iran: Enmity at Top is Driving the Revolution from Below
A political maxim holds that a revolution tends to eat its young. It happened that way with France with its Great Terror; it happened in China with its Cultural Revolution and counter-strike against the Gang of Four; and there’s no need to elaborate on what happened in the Soviet Union during the late 1920s and 30s. Such a weeding-out process hasn’t happened in the history of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, though. But it seems to be occurring now.

Kyrgyzstan: Bakiyev Promises Continuing Support for Afghan War Effort
A high-profile meeting between the Afghan and Kyrgyz presidents is paving the way for a public announcement that a contentious US air base near Bishkek will stay open, experts say.

Iran: Hardliners Double Down on Repression, But Protest Numbers Keep Growing
Hard-line backers of Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are doubling down on their bet that repression can break popular opposition to his power grab. The storm of protest in Iran over the suspicious presidential election results showed no signs of abating, however.

Tajikistan: Dushanbe Ramps up Crackdown on Suspected Islamic Radicals
BY SAODAT MAHBATSHO Despite official denials that civil war-era opposition leaders still pose a national security threat, a rash of arrests of both alleged Islamist militants and former opposition figures in Tajikistan suggests the situation is not as stable as President Imomali Rahmon’s administration would like the outside world to believe. Some experts see a connection between the arrests and parliamentary elections scheduled for early 2010.

Iran: Election-Related Upheaval in Tehran Could Pave Way for Rapprochement with Washington
BY JOSHUA KUCERA Iran’s presidential election, as marred as it has been by probable fraud and mass protests in Tehran, could ultimately be a boon to US-Iranian relations -- even if Mahmoud Ahmadinejad retains power.

Georgia: United Nations to Leave Abkhazia
BY GIORGI LOMSADZE The end of the United Nations' monitoring mission in the breakaway region of Abkhazia will further restrict the ability of both Georgia and Abkhazia to maneuver against Moscow, Georgian analysts believe. A Russian veto in the UN Security Council blocked the extension of the mission's mandate after nearly 16 years in Abkhazia.

Russia: The Kremlin’s Collective Security Vision Hits Brick Wall
BY SERGEI BLAGOV Russia’s desire to forge a new security infrastructure in Eurasia is running into problems. A June 14 summit in Moscow of Collective Security Treaty Organization devolved into a very awkward affair for the Kremlin, as the authoritarian-minded leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, boycotted the gathering, and Belarus and Uzbekistan opted not to sign a key agreement to create a rapid-reaction force.

Iran: Islamic Republic at Risk?
Iran’s presidential election is degenerating into a battle of nerves. Protesters remain unwilling to accept blatantly-rigged results that appear designed to usher in a neo-conservative dictatorship. The pressure is now mounting on the country’s Supreme Leader, who seems to have maneuvered himself into a corner from which there are seemingly only two equally unpalatable escape routes -- either surrender, or order security forces to open fire. Either way, the Islamic Revolution will come under severe strain in the coming days, and there is no guarantee that it will survive this crisis.

Iran: Presidential Election Polarizes Society
Tehran, 2009, now has the feel of Madrid, 1936. A large segment of Iranian society feels under siege. This mood forged a coalition of disparate forces to resist what many see as an attempt by incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to establish an authoritarian-repressive regime. One could almost hear echoes of the Spanish Republican side’s rallying cry -- No Pasaran, or They Shall Not Pass -- during recent rallies for Ahmadinejad’s main presidential challenger, Mir Hussein Mousavi.

Azerbaijan: Baku Tackles Human Trafficking, but Ignores Domestic Violence
BY JESSICA POWLEY HAYDEN While Azerbaijan is getting tough on human trafficking, officials in Baku are lagging on efforts to address the more pervasive problem of domestic violence. Experts say the dichotomy reveals a willingness to combat foreign ills while turning a blind eye to those closer to home.

Iran: Ahmadinejad Backers Lay Groundwork for Massive Vote-Rigging
BY KAMAL NAZER YASIN It would appear that if he can’t win reelection by hook, Iran’s incumbent president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is going to try to take it by crook. Agencies responsible for administering the June 12 presidential election, and for counting the ballots, are firmly under the president’s control, and there are indications that Ahmadinejad loyalists have laid the groundwork for wide-scale fraud on election day.

Georgia: Is the Bell Tolling for UN, OSCE Missions?
BY JEAN-CHRISTOPHE PEUCH The chances of preserving international observer missions in the separatist territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia look slim, as Russia continues to insist that their respective mandates be amended to reflect "new realities" that Moscow contends arose from recent military hostilities with Georgia.

Kyrgyzstan: Uzbek Authorities Take Action to Thwart Cross-Border Trade
Tension is rapidly escalating along the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border. In response to violent Islamic militant attacks in late May, Uzbek authorities have started to fortify their frontier by building three-meter-wide trenches in some areas, according to Kyrgyz media reports. Bishkek has criticized the Uzbek action as a violation of mutual security agreements.

Uzbekistan: They’ll be Doing the Samba in Tashkent
BY DEIRDRE TYNAN After months of intensive negotiations, legendary Brazilian football coach Luiz Felipe Scolari is being unveiled as the new manager of Uzbekistan’s richest football club, Bunyodkor.

Kazakhstan: Business Climate Grows Gloomy Amid Arbitrary Arrest Controversy
BY JOANNA LILLIS Foreign investors and Kazakhstan’s business elite have been shaken by the arrest of one of the country’s most respected and successful entrepreneurs. As investors look on nervously and some of the country’s top executives protest openly, a probe of all state companies has been ordered. So great has been the controversy stirred by the arrest of Mukhtar Dzhakishev, former head of the state nuclear agency, that President Nursultan Nazarbayev felt compelled to intervene.

Armenia: Opposition Looks for a New Strategy
A EURASIANET COMMENTARY BY HAROUTIUN KHACHATRIAN Defeated repeatedly at the polls, the Armenian National Congress, Armenia’s largest opposition movement, finds itself on a slippery slope and is struggling to gain traction.

Mongolia: Russia Nixes US Development Funds for Ulaanbaatar
BY JOSHUA KUCERA Mongolia is accepting Russian demands to refuse US government funding for a railroad project and will ask the United States to redirect the funding to another project, the country’s foreign minister said during a visit to Washington.

Iran: Is Ahmadinejad Carrying Out a Coup?
BY KAMAL NAZER YASIN What we may be witnessing in Iran these days is a revolution within the Islamic Revolution. If successfully carried out, the net effect would be more like a coup, in which the incumbent president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, tramples on Iran’s existing, tangled pluralistic system, and establishes what amounts to a neo-conservative dictatorship with the blessing of the country’s spiritual leader. The problem for Ahmadinejad and his backers, however, is they may have underestimated the power of their opponents.

Armenia: Sopranos-Style TV Dramas Spark Debate Over Crime Rates
BY MARIANNA GRIGORYAN Burglaries have doubled in Armenia, homicides have nearly tripled and illegal weapons trafficking is up by over 43 percent in Armenia so far in 2009. Sociologists see a connection between the crime binge and a new collection of wildly popular TV crime-thrillers.

Ferghana Valley: Tajik-Kyrgyz Border a Potential "Karabakh"
BY DAVID TRILLING Kuldash is unsure which country he lives in. An ethnic Kyrgyz, he has a Kyrgyz passport, but his son possesses a Tajik one. "My son lives in the next house, in Kyrgyzstan. My house is supposed to be in Tajikistan," he says with a wry grin.

Iran: Ahmadinejad Has One Quip Too Many, Prompting Intervention
BY KAMAL NAZER YASIN Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s penchant for loopy one-liners and unsubstantiated allegations may finally be getting the best of him. A raucous presidential debate -- featuring comments so outrageous that Ahmadinejad provoked rebukes from all across the political spectrum -- has energized the Iranian electorate, and riveted attention on the June 12 presidential vote. Turnout may end up being so large, and attention so great, that it may make it difficult to rig. That can only be bad news for the incumbent.

Georgia: Contemplating War-and-Peace on a Make-Believe Isle
BY GIORGI LOMSADZE Given the vitriolic exchanges between Tbilisi and Moscow at the outset, the conclusion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s military exercises in Georgia was somewhat of an anti-climax.

Tajikistan: Plummeting Currency Causes Economic Worries
Small business owners and consumers are being hit hard by the rapid and seemingly uncontrollable fall of the Tajik currency against the US dollar. While some experts say the National Bank appears to have no control over the plunge of the Tajik somoni, others suggest that some large businesses are taking advantage of bank moves to turn a quick profit.

Azerbaijan: Baku Can Leapfrog over Ukraine, Georgia for NATO Membership -- Source
BY SHAHIN ABBASOV A senior source within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s Joint Force Command has told EurasiaNet that Azerbaijan stands a better chance of gaining NATO membership in the near future than either Georgia or Ukraine.

Iran: Reformists Take Action to Frustrate Ahmadinejad Dirty Tricks
BY KAMAL NAZER YASIN The leading presidential challenger, Mir Hussein Mousavi, appears to be gaining a head of steam leading up to Iran’s election on June 12. Even though some polls now show Mousavi to be leading the incumbent, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, some experts in Tehran maintain that political change in Tehran is unlikely. Some powerful forces in Iranian politics are unwilling to see Ahmadinejad lose.

Kazakhstan: Conflict-of-Interest Debate Flares in Washington
BY JOSHUA KUCERA The government of Kazakhstan is paying an influential Washington think tank to write a series of reports and policy recommendations for the US and Kazakhstani governments concerning Astana’s upcoming role as chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Armenia: Trying to Find a Balance Between Economic Need and Environmental Responsibility
BY GAYANE ABRAHAMYAN A Russian-owned mining company’s plan to build a gold processing plant near Armenia’s legendary Lake Sevan has raised concerns about additional contamination of the lake, the source for 90 percent of Armenia’s fresh water supplies.

Georgia: Tbilisi Looks to Pablo Picasso for Positive Post-War PR
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY MOLLY CORSO Forty Pablo Picasso drawings, sketches and linocuts from France's Zervos Museum are spending the summer in Georgia. It marks the country's first high-profile art exhibit since the fall of the Soviet Union, and seeks to burnish the Caucasus country's image as a regional cultural hub.

Kazakhstan: Close Encounters with Camels on the Aral Sea Bed
A EURASIANET DIARY BY DAVID TRILLING Bactrian Camels are endangered in the wild, but domesticated breeds have long plied the trade routes of Central Asia. Well-adapted to the demands of dry steppe living, they are a common site in Kazakhstan and other arid regions of Central Asia, from Afghanistan and China to the Caspian shore. Domesticated or not, the two-humped beasts have wicked tempers, as EurasiaNet’s David Trilling learned at the bottom of the Aral Sea.

Armenia: Is President Sargsyan’s Amnesty Offer Politics or PR?
BY MARIANNA GRIGORYAN Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s recent announcement that he is prepared to consider a prisoner amnesty has fueled debate about his motivations. Some Armenians believe it is a tactical maneuver designed to influence the outcome of Yerevan’s May 31 City Council elections. Opposition politicians, meanwhile, suggest the president is trying to burnish Armenia’s international human rights record.

Azerbaijan: Youth Groups Look to Pre-Soviet Past to Build Democratic-Secular Future
BY MINA MURADOVA They say they have no interest in politics. Just in promoting social change. Youth groups that promote Azerbaijan’s pre-Soviet Azerbaijani Democratic Republic have become a fresh force in Azerbaijan’s public life, but one that the government isn’t embracing.

Afghanistan: Civil Casualties Remains a Divisive Issue for Kabul and Washington
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR Despite US efforts to minimize accidents, the issue of civilian deaths remains a source of tension between American forces and the Afghan government, and it appears to be eroding popular support for coalition forces fighting Islamic militants. Afghan officials contend that US commanders need to shift their combat priorities to ensure civilian safety. US military representatives counter that it is the Taliban that does not value life, adding that the insurgents are using civilians as "human sacrifice."

Uzbekistan: Political Persecution Prompts Rise in Refugees
A EurasiaNet Q&A with Human Rights Activist Nadezhda Atayeva Human rights activist Nadezhda Atayeva is president of the Paris-based Association for Human Rights in Central Asia. Her association assists refugees and asylum seekers from Central Asia -- especially Uzbekistan -- understand their international legal rights and gain protection. EurasiaNet asked Atayeva about conditions in Uzbekistan and the difficulties encountered by Central Asian refugees and asylum seekers abroad.

Tajikistan: Uzbekistan Proves Unlikely Friend in Time of Need
To the surprise of some Tajiks suffering from recent mudslides and floods, an unlikely friend has extended a helping hand. Uzbekistan, which for much of the post-Soviet era has had bitter relations with Tajikistan, recently delivered emergency food and reconstruction aid to help its blighted neighbor.

Kyrgyzstan: Radioactive Legacy Vexes Bishkek
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY DAVID TRILLING For a generation, Toko and his extended family have grown tomatoes, apples and strawberries along the Mailuu Suu River in southern Kyrgyzstan. Their little plot was a form of insurance, looked upon as a reliable food source that could help feed the family and produce some income amid the post-Soviet era’s economic uncertainty. But for the past year, an infernal legacy of the Soviet era has haunted Toko’s household. A new sign across the muddy lane tells the story: it displays the fearsome international trefoil symbol for radioactivity and reads, "Keep Out!"

Uzbekistan: Kyrgyz Officials Deny Islamic Militant Raids Originated in Kyrgyzstan
BY DEIRDRE TYNAN Kyrgyz officials are adamantly disputing the Uzbek government’s contention that May 26 violence in the Uzbek portion of the Ferghana Valley can trace its origins to Kyrgyzstan.

Azerbaijan: Mosques Close in Baku, "Capital of Islamic Culture"
BY MINA MURADOVA Baku may have the designation of this year’s "Capital of Islamic Culture," but a recent series of mosque closures and fresh requirements for registration of religious organizations has prompted concern about how Azerbaijan is living up to its title.

Uzbekistan: If a Taliban Outpost Falls in Pakistan, Is the Ripple Felt in the Ferghana Valley?
Updates with suicide bombing in Andijan Are anti-Taliban operations in far-away Pakistan prompting Uzbek Islamic militants to flee safe havens in the Southwest Asian nation’s tribal areas and to return to Central Asia? A suicide bombing in Andijan, as well as an armed clash between gunmen and security forces in the Uzbek border town of Khanabad, suggests this may be a possibility.

Tajikistan: Are Islamic Militants Trying to Make a Comeback in Central Asia?
Officials in Tajikistan are adamantly denying a large-scale government security operation in the eastern Rasht Valley has anything to do with reports that a notorious Islamic militant commander has returned to the area from Pakistan. Authorities are sticking with the story that the beefed up security presence in the mountainous region is connected with a government anti-drug offensive.

Uzbekistan: Tashkent’s Job-Creation Plans May Stoke Rural Discontent
Amid a worsening financial picture in Uzbekistan, President Islam Karimov is pulling out his old Soviet playbook and trying to give new meaning to the concept of a command economy. But there appears to be a sizeable chance that the Uzbek government’s policy prescriptions could end up exacerbating social tension in the Central Asian nation.

Armenia: Government Coalition Parties Duke It Out over Yerevan Vote
BY MARIANNA GRIGORYAN With the election for Yerevan’s City Council 10 days away, the campaign is becoming bruising. But it’s not jockeying between the government and opposition that has emerged as the chief source of rancor. Instead, the campaign has opened a window on a simmering power struggle within the governing coalition.

Afghanistan: Could Afghan Resupply Efforts Promote US-Iranian Cooperation?
BY DEIRDRE TYNAN The Defense Department’s US Transportation Command is leaving no stone unturned in its efforts to find alternative routes of supply to Afghanistan. Documents obtained by EurasiaNet indicate that efforts to both ease and widen the flow of non-lethal materiel to NATO and US troops fighting the Taliban could potentially require cooperation between the United States and Iran.

Georgia: Suspected Mutiny Mastermind Killed in Shootout
BY GIORGI LOMSADZE Georgian police have shot dead one of the accused masterminds of a military mutiny and badly wounded his two accomplices. The incident is sparking fresh controversy over a tank battalion rebellion against President Mikheil Saakashvili earlier in May.

Georgia: Tbilisi Woos Arab Investment
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY MOLLY CORSO Eager to carve out cheaper trade routes, Georgia is becoming a favored destination for Middle East investors. Arab executives say the benefits of Georgia’s location outweigh the risks of basing operations in a country that recently fought a war with Russia.

Azerbaijan: Government Opts Not to Mourn Baku School Shooting Victims
BY JESSICA POWLEY HAYDEN In Azerbaijan, a tragedy is threatening to turn into a public relations problem for President Ilham Aliyev’s administration. Young Azerbaijanis have started to voice displeasure over the government’s refusal to declare a public mourning period for the victims of the recent mass murder at Baku’s State Oil Academy.

Potential Iraq Connection Keeps Nabucco Pipeline Project on Life Support
BY YIGAL SCHLEIFER Could supplies from gas fields in northern Iraq breath new life into the troubled Nabucco pipeline, a project designed to free the European Union from Russia’s virtual gas supply monopoly?

Iran: Did Ahmadinejad Use Saberi in Attempt to Score Diplomatic Coup?
A EURASIANET COMMENTARY BY KAMAL NAZER YASIN Circumstantial evidence suggests that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may have provoked an incident involving the United States -- specifically, the recent jailing of Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi -- in a twisted effort to promote a rapprochement with Washington.

Tajikistan: French Air Detachment in Dushanbe Quietly Carries Out Afghan Mission
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY DAVID TRILLING Dushanbe’s ramshackle airport is the only facility in the world that is hosting NATO and Russian troops simultaneously. Both unassuming military outposts outside the capital of Tajikistan share the same single airstrip and sit quietly at the same end of the airfield.

Armenia and Azerbaijan: Eurovision Contest Puts Musical Twist on Nagorno-Karabakh Dispute
BY GAYANE ABRAHAMYAN AND JESSICA POWLEY HAYDEN For most television viewers, Eurovision 2009, with all its spangled costumes and schmaltzy tunes, was nothing more than a light-hearted, fun-filled singing contest. But for those watching in Armenia and Azerbaijan, the show became another front in the long-running struggle over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Georgia: Villagers Want Jobs, Not Protests
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY MOLLY CORSO Kiosk owner Dali Maghlabeli makes just two lari per day - a little over $1 - from the snacks and inflatable balls displayed in her tin hut on Georgia’s main East-West highway. For Georgia’s assertive opposition, people like Maghlabeli are targets of opportunity. But so far, Maghlabeli and others from the ranks of Georgia’s impoverished have shunned opposition efforts to recruit them for the campaign to force President Mikheil Saakashvili from power.

Caspian Basin: Which Way is Up for Regional Energy Development?
A EURASIANET COMMENTARY BY ARIEL COHEN May 15 could become the official birth date of a pipeline that would help Russia maintain its virtual monopoly of natural gas exports to Europe. Whether the energy export project grows to maturity remains to be seen.

Central Asia: Washington Boosts Aid to Region to Bolster Afghan War Effort
BY JOSHUA KUCERA The United States is proposing significant increases to its aid packages for Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in the hopes that stabilizing those countries will enhance US efforts to defeat the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan. More broadly, however, regional experts say the aid amounts that Washington is extending to the countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia in 2009 are insufficient to secure desired US diplomatic objectives in those regions.

Iran: An Unlikely Political Alliance Taking Shape
BY KAMAL NAZER YASIN With one month to go before Iran’s June 12 presidential election, incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s reelection chances seem high. But his candidacy is proving so polarizing that the election campaign could bring about lasting changes to Iran’s political landscape.

Uzbekistan: Karimov Gives Washington the Air Base It Needs for Afghan Operations
BY DEIRDRE TYNAN With a helping hand from South Korea, the United States has reestablished a strategic presence in Uzbekistan - sort of. The development provides a boost for US efforts to press an offensive against Islamic militants in Afghanistan, and offers evidence that Russia’s influence in Central Asia is waning.

Georgia: No Breakthrough in Saakashvili-Opposition Talks
After a month of street demonstrations during which protesters have agitated for President Mikheil Saakashvili’s resignation, the Georgian leader and opposition envoys sat down for talks on May 11. The discussions did not appear to resolve any of the issues dividing the two sides.

Nagorno-Karabakh: Baku and Yerevan Downbeat on a Possible Solution
BY SHAHIN ABBASOV AND GAYANE ABRAHAMYAN While international mediators give an upbeat assessment to the May 8 tête-à-tête between Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, within Azerbaijan and Armenia there is a scarcity of optimism.

Central Asia and Caucasus: Terrorist Threat on Rise in Ferghana Valley - US State Department
BY JOSHUA KUCERA The threat posed by Islamic militant groups in Central Asia, especially in the Kyrgyz and Tajik portions of the Ferghana Valley, appears to be growing, according to the US State Department’s recently released annual report on terrorism.

Azerbaijan: Diaspora Organization Tries to Counter Armenian-American Influence in Washington
BY JESSICA POWLEY HAYDEN A new front has opened in the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict and it is centered in Washington, DC. Frustrated by the effectiveness of Armenian-American advocacy groups to shape debates in the United States, Baku is now looking to its diaspora for a little public-relations support.

Turkey: Can Turkey’s Main Secularist Party Make a Comeback?
BY NICHOLAS BIRCH Nationwide, the CHP only managed to get 2 percent more votes than in general elections in 2007. But in Istanbul, Turkey’s biggest city, it increased votes by 10 percent, losing by a neck to a popular mayor from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). "Win Istanbul and you are half way to winning Turkey", says Adil Gur, a leading pollster. "A CHP victory would have been a huge coup."

EurasiaNet provides information and analysis about political, economic, environmental and social developments in the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as in Russia, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia. The web site also offers additional features, including newsmaker interviews and book reviews.

 

Armenia ready to develop cooperation with NATO (Panarmenian)

NA Speaker Hovik Abrhamyan received Robert Simmonms, NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for the South Caucasus.

Source : Panarmenian (subscribe)

Explore : Armenia, Asia, World

Oil and gas company employee shot dead in Russia's Ingushetia (Ria Novosti)

An oil and gas company employee was shot dead in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Ingushetia, local police said on Friday.

Source : Ria Novosti (subscribe)

Explore : Asia, Business, Energy and Water, Russia, World

Russian Patriarch Kirill to visit Azerbaijan on Friday (Ria Novosti)

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church will make a one-day visit to Azerbaijan on Friday, a spokesman for the chairman of the Caucasus Muslims Board said Friday.

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Spoof of Georgian Patriarch Sparks Row (Institute for War & Peace Reporting)

Orthodox leader at the centre of argument over whether the church is too involved in public life. By Ana Kandelaki in Tbilisi (CRS No. 518, 06-Nov-09)

Source : Institute for War & Peace Reporting (subscribe)

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Karabakh Children’s Home Reveals Strains of Life (Institute for War & Peace Reporting)

Once an orphanage, the institution has evolved to care for the child victims of a broken society. By Karine Ohanian in Stepanakert (CRS No. 518, 06-Nov-09)

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Early Marriages Worry Azerbaijan Officials (Institute for War & Peace Reporting)

Unscrupulous mullahs accused of marrying young girls whose health and education then suffer. By Diana Isayeva in Baku (CRS No. 518, 06-Nov-09)

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Azerbaijan: Virginity (Global Voices Online)

Emotions on Air, Mind Mute ponders societal expectations that women remain virgins until they marry. Although based in Azerbaijan, the blog notes the same value system throughout the entire Caucasus and speaks out about such patriarchal concepts and practices.

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Georgia: Orthodox scandal (Global Voices Online)

In the most religious country of the South Caucasus where the Orthodox Church's Patriarch can even encourage a baby boom, criticizing the clergy is still somewhat taboo. Lampooning them, however, is even worse and fraught with danger.

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Russia: The Cossack Factor (Global Voices Online)

Window on Eurasia writes that “articles in the Russian blogosphere suggest both that an increasing number of Cossacks view themselves as victims and are prepared to act as an independent force and that the Russian government is increasingly concerned about that possibility, something that could undermine Moscow’s control of the North Caucasus and other parts [...]

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Some 150 militants killed in North Caucasus over past six months (Ria Novosti)

A total of 144 militants have been killed during special operations in Russia's North Caucasus since April, the interior minister of the republic of Chechnya said Monday.

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Russia seeks to protect its interests in South Caucasus (Panarmenian)

Peter Semneby: Armenian economy diversification and its intensification is in Russia's interests.

Source : Panarmenian (subscribe)

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UN report criticizes Russia on human rights (JURIST)

[JURIST] Russia must undertake extensive legal reforms in order to protect human rights, according to a report issued Friday by the UN Human Rights Committee. The committee found that Russia is failing to protect important human rights in a number of areas. The report emphasized the problems the country is having guaranteeing its citizens rights such as fair trials and freedoms of...

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UN panel faults Russia's support for human rights (Sify)

From Russia's North Caucasus to the streets of Moscow, those who find themselves at odds with authorities can wind up as targets of deadly violence. So increasingly, some are working quietly or

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Russian Journalist Elena Milashina Speaks Out on Alarming Rise in Murders, Threats Against Critics of Government Abuses... (Indybay newswire)

Thursday, October 29, 2009 : Russia has seen an alarming rise in the murders of journalists and activists speaking out about government abuses in the embattled North Caucasus region. We speak to Elena Milashina, a Russian investigative journalist who has just won the 2009 Alison Des Forges Award for Extraordinary Activism from Human Rights Watch. She was friends with both the...

Source : Indybay newswire (subscribe)

Explore : Activism, Asia, Human Rights, Russia, World

Karabakh Government Faces Little Competition (Institute for War & Peace Reporting)

Tiny Karabakh’s opposition moribund, lacks issues to fight on. By Anahit Danelian in Stepanakert (CRS No. 517, 30-Oct-09)

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Opposition Across Region Battles Bias, Indifference to Change (Institute for War & Peace Reporting)

Governments of south Caucasus mostly left with a clear run despite allegations of repression. By IWPR staff in south Caucasus (CRS No. 517, 30-Oct-09)

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Limited Scope for Different View in Abkhazia (Institute for War & Peace Reporting)

Statelet’s opposition struggles with lack of ideas, resources. By Anaid Gogoryan in Sukhum (CRS No. 517, 30-Oct-09)

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Fear of Police Curbs Armenian Dissent (Institute for War & Peace Reporting)

Opposition say they are subjected to police persecution and their business supporters are intimidated. By Gegham Vardanian in Yerevan (CRS No. 517, 29-Oct-09)

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Explore : Armenia, Asia, World, Yerevan

Georgian Street Protesters Ponder Next Move (Institute for War & Peace Reporting)

They considers new tactics after having little to show for months of demos. By Tea Topuria in Tbilisi (CRS No. 517, 30-Oct-09)

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Bickering Undermines Azeri Opposition Credibility (Institute for War & Peace Reporting)

They have an uphill task but disunity gives the government an easy ride. By Shahin Rzayev and Samira Ahmedbeyli in Baku (CRS No. 517, 30-Oct-09)

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Wikio - Caucasus
Wikio - World - Asia - Caucasus

 

MANAGED VERSUS ELECTORAL POLITICAL CHANGE: LESSONS FROM ASIA

With the recent efforts to make President Nazarbayev president for life, it is useful to compare the Central Asian approach to governance to that in the single party states, China and Vietnam. Despite criticism about their deficiencies in democracy and human rights, these two countries have made great progress in developing their economies, opening up their societies, and finding a political system that both works now and can also evolve. Since democracy is slow to take root in Central Asia, analysis of other political systems that local elites accept may produce better outcomes than are now prevailing. 

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AFGHANISTAN: WAR BY METRICS?

For the past few months, Congress has been pressing the Obama administration to provide it with “metrics” to judge the success of U.S. policies for countering the insurgencies in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The administration has been struggling for months to comprise these measures of effectiveness since, among other considerations, the figures could affect its ability to sustain support in Congress for its Afghan-Pak strategy. In the interim, analysts must rely on the publicly available indexes compiled by the Brookings Institution and other organizations. Although not without problems, these figures do provide some interesting insights into the wars.

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CENTRAL ASIAN WOMEN MIGRANTS DEAL WITH GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS

The global economic crisis of 2008 and 2009 has intensified the public discourse over the migration of a very important and vulnerable group of the population in Central Asia – women migrant workers – and over public policy choices. The debates often focus on the merits of competing policy approaches and policy actions: should the national governments, NGOs and international donors in Central Asia continue supporting migrant workers by negotiating regional free trade and a free migration zone, and by collaborating on developing the regional labor market in the CIS? Or should Central Asian governments accept a greater responsibility for the well-being of their citizens, especially women, and work to create a better business environment and more jobs locally?

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MONGOLIA TO BECOME CENTRAL ASIA’S MINING EL DORADO?

On October 6 Mongolia’s government signed an agreement with Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines Ltd and London-based Rio Tinto mining companies to develop what will be the world’s largest copper mine. The agreement follows six years of torturous negotiations between Ulaanbaatar and the foreign consortiums, but the imminent establishment of the US$ 4 billion Oyuu Tolgoi ("Turquoise Hill") mining site is expected to yield a billion pounds of copper and 330,000 ounces of gold every year for at least the next four decades, with peak output of more than 725,000 tons of copper annually projected to occur within six years after start-up.

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THE EU’S CONFLICT PREVENTION FAILURE IN GEORGIA

On September 30, the EU fact-finding mission published its report on the Russian-Georgian war in August 2008. The report argues that Russia is responsible for a number of illegal acts in Georgia’s conflict zones, but that the escalation to large-scale hostilities on 7 August came following Georgia’s decision to launch an attack on South Ossetia. Importantly, the report is also critical of the international community’s behavior in the run up to the war. Given the prominent role assumed by the EU during and after the war, as well as the broader ambitions of the EU to be a ‘global force for good’, emphasizing multilateralism and conflict-prevention, it is worth assessing the EU’s performance as a security actor in the run up to the conflict.

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TAJIKISTAN REACTS TO INCREASING UNREST IN AFGHANISTAN

The situation in Afghanistan is becoming increasingly grave, at least from the perspective of the Western alliance. The Central Asian states bordering Afghanistan, Tajikistan being a prime example, seem increasingly alarmed, implying that they may put their hopes to Russia for security guarantees. Tajikistan nevertheless recently demonstrated that its elite does not trust anyone, Russia included, and is possibly looking for other ways of dealing with the Taliban threat.

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GENERAL McCRYSTAL’S CONFIDENTIAL ASSESSMENT: A CASE FOR REDEFINING VICTORY IN AFGHANISTAN

A confidential assessment of the situation in Afghanistan by the head of NATO troops, General Stanley McChrystal, points to a light in the dark tunnel that can only be sustained if Presdient Barack Obama approves McChrystal’s request for up to 40,000 additional U.S. troops in Afghanistan. McChrystal’s proposed options might be correct and timely, but they are also an indication of the allies’ inability to achieve strategic victory in Afghanistan. In the circumstances of mismatched original ends and currently available means, as well as decreasing domestic support for the war, the proposed strategy appears a mere attempt to maintain an acceptable level of security on the ground, where narcotics cultivation has increased but the probability of strategic victory has declined. It may be time to redefine victory in Afghanistan.

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ONE YEAR LATER: GEORGIAN POLITICAL REFORM AND THE WEST AFTER THE 2008 WAR

The human suffering and acrimony that accompanied the August 2008 war was accompanied by constructive criticism. One month after the cessation of violence and less than a year after the violent dispersal of protesters in Tbilisi by Georgian police, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Schaeffer encouraged President Saakashvili to “strengthen your democracy.” After much rhetoric and some reforms, much remains to be done. Western support has waned somewhat since the 2008 war and the allocation of reconstruction funds that followed. This change, however, reflects a redirection of U.S. foreign policy, Western economic turmoil, and great game politics with Russia rather than Western disappointment with President Saakashvili’s domestic policies.

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EURASIAN IMPLICATIONS OF THE NEW US MISSILE DEFENSE STRATEGY

caci2

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MILITARY AND SECURITY INSTITUTIONS GAIN MORE MILITARY POWER UNDER BAKIEV REGIME

Numerous assassinations and violent attacks against regime opponents have reportedly been plotted by security officials and criminal groups in Kyrgyzstan. Such invasive participation of security institutions in civilian life demonstrates their growing political role in Kyrgyzstan under President Kurmanbek Bakiev’s regime. Loyalty towards the ruling regime among military officials is becoming more important than their professionalism. Presently, Bakiyev has surrounded himself with loyal military and security officials who support his growing authoritarianism. It remains unclear how these officials will continue to influence the political domain in the country and whether their role will continue to rise.

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Central Asia-Caucasus Institute Analyst - Analytical Articles

 

THE FALLOUT OF ETHNIC CONFLICT IN XINJIANG

On October 10, the Intermediate People’s Court of Shaoguan City of Guangdong Province in southern China sentenced one man to death and another with life imprisonment for their roles in leading the beating of Uyghur migrant workers at a local toy factory on June 26. The deaths of two Uyghur men that resulted from the beating was a direct cause for the riots in Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi on July 5 that took the lives of nearly 200 people and injured more than a thousand more. On October 12, it was reported that six people were sentenced to death by an intermediate court in Xinjiang for murder and other crimes committed during the Urumqi riot.

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TURKISH-ARMENIAN PROTOCOLS SINGED, BUT NORMALIZATION PERSPECTIVES REMAIN UNCLEAR

On October 10, Turkey and Armenia signed Protocols on establishing diplomatic relations and opening their common land border in Zurich, Switzerland. To enter into force, the Protocols must be ratified by the parliaments of both countries; however, tension around the issue has already risen. The key problems which have so far prevented normal relations between the two neighbors, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict (which involves Armenia and Azerbaijan, while Turkey has supported Azerbaijan through closing its border with Armenia and embargoing Armenian imports), and the issue of international recognition of the massacres of Armenians in 1915 as genocide, surfaced even before the Protocols were signed. While the Protocols contain no direct reference to these problems, Armenia and Turkey have conflicting positions on the possible links between them and the normalization of their relations. The signature ceremony itself was on the brink of failure as the Armenian foreign minister, Edward Nalbandian, learned that his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu, intended to question the Genocide issue in his speech following the signature ceremony, and to link normalization between Armenia and Turkey to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The protocols were signed after a three and a half hour delay, as the top diplomats of the U.S., France, and Russia persuaded the two ministers to hold no speeches after the signature.

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KRISHNA’S VISIT TO UZBEKISTAN: THE MAKINGS OF INDIA’S CENTRAL ASIA POLICY

The October 20-22 visit of Indian External Affairs Minister Somanahalli Krishna to Russia and the October 27 trilateral meeting of Russia, India, and China in Bangalore overshadowed the minister’s meeting with his Uzbek counterpart and President Islam Karimov in Tashkent on October 22-23. The meeting was largely unnoticed, drawing only short and vague statements from the respective foreign ministries and the press. So has India’s policy in Central Asia that seeks to combat terrorism and drug trafficking, secure export markets, promote energy transit and security, and become an active player in a region threatened by developments in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In this light, the intensified Indian-Central Asian relations, and particularly the Indian-Uzbek cooperation, is testimony to Delhi’s long-held but still poorly enforced view of the need to become a more influential actor in Eurasian affairs.

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KYRGYZ NGOs WANT MANAS TO BECOME UNESCO HERITAGE

China recently suggested Kyrgyz oral epic Manas be included into UNESCO’s World Heritage list. However, China’s proposal has provoked a debate among Kyrgyz NGOs. According to Toktaiym Umetaliyeva, president of the NGO Association, it is the Kyrgyz parliament’s direct responsibility to take responsibility for nominating the epic. Umetaliyeva argues that Kyrgyz authorities have missed the opportunity to elevate the status of Kyrgyzstan’s cultural heritage.

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TAJIK PRESIDENT APPOINTS DAUGHTER AS DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER

On September 29, Tajik president Emomali Rakhmon appointed his daughter, Ozoda Rakhmonova, as the country’s deputy minister of foreign affairs. Ms. Rakhmonova studied economics and politics at the Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and the University of Maryland at Baltimore, and worked for two years in the Tajik embassy to the United States as culture and education attaché. After returning to Tajikistan in September 2007, the then 27-year-old Ozoda was named head of the Tajik foreign ministry’s consular department and worked there until the latest promotion. Ms. Rakhmonova is married to Djamoliddin Nuraliev, who in 2008 was appointed as Tajikistan’s deputy finance minister, at the age of 30 becoming the youngest senior government member in the country.

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ALASANIA’S CANDIDATURE FOR TBILISI MAYOR’S OFFICE HINTS AT HIGHER AMBITIONS

This summer President Saakashvili offered the opposition the possibility of directly electing all mayors of Georgia, a promise made in 2004, shortly after the Rose Revolution. This is especially relevant for the capital Tbilisi, where until now the mayor has been elected indirectly by a city council, similar to the British model with the exception of London. Obviously, controlling the government of the capital is an important political asset in the Georgian context. Saakashvili himself was head of the Tbilisi Assembly (Tbilisi City Council) between 2002 and 2003, a post that gave him a powerful platform to mobilize resources and social relevance for organizing the so-called Rose Revolution in November 2003.

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TAJIK PRESIDENT PROMOTES ENERGY-SAVING LAMPS

In April 2009, Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rakhmon proposed to the people of his country to switch from tungsten bulbs to energy-saving lamps. On April 27, the President issued a decree “On additional measures on economical use of energy and energy-saving”, calling for a compulsory switch to energy-saving lamps by October 1. To promote the idea and expedite the process, the Government of Tajikistan adopted a decree in August, banning the import of bulbs to Tajikistan starting October 1. Tajikistan annually experiences severe electricity shortages during the winter season, lacking 4-5 billion kilowatt/hour. President Rakhmon thinks the new initiative will allow the country to save up to 3.12 billion kilowatt/hour a year. At first glance, the President’s idea has many advantages. However, not all aspects of the campaign are well-considered.

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ARMENIAN-AZERBAIJANI DISAGREEMENT ON MADRID PRINCIPLES STALLS KARABAKH SETTLEMENT PROCESS

The latest meeting of the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Chisinau, Moldova, brought no visible progress in the efforts to reach a political settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh process. This is clear from the conflicting statements made by the two leaders after the October 8 meeting. They imply, in turn, that the latest efforts of the mediators to reach a breakthrough in negotiations based on the so-called Madrid Principles may prove fruitless due to the conflicting positions of the two countries on those principles. 

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KYRGYZ OPPOSITION PARLIAMENTARIAN LOSES IMMUNITY

On September 18, the parliament stripped Kubanychbek Kadyrov, parliamentarian from the Social Democratic Party (SDPK) faction, of his immunity. The decision was pushed through by the presidential Ak Jol party and supported by the pro-governmental Communist Party and is widely seen as politically driven. As an unprecedented step, it marks the Bakiev regime’s increasing pressure on the opposition, and especially on the SDPK as the only opposition party represented in parliament.

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ARMENIAN PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE RELEASES FINAL ASSESSMENT OF 2008 CLASHES

The final report of the ad hoc committee investigating the March 2008 clashes between police and protesters after the last presidential election in Armenia was presented by committee chair Samvel Nikoyan during parliamentary debates on September16 and 17. The report draws on the Ombudsman’s assessments of the general politico-economic climate at the time, mentioning poverty, social inequality, lack of trust in law-enforcement bodies and marginalization of large segments of the population as the root causes of the clashes leaving eight civilians and two riot police dead.

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Central Asia-Caucasus Institute Analyst - Field Reports

 

28 October 2009 News Digest

UZBEKS TO STAY MEMBER OF CENTRAL ASIAN POWER GRID

14 October

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14 October 2009 News Digest

Foes say Saakashvili distorted war report
1 October
Georgia's opposition rounded on President Mikheil Saakashvili after a damning report on last year's war with Russia, and one former ally accused him of distorting its findings to deceive the Georgian people. The Georgian government and the country's main television broadcasters said the independent report, commissioned by the European Union and released on September 30, pinned the blame for the five-day war on Russia. Opposition leader and former Saakashvili ally Nino Burjanadze said the government was concealing the report's key finding -- that Georgia began full-scale hostilities with an unjustifiable assault on the pro-Russian breakaway region of South Ossetia. The report said the assault was the culmination of a long period of increasing tensions, provocations and incidents, and added that Russia's military response went beyond reasonable limits and violated international law.
But it said the five-day conflict began with Saakashvili's order to unleash heavy artillery on South Ossetia on August 7, which was followed by a devastating Russian counter-strike.  "Again, the Georgian authorities have tried through their controlled media to hide the truth from their people," Burjanadze told a news briefing in the capital, Tbilisi. "The hiding and mutilation of the facts in the report is also a crime." Saakashvili himself has so far been silent on the report. He survived months of opposition protests earlier this year against his record on democracy and last year's war.  Analysts forecast renewed pressure after the report's publication, but say another leadership challenge from a weak opposition appears unlikely. Another defector from Saakashvili's camp, former UN ambassador Irakly Alasania, said in an interview with Reuters that the 41-year-old president had damaged Georgia's international standing with his "irresponsible" actions. "It was his decision that really triggered full escalation," he said, speaking in English. "But there were the whole set of preconditions and provocations that we can also blame the Russian Federation for." The opposition has been careful to balance criticism of Saakashvili's conduct with contempt for Russia's military action, for fear of being labeled traitors by the authorities. The Georgian government insists the war was the result of Russian aggression after years of intensifying Russian political and military support for separatists in South Ossetia and Georgia's other rebel region, Abkhazia. (Reuters)

China buying Kazakh energy assets
2 October
China is continuing its purchases of Kazakh energy assets. Xinhua news agency reported Thursday that the China Investment Corp., the country's sovereign wealth fund, Wednesday announced it had paid $939 million for a stake in Kazakhstan's JSC KazMunaiGas Exploration Production oil and gas company. The CIC is China's sovereign wealth fund, with a capitalization estimated at $300 billion. According to a statement on the CIC Web site, the corporation purchased about 11 percent of KMG EP's Global Depository Receipts through its Fullbloom Investment Corp. subsidiary, which is wholly owned by CIC. KMG EP's stock is listed on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange and its GDRs are traded on the London Stock Exchange. Following the CIC announcement of its purchase KMG's GDRs rose 9.95 percent to $22.10 in London trading. In April China National Petroleum Corp. agreed with Kazakhstan's state oil firm KazMunaiGas to jointly buy oil producer MangistauMunaiGas for $3.3 billion. (UPI)

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30 September 2009 News Digest

 

U.S. SEES TURKMENISTAN AS ENERGY LEADER

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30 September 2009 News Digest

U.S. sees Turkmenistan as energy leader
22 September
The U.S. government expressed its desire to see Turkmenistan emerge as a leader in terms of energy security and energy supply, officials say. Robert Blake, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for the South and  bureau, briefed reporters on a bilateral meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. "On the energy front, the secretary said that we want to see Turkmenistan really be a leader in terms of energy security and energy supply," said Blake.  He added that Turkmenistan had an "important role to play" in the development of the $10.3 billion Nabucco pipeline for Europe. A January gas row between Kiev and Moscow exposed gaps in the regional energy transport sector. Europe aims to diversify its gas transport options through Nabucco. Nabucco is designed to have the capacity to move 1.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas each year to European customers from Caspian and Middle Eastern suppliers. The pipeline would run from the Caspian region through Turkey to Austria along a route through Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. Despite political backing for the project, it lacks firm commitments from potential gas suppliers. Reinhard Mitschek, managing director of the Nabucco international consortium, however, said supply options were diverse. "We see Azerbaijan, Iraq and Turkmenistan as the first suppliers," he told an Azeri press service. "Other options will also be considered in the future." (UPI)

Saakashvili meets Clinton
22 September
In remarks before the meeting with President Saakashvili in New York on September 21, U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, reiterated Washington’s support to Georgia’s territorial integrity and democratic reforms. “We are working to try to ensure that Russia abides by the 2008 ceasefire, and hopefully to eventually reintegrate your country as it should be,” Clinton said. “We also know that working toward democracy and the changes that you’re attempting to achieve are challenging, but we want to support and encourage the steps that need to be taken. And the United States supports Georgia, and we want to make that very clear and unequivocal statement here today. President Saakashvili thanked the Secretary of State “for all the support you’ve given us.” “I also saw your article [on missile defense] this morning in the Financial Times of London, and it was very impressive because the message was very clear-cut, very unambiguous… and we are very grateful to you for that moral clarity, as well as strategic vision of what U.S. role in our region should be,” Saakashvili told the Secretary of State before the meeting. Clinton responded: “We think this approach is much more effective, and it will certainly cover Georgia and the Caucasus and it will send a clear message that the United States is committed to the defense of all of Europe in the years going forward. Thank you very much.”After the meeting Philip H. Gordon, the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, told journalists that during the talks, Clinton emphasized that the U.S. “does not and will not recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia.” (Civil Georgia)

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16 September 2009 News Digest

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2 September 2009 News Digest

tajik ambassador says youth should not study Islam in Pakistan
20 August
Tajik Ambassador to Pakistan Zubaidullo Zubaidov says Pakistan should remove Tajikistan from a list of countries that illegally send young people to study in Pakistani schools, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports.
Although Tajik officials say they have curbed the number of Tajiks going to Pakistan to study at madrassahs, or religious schools, they are still concerned that an estimated 300 Tajiks are studying there without permission. Zubaidov said that the curriculum and living conditions in such schools are not good and it is better for young Tajiks to study at religious schools in Tajikistan. Davlat Nazriev, chief of the Tajik Foreign Ministry's Information Department, told RFE/RL that most of the Tajik students studying illegally in Pakistan traveled there as tourists and were able to find the means to stay and study.  One young Tajik man told RFE/RL he was sent to a Pakistani madrasah during the Tajik civil war when he was a refugee in Afghanistan and spent five years in very difficult conditions. Tajik Education Ministry official Vahhobjon Abdulazizov told RFE/RL that this year Tajikistan will officially send just 10 students to Pakistan, and that they will study technical subjects. (RFE/RL)

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19 August 2009 News Digest

Iran, Russia conduct naval exercise
30 July
Iran and Russian launched their first-ever joint maritime operations in the Caspian Sea touted as part of an effort to enhance security in the region.The joint operation was launched from the northern Iranian port city of Bandar Anzali under the slogan of "clean and secure Caspian Sea depends on regional interaction," reports the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting network. Ali Taher Abadi, the managing director of the Ports and Navigation Organization in Iran, said the operation included measures to stem environmental pollution in the Caspian Sea. Lawmakers with an environmental party in Azerbaijan complained recently that activity related to the energy sector in the Caspian Sea was creating financial difficulties as a result of environmental pollution. Saeed Izadian, who oversees the naval operation for Iran, said 30 advanced boats, 2 Iranian helicopters and around 500 military forces will take part in the exercise alongside their Russian counterparts. He said the strategic emphasis of the operation was meant to train forces on search and rescue operations, adding the exercise fell within the framework of international obligations. Claims to the Caspian Sea are contentious among the littoral states, which are at odds over a 1921 treaty that divided the region between Iran and the Soviet Union. Only Azerbaijan, Russia and Kazakhstan have settled their territorial claims in the Caspian Sea, leaving Iran and Turkmenistan with frustrating differences. (UPI)

Constitutional Court of Kyrgyzstan recognized results of presidential elections legitimate
30 July
The Constitutional Court of Kyrgyzstan has recognized the presidential elections legitimate and having been held in conformity with the Constitution of the country, the agency reports citing the press service of the Constitutional Court of Kyrgyzstan. Central Election Committee of Kyrgyzstan directed on July 27th the results of the presidential elections of Kyrgyzstan to the Constitutional Court. According to the Code on Elections, the court must confirm the results not later than seven days after the last election day. Today, the Constitutional Court recognized the presidential elections of the country legitimate. According to the legislation, the elected leader of the state will take the oath to the people of Kyrgyzstan in the presence of deputies of Parliament within 30 days. According to the President's Administration, inauguration is planned for August 2, 2009. The current head of the state, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, has received 76.12 % of votes. 1 million 772 thousand 849 people voted for K. Bakiyev. (Kazakhstan Today)

Russia, Kyrgyzstan sign base deal at CSTO summit
1 August
The Russian and Kyrgyz presidents have tentatively agreed to establish a second Russian military base in Kyrgyzstan. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Kyrgyz counterpart Kurmanbek Bakiev signed the deal on the second day of an informal summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, or CSTO, a regional security grouping dominated by Moscow. The three-day summit opened on July 31 at the Kyrgyz lakeside resort of Cholpon-Ata. Under the joint memorandum, Kyrgyzstan allows Russia to establish a military base on its territory for a period of up to 49 years. The document states that Russian forces will be charged with "protecting Kyrgyz sovereignty" and repelling attacks by international terrorist groups. Moscow has said the planned base would operate under the umbrella of the CSTO. A definitive agreement detailing the status of the proposed base is due to be signed by November. This would be Russia's second base in the mountainous ex-Soviet republic. It already operates an air base in Kant, about 20 kilometers east of Kyrgyzstan's capital, Bishkek. The memorandum said the size of the contingent could be up to a battalion but gave no specifics on the location of the new base. Media reports suggest it could be deployed to Batken Province, near the border with Uzbekistan on the edge of the Ferghana Valley, a region that spreads across Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and has become a hotbed of Islamic militancy. One potential obstacle to that location might come from Uzbek President Islam Karimov, who is thought to be opposed to the idea of having a Russian base close to his borders. While Moscow may seek to turn an existing military facility near the southern city of Osh into its base, impoverished Kyrgyzstan reportedly wants the military base to be built from scratch using Russian money. (RFE/RL)

Iran must warm to U.S. before Nabucco
3 August
Iran is in a position to play a role in the Nabucco gas pipeline to Europe, though it needs to establish ties with the United States first, analysts say. Turkey hosted regional and international supporters in July for the signing of a milestone intergovernmental agreement on the $10.3 billion Nabucco project. Nabucco is seen as the foundation to European efforts to diversify an energy sector dependent on Russian natural gas. Despite political support for Nabucco, the project lacks financial backing and firm commitments from supplier nations. Janine Mitchell, a research fellow at Columbia University, told an audience at the Center for Strategic Studies under the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan that Iran must first meet with Washington on the issue, the Trend news agency reports. "To ensure Iran's involvement in Nabucco project, it is necessary to restore friendly relations between Iran and the United States," she said.Iran was not specifically included in the provisions of the Ankara agreement in order to win the explicit backing of Washington. The language of the Ankara agreement, however, was crafted in such a way that Iran may still play a role. (UPI)

 

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15 July 2009 News Digest

Kidnappers Free 16 Afghan demining workers
6 July
Sixteen Afghans working for a United Nations-sponsored demining agency who were kidnapped at the weekend have been freed unharmed, an agency official has said. The Mine Detection and Dog Center (MDC) personnel were seized by gunmen on a highway in eastern Paktia province on July 4. The MDC is part of the overall UN mine-clearing agency in Afghanistan known as UNMACA. Sherin Agha Ahmad Shah, head of the MDC in Paktia, said tribal chiefs in the province made contact with the kidnappers and were able to secure the release of the men late on July 5. "The kidnappers were thieves and the tribal chiefs negotiated the release of the workers without any ransom or any deal," he told reporters, without giving further details. The Interior Ministry said in a statement police were also involved in securing their release. Kidnapping of Afghans and foreigners has become a lucrative business both for Taliban insurgents and criminal gangs in recent years. Some captives have been killed while others have been released after ransoms were apparently paid. Separately, no further information has emerged about two Afghan employees working for Dutch aid agency HealthNet TPO (HNI) who the Afghan Health Ministry said were abducted in neighboring Khost Province on July 4. HNI is a Netherlands-based aid agency specializing in rehabilitating health-care systems in war zones and disaster areas. No one has claimed responsibility for their abductions.
(Reuters)

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1 July 2009 News Digest

Kazakh Leader Sacks his defence minister
18 June
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev on June 17 fired the Central Asian nation's Defense Minister Danial Akhmetov, the presidential press service said. Nazarbaev's decree gave no reason for the sacking of Akhmetov, a long-term devoted loyalist of the veteran leader whose previous posts included that of prime minister. First Deputy Defense Minister Mukhtar Altynbayev became acting defense minister. In April, Kazakhstan's Defense Ministry was rocked by a scandal when the nation's security service accused it of buying defective military hardware from Israel. A Kazakh deputy defense minister was sacked after the security agency's investigators established the government had incurred losses of $82 million as a result of the deal. (Reuters)

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17 June 2009 News Digest

New Wave of arrests reported in Kazakhstan
3 June
More officials and company heads have been arrested in Kazakhstan, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. Financial Police spokesman Murat Zhumanbai has said that police on June 2 detained KIIK company executives Serik Turzhanov and Aleksandr Nisanov, as well as Statistics Committee Chairman Birlik Mendybaev. Last week, the chief of the Environment Department in Astana, Abdinur Bataev, and Statistics Agency Deputy Chairman Nurman Bayanov were arrested. An investigation of ex-Environment Minister Nurlan Iskakov and his former deputies, Zeynulla Sarsembaev and Alzhan Braliev, were announced and the three have been brought to court for hearings. An international search warrant was also issued for Environment Ministry department director Tatyana Savitskaya and Mercury Plus company director Viktor Lais. All of those arrested face charges of corruption and financial crimes. Early last month, leaders of Kazakhstan's main uranium producer, Kazatomprom, were detained and accused of financial crimes. Prominent banker and politician Mukhtar Ablyazov left Kazakhstan with his associates earlier this year after the authorities took over his BTA bank and launched an investigation into his business activities. Relatives of some of those detained say the charges are baseless and opposition leaders and activists insist the wave of arrests is politically motivated. (RFE/RL)

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Central Asia-Caucasus Institute Analyst - News Digest