Offensive Against Taliban Test of Afghan Strategy
Anna Mulrine

Some 15,000 U.S., British, Afghan National Army forces launched the largest attack on Taliban forces since Obama signed orders to send 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. What happens in the aftermath of this offensive will be a considerable test of the U.S. military's ability to work with Afghan forces and to protect Afghan civilians, a centerpiece of the new American strategy

Diplomacy in Afghanistan? Not Until U.S. Identifies Why It's There
William Pfaff

Richard Holbrooke's comments on reconciliation with the Taliban in Afghanistan echoes earlier remarks by UN officials and American military commanders in Kabul that suggest that diplomacy might be coming alive. This could be true despite, or in coordination with, a new NATO offensive in southern Afghanistan. For it to succeed, however, it has three enormous obstacles to overcome.

Afghanistan: Report Calls Military Intelligence Ignorant and Oblivious
Anna Mulrine

A bracing critique of U.S. military intelligence in Afghanistan came from an unlikely source earlier this month: the head of U.S. military intelligence in Afghanistan. Widely circulated and hotly discussed, the report was remarkable for its blunt candor regarding the intelligence community's mode of operation in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan: Fallacy of Good vs. Evil in Afghanistan
William Pfaff

When they heard Barack Obama's Nobel Peace Prize speech, a shiver of astonishment went through conservative circles in the United States that this man, whom they identify as a prototypical liberal, should have mentioned the existence of evil. I would imagine this is because it has become an easy assumption that liberals blame society for evil

U.S. Contemplates More of the Scarcely Believable in Afghanistan & Pakistan
William Pfaff

The idea is for the United States to bomb Quetta, one of Pakistan's principal cities, capital of its largest province, Balochistan, which already experiences separatist forces. Quetta is a major Pakistan military base, home of the century-old Command and Staff College inherited from the British army

Coming up Short on Pakistan
Jayshree Bajoria

President Barack Obama's strategy approving a U.S. troop surge in Afghanistan called success there 'inextricably linked to our partnership with Pakistan.' But the U.S.-Pakistan relationship is riddled with problems. Five independent Pakistani experts assess Obama's strategy, explore the largely negative response in Pakistan, and discuss the military and political pitfalls of the plan.

U.S. Contemplates More of the Scarcely Believable in Afghanistan & Pakistan
William Pfaff

The idea is for the United States to bomb Quetta, one of Pakistan's principal cities, capital of its largest province, Balochistan, which already experiences separatist forces. Quetta is a major Pakistan military base, home of the century-old Command and Staff College inherited from the British army

Afghanistan: Questioning Obama's July 2011 Deadline in Afghanistan
Anna Mulrine

On Capitol Hill, there is little question that the funding for 30,000-plus new troops in Afghanistan will come through. But lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been careful to register their complaints about some of the more controversial components of the strategy

Afghanistan: GOP Questions Obama's Afghanistan Troop Withdrawal Deadline
Anna Mulrine

It was clear in a widely attended Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that one of the most controversial components of President Obama's new strategy for Afghanistan will be the July 2011 date he set for beginning the withdrawal of U.S. forces.

Obama's Surge in Afghanistan Hardly a Surprise
William Pfaff

There was much disappointment about Barack Obama's decision to widen the war in Afghanistan, but there can have been no real surprise. This was not a detached decision on foreign or military policy. It was a matter of domestic politics.

Afghanistan: Obama Dance With the Partner You Came With
Ross Mackenzie

In response to President Obama's West Point lecture on Afghanistan, a lecture back....

Afghanistan: Questioning Obama's July 2011 Deadline in Afghanistan
Anna Mulrine

On Capitol Hill, there is little question that the funding for 30,000-plus new troops in Afghanistan will come through. But lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been careful to register their complaints about some of the more controversial components of the strategy

Afghanistan: GOP Questions Obama's Afghanistan Troop Withdrawal Deadline
Anna Mulrine

It was clear in a widely attended Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that one of the most controversial components of President Obama's new strategy for Afghanistan will be the July 2011 date he set for beginning the withdrawal of U.S. forces.

Obama's Surge in Afghanistan Hardly a Surprise
William Pfaff

There was much disappointment about Barack Obama's decision to widen the war in Afghanistan, but there can have been no real surprise. This was not a detached decision on foreign or military policy. It was a matter of domestic politics.

Afghanistan: Obama Caring and Killing
Robert C. Koehler

We have a national defense constructed of equal parts good intentions and precision bombing -- caring and killing. I write to you on the precipice of a despair I don't fully comprehend, but it begins with questions that leaped to mind the moment you started speaking ...

Afghanistan: Mishmash of a Strategy
Paul Greenberg

The president and commander-in-chief went up to West Point to lay out his new/old/same/different strategy for the war in Afghanistan. The result ...

Afghanistan: Mixed Administration War Signals
Jules Witcover

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates en route to Afghanistan declared 'we are in this thing to win.' The man who also ran the Pentagon in the latter years of the Bush administration thus fed again the notion that its stay-the-course policy remains essentially in place.

Afghanistan: Going for the Quick Fix
Jules Witcover

When you consider that once Uncle Sam got into World War II it took less than four years to defeat the Nazis and Imperial Japan, it may seem reasonable to believe in President Obama's quick-fix plan for Afghanistan

Afghanistan: Obama's War Gamble
Jules Witcover

President Obama's decision to attach a ticking clock to his new troop surge in Afghanistan is clearly a gesture to Democratic liberals who have long pushed for an end to the war. The alarm, we're told, is to be set to ring in July of 2011, when U.S. forces will start to pull out.

Afghanistan: A Missed Turning Point
Jules Witcover

President Obama offered only a change in approach in his long-awaited plan to press on with the war in Afghanistan. His decision to approve of most of the troop surge requested by General McChrystal, with more finely tuned schemes for troop deployment in Afghanistan, is a thinly veiled agreement to continue Bush's stay-the-course commitment.

Possible New U.S. Option in Afghanistan: Getting Out With Grace
William Pfaff

There are two tried and disproved methods for dealing with insurrection in a non-Western country. The third and reliable method is not to go there in the first place. The fourth is get out with such grace as is possible, as rapidly as possible.

Afghanistan: Another Voice of Caution
Jules Witcover

Just as it began to appear that President Obama was moving toward adhering to his Afghanistan commander's call for 40,000 or more additional American troops, he has been unexpectedly confronted with an influential note of caution from his ambassador in Kabul. It only complicates the White House tug-of-war that has put critical policy-making on hold for months now

Disillusionment in Afghanistan
Jayshree Bajoria

The international community is increasingly concerned about whether Afghan President Hamid Karzai can be an effective partner. Karzai recently won another term after an election fraught with accusations of fraud; his previous term was beset with allegations of corruption.

The Taliban Vs. Global Civil Society
Paul Kennedy

Almost two generations ago, out of the ashes that were the Second World War, our forefathers bequeathed to us the idea and the very institutions of global civil society. Those visionaries pointed us to many rights, and thus to many futures, but key to it all was the rule of law, the right to free speech, and the right to vote

Victory in Afghanistan Requires Fully Supported Counterinsurgency
James Danly

In order to declare victory, we need to aid the Afghans in establishing a legitimate government whose population does not effectively support terrorist networks. The only viable course is to commit the resources necessary to conduct a full-spectrum counterinsurgency of the kind employed to such great effect during the surge in Iraq

Counterinsurgency Cookie Cutter Doesn't Fit Afghanistan
Gian P. Gentile

'Counterinsurgency' has become the new American way of war. A once obscure theory of internal conflict, it has become ubiquitous in military circles and dominates thinking on both current and future wars. More important, its precepts are being followed without serious inquiry or examination, and the U.S. military has become so enamored with the theory that it seemingly will not consider any serious alternative methods to achieve the president's objectives in Afghanistan.

With al-Qaida Diminished, There's No Sense in Expanding Afghan War
William Pfaff

Al-Qaida's relations with the Taliban today are troubled. Effective counter-terrorism strategy in Afghanistan is on the brink of completely eliminating al-Qaida. There will be no organization to return. This is the result of effective international and domestic intelligence cooperation as well as good police work. So why, one asks, is the U.S. expanding its war in Afghanistan?

Afghan Mythologies
Victor Davis Hanson

As President Obama decides whether to send more troops to Afghanistan, we should remember that most of the conventional pessimism about Afghanistan is only half-truth. Remember the mantra that the region is the 'graveyard of empires,' where Alexander the Great, the British in the 19th century, and the Soviets only three decades ago inevitably met their doom?

Afghanistan and the Prospects of World Order
Henry A. Kissinger

The request for additional forces by the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, faces President Obama with cruel dilemmas. If he refuses the recommendation and General McChrystal's argument that his forces are inadequate for the mission, Obama will be blamed for the dramatic consequences. If he accepts the recommendation, his opponents may come to describe it, at least in part, as Obama's war. If he compromises ...

Afghanistan - Mission of Ignorance
Robert C. Koehler

Right up there with 'our mission,' in the pantheon of sacred foreign policy mumbo-jumbo, is 'training Afghan security forces,' that endless, multibillion-dollar prerequisite for our departure from the country. We've been training a local army and police force for eight years now to take on the good and noble task of defending U.S. interests. Yet ...

Afghanistan - Situation in Afghanistan is Serious
Robert C. Koehler

The situation in Afghanistan is serious. We're getting 'out-governed' by an enemy so ruthless it's bringing services to a desperate people ignored by the legitimate government we installed. But our eight-year quagmire . . . excuse me, war . . . can still be won, says Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander in that country, who recently completed a review of the situation

Afghanistan - Going Where in Afghanistan?
Jules Witcover

Two new public-opinion polls say most Americans surveyed believe the United States is not winning the war in Afghanistan, and in one of them a clear majority say no more American troops should be sent there.

Afghanistan - At Afghan Crossroads
Jules Witcover

he leak of Gen. Stanley McChrystal's sober assessment of the war in Afghanistan puts greatly increased pressure on President Obama in weighing whether to press on with the ambitious counterinsurgency recommended or chart a new direction. McChrystal, only recently sent to Kabul as U.S. and NATO commander to tackle the revitalized Taliban insurgency, doesn't mince words

Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan and Memories of Indochina
William Pfaff

The United States is in Afghanistan for its own reasons. The Afghan president said what he did to encourage the U.S. to keep him their man in Kabul. If the Afghan people should decide that he's nothing more than an American puppet, they will get rid of him. But Washington will get rid of him, too, since he would have lost his plausibility, and hence his value

Obama Foreign Policy: Afghanistan - Uncertain Trumpet
Paul Greenberg

Faced by declining support for that war, President Obama is sending mixed signals. Yes, he's already dispatched fresh troops to Afghanistan, but he has yet to endorse any new strategy there, let alone the one being recommended by the new American commander. And while this president dithers, support for the war ebbs

Afghanistan Isn't Worth One More American Life
Joe Galloway

The debate over our creeping military mission in distant Afghanistan grows ever hotter, and before we march even deeper into trouble, perhaps it's time to dig out the old Powell Doctrine and answer the eight questions it poses. Gen. Colin Powell, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said these questions all must be answered with a loud YES before the United States takes military action.

Hard Decisions Ahead on Afghanistan
Joe Galloway

There are a lot of theories and proposals flying around as President Barack Obama and his national security advisers debate what our military and civilian arms of the government can do with the 8-year-old war in Afghanistan

For U.S. in Afghanistan, Why Can't There Be an Alternative to Victory
William Pfaff

Unanimous gloom regarding Afghanistan seems clear confirmation that Barack Obama and his chosen advisers have wasted no time in placing themselves and the country -- in a mere five months -- into the same desperate situation that it took the combined Johnson and Nixon administrations 15 years to arrive at in the case of Vietnam. This view would seem widely shared today -- without influencing policy.

Political Solution in Afghanistan Possible But Not by Going Down Current Path
William Pfaff

It would be a great service to the American nation if Barack Obama would tell us what he himself thinks the wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan are about. Gen. Stanley McChyrstal says the Taliban are winning.

One Year to Prove Strategy Is Working in Afghanistan
Robert Gates Interview

The clock in Washington on Afghanistan is going to depend on what happens on the ground. I think we need to show we are making some headway by next spring or early summer. We are not going to win it by next summer. We aren't going to be on the verge of winning it next summer; this is a long-term prospect.

General McChrystal: The New Strategy In Afghanistan
General McChrystal Interview

General Stanley A. McChrystal is commander of international forces in Afghanistan. In his interview with Julian Barnes, General McChrystal discusses the strategy and progress in Afghanistan.

How to End the Insurgency and Win the War in Afghanistan
by Anna Mulrine

A longtime Afghanistan expert with the Rand Corp. and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, Jones talks about how the United States should handle Afghanistan.

From Iraq to Afghanistan, U.S. Foreign Wars Not Going According to Plan
by William Pfaff

In Iraq, tension was reported to be increasing between the Americans and the Iraqi military and security forces, who were supposed to take over the Americans' responsibilities. Move to another front: Pakistan-Afghanistan. Here there was also supposed to be a straightforward job to do: drive the Taliban out of Afghanistan, into the Tribal Areas of the Pakistan border. There, the Pakistan army, with American urging and help, would defeat and disarm them.

Afghan Presidential Candidate Takes a Page From Obama's Playbook
by Anna Mulrine

Presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani, the leading challenger to incumbent Hamid Karzai, has embarked on an Internet fundraising campaign modeled on that run by President Obama.

Flipping the Taliban: How to Win in Afghanistan
by Fotini Christia and Michael Semple

Although sending more troops is necessary to tip the balance of power against the insurgents, the move will have a lasting impact only if it is accompanied by a political surge, a committed effort to persuade large groups of Taliban fighters to put down their arms and give up the fight.

Events in Middle East & Central Asia Challenge U.S's Conventional Assumptions
William Pfaff

Three recent developments in the Muslim Middle East and Central Asia challenge Washington's conventional assumptions about Pakistan, the Taliban, Lebanon and Iran.

Iran, Turkmenistan Launch New Gas Pipeline

The Great Caspian Chess Match
Two future superpowers battle over who will control one of the world’s most strategically important territories.

Russia, China Hold Joint Exercises
In its largest-ever joint military operation, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is setting itself up as an alternative to NATO.

U.S Diplomatic Rescue Mission Secures Military Base, for Now
Desperation in recent negotiations reveals America’s vulnerability in Central Asia.

Europe Seeks Control of Central Asian Energy
Efforts to build an energy corridor through the Caucasus to Central Asia demonstrate Europe’s ongoing desire to diversify its energy dependence from Russia.

EU Grasps at Central Asia for Energy

Kyrgyzstan Threatens to Evict U.S.
The U.S.’s presence in strategic Central Asia becomes more tenuous.

The Russia-Ukraine Energy Quandary
An energy dispute highlights Russia’s desire to draw the line on the EU’s eastern encroachment.

Russia, China and a Central Asian Alliance
The common desire to compete with U.S. hegemony is fusing a central Asian alliance.

America Losing Foothold in Central Asia
Rising anti-Americanism could soon lead to the eviction of the U.S. military from strategically important Central Asia—a move that would handicap America’s military goals.

Eurasian Democracy Concerns Russia
The wave of democratic revolutions occurring in Central Eurasia is a pleasing sight to America and Europe. Not everyone, however, is overjoyed with these changes.

Meltdown Ahead?

theTrumpet.com: Central Asia
theTrumpet.com -- Understand your world.

 

Kazakhstan’s Libel Laws
I’m genuinely confused by this: A U.S. media group has criticized Kazakhstan for effectively banning an opposition newspaper, saying the move violated the core values of Europe’s main democracy watchdog, chaired by Kazakhstan this year. Distribution of the main opposition Respublika newspaper was halted in February after a court ruled a story published by the paper last [...]

Romancing Hekmatyar (and other related monsters)
Blake Hounshell is on to something: There’s been a lot of chatter recently over bringing Hekmatyar and/or Haqqani over on the the government side… There’s no question these are nasty men, but they don’t strike me as particularly worse on human rights issues than say, Abdul Rashid Dostum, Mohammad Qasim Fahim, or any number of petty [...]

Thinking Big, Thinking Small
…or perhaps not thinking. Not at all. Seuss-ian writing aside, there are a few different ways to view how ISAF is trying to change the built environment in Afghanistan. I’ve been bullish on architectural changes for a while now, and the military wings its way besides. I’d imagine the impulse to make wholesale changes is [...]

Means-testing the Drone War
The London Times runs a story claiming that the U.S. drone war in Northwest Pakistan is creating fear and paranoia: The effects of the campaign, however, are beginning to veer dramatically off course as the strikes intensify, according to tribesmen. “Before the drone attacks began the Taleban weren’t so obvious among us and the militancy wasn’t [...]

Subscribe to Steppe Magazine
I know we issue this call periodically, but I just recently bought a subscription to Steppe Magazine and back ordered an issue I wanted to see. It is everything I hoped it would be—solid design, wonderful travelogues from the area, genuinely skilled photography (Chris Herwig is really good), and pretty decent writing on top of [...]

Attacks in Khost; Police Respond Again
There was another suicide attack in Khost today. A Reuters reporter in the town heard an explosion and shooting near the headquarters of the Khost provincial department for tribal affairs. Smoke could be seen rising over the area. Afghan forces had cordoned off the road leading to the site of the blast and a helicopter was [...]

How to Move Forward in Marjeh
“As the United States and its Western allies renewed their commitment to the Afghan war in recent months,” reports Alyssa Rubin, “they stressed that it cannot be won without good government.” So what? But news reports that a newly chosen top leader for that city may have a criminal background underscore the difficulties of finding leaders [...]

Vetting Haji Zahir
I’ve been on something of a tear lately about Haji Zahir, the man handpicked by General McChrystal and Governor Mangal (but not Hamid Karzai!) to run the newly liberated area of Marjeh now defined by General Nicholson as anywhere between 200 and 400 square kilometers. The reasoning behind this is pretty straightforward: without a firm [...]

Tajik Glaciers
Tajikistan may not have much. No Caspian hydrocarbons, for example, but it does have water. Well accroding to reports here and here, the water supply is not so reliable any more. Seems like glacial retreat and changing weather patterns are having a pretty negative effect on Tajik agriculture and river levels. Moreover, this dents any aspiration [...]

Polls, Politics, and Polygamy
The preliminary tallying is now done in Tajikistan’s parliamentary elections that were held Sunday. To no one’s great surprise the incumbent People’s Democratic Party headed by president Imomali Rakhmon’s has secured a healthy majority (71.7%) of the votes. The Islamic Renaissance Party came in second with a paltry 7.7 percent although they are keen on [...]

Registan.net
Central Asia News -- All Central Asia, All The Time

 

Kyrgyzstan: Brewing Financial Scandal Stoking Media Controversy
An arrest warrant issued for a financial manager in Kyrgyzstan with ties to the Kyrgyz government is stirring a media controversy in Bishkek.

Armenia: US Genocide Recognition Resolution Fosters Hopes for Peace with Turkey
BY GAYANE ABRAHAMYAN A US congressional committee’s approval of a non-binding, draft resolution to recognize Ottoman Turkey’s 1915 slaughter of ethnic Armenians as genocide has sparked optimism among some Armenian analysts and pro-government politicians that the measure will push Turkey to reconcile with Armenia.

Kazakhstan: Fallen Tycoons Still Rankle Ruling Elite
BY JOANNA LILLIS Fresh salvoes are being fired in a running battle between members of Kazakhstan’s ruling elite and tycoons who have fallen out of favor.

Kazakhstan: Astana Intensifying Efforts to Hold OSCE Summit
A EURASIANET INTERVIEW WITH ANTHONY PAHIGIAN Kazakhstan is redoubling efforts to get two important holdouts - the United States and Uzbekistan - to endorse an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe summit in 2010. EurasiaNet recently sat down with Anthony Pahigian, deputy director of the US State Department’s Office of European Security and Political Affairs, to get Washington’s diplomatic take on the summit idea.

Fergana Valley: Relations Cooling, Uzbek-Kyrgyz Border Growing Increasingly Violent
BY JONIBEK KADAMJAYOV The deteriorating relationship between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan is giving rise to violence along the countries’ shared frontier. Adding to the tension, Tashkent has unilaterally closed one of the largest border crossings between the two countries.

Georgia: Amid Democratization, Village Elder Tradition Survives in Mountainous Svaneti Region
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY TEMO BARDZIMASHVILI In the remote mountain villages of Georgia’s northwest region of Svaneti, 84-year-old Bauchi Qaldani of Adishi is universally regarded as a wise man. And Qaldani, a village elder now in his fifth decade as a mediator and matchmaker, is still ready to dispense his wisdom whenever called upon. "I was born for others," he says.

Armenia: US Congressional Committee Adopts Resolution Recognizing Armenian Genocide
BY JOSHUA KUCERA A US congressional committee narrowly passed a resolution on March 4 officially to term Ottoman Turkey’s 1915 massacre of ethnic Armenians as genocide. The move is likely to complicate relations between the United States and Turkey, and could bring the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation process to a halt.

Afghanistan: President Karzai Modifying Election Law in His Favor -- A EurasiaNet Q & A with Grant Kippen, former Chairman of the Electoral Complaints Commission
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR President Hamid Karzai has taken action to substantially curtail the independence of Afghanistan’s Electoral Complaints Commission before parliamentary elections scheduled for this September.

Kyrgyzstan: US Intends to Construct Military Training Center in Batken
BY DEIRDRE TYNAN The United States intends to build an anti-terror training center in the southern Kyrgyz province of Batken. The exact location of the facility, which is projected to cost $500,000, has not yet been determined.

Afghanistan: Does Brazil Hold the Key to Afghan Stabilization?
A EURASIANET COMMENTARY BY MOHAMMAD ASIF RAHIMI AND M. ASHRAF HAIDARI The development of Afghanistan’s agricultural sector has been overlooked by the international community, despite the fact that roughly 80 percent of the Afghan population lives in rural areas and scratches out a meager existence from the land. In trying to rectify the existing situation, the international community would do well to look to Brazil for answers.

Kazakhstan: Astana Finding that Running the OSCE is a Constant Challenge
A EURASIANET VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH VLADIMIR SHKOLNIKOV The responsibility of running the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe may be having a moderating effect on Kazakhstan, Vladimir Shkolnikov, an expert on the workings of the Vienna-based multilateral organization tells EurasiaNet. For one, officials in Astana are finding that it is not so easy to impose their own political preferences on a group that comprises 56 member states, and which requires consensus to get anything done.

Armenia: Parliamentary Vote Deals Blow to Turkish Reconciliation Chances
BY GAYANE ABRAHAMYAN Armenia is ready to back out before it enters into a binding reconciliation agreement with its long-time foe, Turkey.

Report: Azerbaijan Bans Koran, Islamic Symbols in Government Offices
BY SHAHIN ABBASOV Following violent clashes between police and Islamic activists in Baku in mid-February, the government has ordered all state employees to remove Islamic symbols from their offices, a source in Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs tells EurasiaNet.

Uzbekistan: Sting Stung Amid Media Swarm
An electronic media feeding frenzy is taking a bite out of Sting, the British rocker and self-styled defender of the environment and the downtrodden. In recent days, British newspapers and blogs have savaged the musician for playing a concert in Uzbekistan, which is home to one of the world’s most repressive governments. Sting may have exacerbated his image crisis by appearing unrepentant over his appearance in Tashkent, for which he reportedly received over $1 million.

Tajikistan: Parliamentary Elections
BY KONSTANTIN PARSHIN Tajikistan’s upcoming parliamentary elections on February 28 appear to have little chance of producing a surprise outcome. The governing People’s Democratic Party of Tajikistan (PDPT) is widely expected to retain a dominating legislative majority, as the campaign has been marked by public skepticism and lackluster opposition activity.

Uzbekistan: Karimov Reaps Deals and Praise from South Korea
South Korea is Uzbekistan’s new best friend. Not only has Seoul emerged as an important commercial partner for Tashkent, South Korean leaders are heaping praise on Uzbek President Islam Karimov’s management style.

Kazakhstan: Nazarbayev Synchronizes His Watch with Russia’s
BY JOANNA LILLIS President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s administration in Kazakhstan has received a diplomatic boost from Russia, as Astana strives to convene a summit of Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe member states.

Afghanistan: Loyal Political Opposition Feeling Left Out in the Cold
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR Violence in Afghanistan pays and offering the criticism of loyal opposition does not. So thinks Abdullah Abdullah, the losing presidential candidate in Afghanistan’s 2009 election. In an interview with EurasiaNet in Kabul, Abdullah derided Afghan government plans to contain the Taliban insurgency, complaining that new policies could end up undermining democratization and increasing the chances of renewed inter-ethnic strife.

Georgia: Olympic Luger Nodar Kumaritashvili’s Hometown Mourns His Death
BY GIORGI LOMSADZE Not long after Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili’s fatal February 12 accident at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, a crowd started to gather outside his parents’ small house in the Georgian mountain town of Bakuriani. Hours went by, but nobody dared to wake Kumaritashvili’s parents and tell them that their 21-year-old son’s first Olympic competition had proven to be his last.

Kyrgyzstan: Moscow Withholding Promised Aid to Bishkek
In February of 2009, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev traveled to Moscow and secured roughly $2.15 billion in economic assistance, apparently in a quid-pro-quo deal in which Kyrgyzstan took action to evict US and NATO forces from an air base outside Bishkek. Twelve months later, American troops are still in Kyrgyzstan, and Moscow is balking at disbursing the bulk of its pledged aid.

Azerbaijan: Base Shooting Focuses Attention on Possible Hazing in Military
BY SHAHIN ABBASOV A fatal shooting incident at a military base west of Baku is raising questions about the extent of hazing in Azerbaijan's armed forces.

Georgia: Russia Bets on Ex-Georgian Prime Minister as Saakashvili Alternative
BY GIORGI LOMSADZE With chances for reconciliation with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili close to non-existent, Russia appears to be trying to gain political currency with ordinary Georgians via a cooperation pact with Georgia’s former-premier-turned-opposition leader Zurab Noghaideli.

Iran: American Experts Want Obama Administration to Press Tehran on Human Rights Violations
BY RICHARD WEITZ In Iran, authorities are resorting to repressive measures to contain discontent as they prepare to mark the 31st anniversary of the overthrow of the shah’s despotic regime. Meanwhile, American experts say that the resilience of the Iranian opposition movement is creating a way for the international community to exert pressure on hardline leaders in Tehran.

Kazakhstan: Are OSCE Duties Exerting Positive Influence on Astana?
BY JOANNA LILLIS Recent developments in an ongoing libel case in Kazakhstan indicate that Astana’s responsibilities as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s chairman may be exerting a moderating influence on official attitudes toward free-speech issues.

Kyrgyzstan: Dark Days for Performing Arts in Osh
BY USMAN KHAKIMOV Southern Kyrgyzstan is a region where residents experience plenty of every-day drama, much of it rooted in a prevailing sense of financial uncertainty. The preoccupation with economic issues is such that the performing arts are an afterthought. Yet, one troupe of young Uzbek thespians based in the southern capital of Osh is defying long odds against them, filling a niche and finding a small audience.

Mongolia: Harsh Winter Weather Wiping Out Livestock
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY ANDREW CULLEN While international attention has been focused on earthquake-ravaged Haiti, a quiet, prolonged catastrophe is playing out in Mongolia.

Central Asia & Caucasus: Obama Administration Adopts Moderate Assistance Stance
BY JOSHUA KUCERA The Obama administration is embracing austerity when it comes to providing economic assistance to the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus. Many states in the region will see their assistances levels remain unchanged, under the administration’s proposed budget for the coming fiscal year. Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, two countries that have emerged as important conduits for resupplying US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, may even see aid levels fall slightly.

Afghanistan: Are US Troops Coming or Going?
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR In Kabul, US President Barack Obama’s strategic vision for Afghanistan seems to be sowing confusion and skepticism.

Kazakhstan: Watchdog Group Calls on Astana to Enhance the Rights of Migrant Workers
BY JOANNA LILLIS Energy-rich Kazakhstan has been a magnet for Central Asian migrant workers for much of the last decade. Many make a decent living, but for some the dream turns into a nightmare of shakedowns by police, stolen wages, poor conditions and, in the worst cases, modern-day slavery.

Kazakhstan: Battle over Flagship Bank Illustrates Volatile Mix of Business and Politics
BY JOANNA LILLIS The erstwhile flagship of Kazakhstan's banking sector, BTA Bank, is wrapping up a turbulent year: embattled by the credit crunch, dogged by allegations of massive fraud, nationalized under duress and forced to default on its debts. The bank is now at the center of an acrimonious legal battle in London while simultaneously negotiating with creditors to restructure debts.

Azerbaijan: Baku Developing Satellite to Kick Off National Space Program
BY SHAHIN ABBASOV First came oil. Now comes space. Flush with energy revenues, Officials in Baku are intent on launching Azerbaijan's first satellite by 2011.

Tajikistan: Is the West Showing Signs of Democratization Fatigue?
BY ANDREI BOLGAR The Organization for Security and Co-operation of Europe (OSCE) is expected to face a democratization test in February, when Tajikistan holds parliamentary elections. It's already a safe bet that the governing People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan will retain its hammerlock on the legislature. The election will nevertheless be interesting to follow as a gauge of the West's commitment to promoting democratization.

Washington: US Legislators Launch Congressional Caucus on Central Asia
BY LAURIE RICH Nothing highlights the growing importance of Central Asia in Washington more than the formation of a congressional caucus.

Uzbekistan: Opposition Figure's Release Signal of Warming Uzbek-US Ties?
Uzbekistan's recent release of a leading jailed opposition figure is stoking hopes for warmer relations between Tashkent and the West. But critics of President Islam Karimov's administration caution that the move does not signal Tashkent's intent to change its authoritarian ways.

Georgia: Government Plans Makeover of Get-Tough Financial Police
BY MOLLY CORSO A proposal to revamp Georgia's aggressive financial police is raising red flags among some Georgian economists, who see the planned restructuring as contradicting the Georgian government's libertarian economic outlook.

Turkmenistan: Washington Finesses Study-Abroad Controversy
BY DEIRDRE TYNAN Prominent human rights advocates want the United States to consider invoking the Jackson-Vanik amendment against Turkmenistan over Ashgabat's refusal to let hundreds of young scholars leave the country to pursue their studies.

Georgia: Falconers Struggle to Keep a Traditional Sport Alive
A EURASIANET AUDIO SLIDESHOW BY TEMO BARDZIMASHVILI Almost every day, Ramiz Beridze, a 78-year-old widower, climbs a hill in his native region of Achara, a Georgian province on the Black Sea, to set a net for birds of prey. Falconry is the only thing that he does and the only thing he enjoys. But Berdize's hobby -- a traditional sport across Georgia -- raises questions about Achara's status as one of the world's top sites for seasonal bird migration.

Azerbaijan: Proposal to Cancel 2010 Parliamentary Elections Hits Road Block
BY MINA MIRADOVA A governing party politician's proposal to postpone Azerbaijan's 2010 parliamentary elections "until the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is resolved" has met with both support and censure from President Ilham Aliyev's Yeni Azerbaijan Party. While senior party officials now dismiss the proposal as "a joke," the idea suggests that some politicians are keen to test the outer limits of the ruling party's 16-year hold on power.

Kyrgyzstan: A Bleak Future Awaits Children with Disabilities
BY HAMID TURSUNOV Radik Kutluev is now a pale and lean 31-year-old man living in Kyrgyzstan's southern capital of Osh. Before his body failed him, he aimed for a career as an accountant. Muscular dystrophy derailed that dream.

Central Asia Remains a Corruption Problem Area, While the Caucasus Registers Mixed Gains
BY JOSHUA KUCERA Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan all showed significant decreases in corruption over the past year, according to a recently published worldwide survey by a Berlin-based watchdog group. The survey also showed that Armenia's rating declined, and the rest of the Central Asian states remained near the bottom of the rankings.

Georgia: Unions Press for Labor Law Reform
BY PAUL RIMPLE As Georgia strives to recover from the global economic crisis, the government is struggling to find a balancing point between the protection of workers' rights and the need for employers to boost output. President Mikheil Saakashvili's administration is hearing it from both sides. Labor union leaders claim that the government's overriding interest in attracting foreign investment is encouraging businesses to trample on workers' rights. Employers, meanwhile, are worried that potential changes to the labor code could turn off outside investors.

Azerbaijan: Baku Sees Turkey as Tough Customer on Gas Exports
BY SHAHIN ABBASOV Amid a diplomatic chill, Azerbaijan and Turkey opened a new round of talks November 16 on an energy export price. Recent agreements on gas supplies to Bulgaria, Iran and Russia suggest that Baku is exploring alternative export routes as a means to pressure Ankara into paying significantly more for Azerbaijani natural gas.

Turkey: Government Launches PR Offensive on Kurdish Question
BY NICHOLAS BIRCH Turkey's political leaders are taking to the road to explain their plans to end a 25-year Kurdish war to the people. The PR offensive is opening amid rising political tensions and dwindling hopes of a multi-party accord on the initiative.

Azerbaijan: Outrage and Disappointment Follow Bloggers' Conviction
BY JESSICA POWLEY HAYDEN Many international and domestic observers worry that the recent convictions of two youth activist-bloggers in Azerbaijan are sounding the death knell for the democratization process in the South Caucasus country.

Kazakhstan: Nazarbayev Dodges President-for-Life Question Ahead of Astana's OSCE Chairmanship
BY JOANNA LILLIS As Kazakhstan gears up to chair the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 2010, Astana is facing criticism over its recent democratization record. Helping to highlight the country's image issue is the question of whether or not President Nursultan Nazarbayev favors a proposal to dispense with elections and become president-for-life.

Yerevan Goes Modern: $35 Million Museum to Promote Contemporary Art in the Caucasus
A EURASIANET PHOTO STORY BY MARIANNA GRIGORYAN AND ANAHIT HAYRAPETYAN They have built roads and hospitals; schools and factories. And now, with the recent opening of Yerevan’s $35 million Cafesjian Center for the Arts, members of Armenia’s deep-pocketed Diaspora has moved into modern art.

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.

 

Uzbekistan: About 150 people attended the protest action in Parkent

Ferghana.Ru learned that mass protest action, attended by about 150 people, is taking place these hours near the local administration building in Parkent, the Tashkent Oblast (Uzbekistan). The reason of the protests became the arrest of the local activist Azamat Yakubov. According to the local dwellers, Azamat wanted to supply natural gas to his mahallah (residential district), but he was not allowed to; the local authorities arrested him.

- Azamat used to be the Chairman of the mahallah committee. He wanted to supply natural gas to mahallah. However, due to various reasons he was not supported by his colleagues – Bahtiyor Yakubov, his brother, shared over the phone. – The mahallah residents even collected the money: 350 thousand sum ($160) per family and overall 10-11 million sum ($4500-5000). These funds were transferred to the account of mahallah. The prosecutor’s office affirms that 5 million sum ($2250) is missing. Allegedly, Azamat stole them and that became the reason of his arrest. On the other hand, all people in mahallah are supporting Azamat. Today, about 150 people attended the meeting with the demand to release Azamat.

According to Bakhtiyor Yakubov, the Parkent Public Prosecutor Abdugani Nabiev said: "Please, put 5 missing million in the deposit and we will release him. It was him who spent the funds".

Another protest participant also informed that the Public Prosecutor had threatened to put the meeting participants in jail if they were to continue the protest action.

Tajikistan: The World Bank is planning to run the expert examination of the Rogun hydropower plant within 1.5 years

On March 10, 2010 Motu Konishi, the regional Director of the World Bank (WB) for Central Asia, met Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon. The main topic of discussion became the examination of the Rogun hydropower plant construction. After the meeting Motu Konishi informed journalists that WB experts had already prepared final feasibility study and environmental impact assessment for the Rogun project, Hovar agency reports.

In his turn, Emomali Rakhmon underlined that the expertise must be held at high level and the conclusions need to be reviewed by the downstream countries – Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. All these republics were seriously concerned about the construction of enormous dam in the mountains of Tajikistan. The government of Uzbekistan publicly addressed Tajik colleagues with the demand to conduct the independent examination of new hydropower plants construction under the guidance of influential international organizations (and the World Bank among them).

Vakhsh chain of power plants (the presentation of Tajik Foreign Ministry “Hydropower industry of Tajikistan – the present and the future")

According to the World Bank estimates, it will take about three months to conduct the tender process for selecting the contractor for the Rogun expertise. The expert works will take another 1.5 years. Mr. Konishi notes that the examination will be conducted not only by the World Bank experts, but also high-level professionals, representing all countries, observing the current process.

"If the Rogun project proves its financial and environmental sustainability WB will provide the financial aid and support to the government of Tajikistan for the establishment of consortium that will build this plant. The government of RT and the World Bank will sign the appropriate memorandum on this issue", Motu Konishi stated.

The Rogun hydropower plant is the long-term Soviet project the construction which was resumed in September of 2007. According to the project, 6-aggregate Rogun hydropower plant has 335-meter high dam, capable to produce 3.6 million kilowatt-hours of electricity. This should allow the republic to overcome energy crisis and reach new level of economic achievements. The completion of the project needs at least 6 billion somoni ($1=4.4 somoni).

Due to the absence of investors, by the decision of Tajik government, entire population is involved in the financing of this strategic plant: the shares of the hydropower plant have been publicly offered since January 6. Overall, 5 million stocks and certificates were offered for 6 billion somoni (about $1.3 billioin). "National IPO" is a forced measure: the human rights organizations report that in some regions of the republic people get the stocks of the plant that does not exist yet instead of salaries.

Kyrgyzstan: The internet providers blocked access to Ferghana.Ru, Azattyk Radio and few other websites

On March 10, shortly after the publication about Eugene Gourevitch – the financial consultant of Kyrgyz President Bakiev’s team, accused of association with Mafia in Italy – the leading Internet providers in Kyrgyzstan blocked several independent news websites: Ferghana.Ru regional news agency, Azattyk (the website of Kyrgyz Service of RFE/RL), Centrasia, the Blog of Edil Baisalov, and Belyi Parus.

In the opinion of readers in Kyrgyzstan, the reason of unofficial restriction of access to critical web-based media could be the news about possible participation of Eugene Gourevitch, the partner of Kyrgyz ruling team, in the organized criminal group as well as information about mass anti-government protests in Naryn. The Ferghana.Ru experts also say that the above-mentioned websites were blocked because of this particulr news since local mass media made no report about Gourevitch and the protests in Naryn.

The multi-year experience of Internet censorship monitoring proves that the internet providers very rarely make their own decision to block the websites. They have to cooperate with special services, issuing implicit censorship orders.

It has to be mentioned that filtering of undesirable Internet content has not been conducted since Kyrgyz tulip revolution in March of 2005, when special services blocked the opposition websites, arguing against first Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev.

In the last five years nearly all opposition media and many independent editions were either liquidated or they became pro-government. The authorized media do not cover the protest demonstrations and foreign "adventures" of chief financiers.

Nonetheless, about all website users, we interviewed in Kyrgyzstan, successfully apply various instruments of free internet surfing. "Any advanced user is able to access the web pages despite the access restrictions", says M. – young IT expert from Bishkek and frequent visitor of "prohibited" websites.

One of such instruments is UltraSurf application. It is very easy to download, simple to use and very effective. It can be downloaded from Ultrareach.Com official website, our website and WebFile file sharing system.

Kyrgyzstan: The government denies its cooperation with financial consultant Eugene Gourevitch

Kyrgyzstan’s Development Fund (DF) broke the asset management agreement with MGN Group, owned by Eugene Gourevitch. We already reported that Italian judge accused Mr. Gourevitch of being mafia associate.

MGN Group managed the assets of DF and governmental stake in various state enterprises. After scandalous news the Kyrgyz government post factum informed that it did not use services of the company, involved in the financial fraud.

The Development Fund press-release indicates that "in the past period the Development Fund never used the services of MGN Group and independently managed the assets in accordance with risk management policy". It has to be mentioned that DF shares are under trust management by Central Agency for Development, Investment and Innovations (CADII), headed by President’s son Maxim Bakiev.

In its turn, Flexi Communications PR department distributed personal statement of Eugene Gourevitch:

"Dear journalists,

On February 28 I learned that Italian authorities blame me in the financial fraud. I emphatically reject all charges against me and will prove my innocence in the court. I am totally ready to cooperate with the Italian authorities in order to set this issue as soon as possible. My lawyer is constant contact with them.

I am paying special attention to the fact that all charges against myself are related neither to my operations in Kyrgyzstan nor to MGN Group. I have been in business since 16. I founded my first consulting company, not even being 25. I gained the business contacts and strong reputation through every day hard work. Considering current circumstances I decided to resign from all the positions, including one at MGN Group.

I would like to bring apologizes to my family, friend and colleagues for this annoying mistake and concern. I would like to thank everybody who is supporting me in this challenging period.

Unfortunately, I am not going to personally respond to your questions or give comments. I will address media through Vugar Halilov, my personal representative for public relations.

Best regards,

Eugene Gourevitch".

In the opinion of Ferghana.Ru sources, Eugene Gourevitch is de facto the personal financial assistant for Bakiev’s family, helping his clients to implement projects, aiming to control the most profitable sectors of Kyrgyz economy.

Uzbekistan: By the order of Islam Karimov the authorities are hunting big businessmen

The authorities in Uzbekistan launched the campaign with the purpose to get rid of the oligarchs, Tashkent-based uncensored Uzmetronom analytical website reports.

According to the website, immediately after the presentation, delivered by the President on the Constitution Day (December 8) the special services started hunting big businessmen that made their wealth thanks to corrupted ties. Islam Karimov clearly indicated that the regime was not going to tolerate striking material inequality that instigated social tensions. "We are not going to see oligarchs – he said – If someone did not get this message yet, he must bear that in mind".

Dmitry Lim, one of the wealthiest people in the republic, the owner of the wholesale and retail markets (we also reported the arrest of the number of the market top managers), was the first one to leave the republic, fearing the persecution. Uzmetronom assumes that he left for USA where he had sent his young wife and son few years ago. The unofficial sources informed Uzmetronom that "the owner of plants, newspapers and steamboats" was accused of tax avoidance, illegal import of construction materials and other crimes, causing significant economic damage. Conducting the house-check the investigators were astonished by the luxury and rare vehicles collection (82 items), belonging to Lim.

Nearly all top managers of Joint Venture Royson, producing the air conditioners, were arrested in the beginning of 2010. Allegedly, they are also accused of causing the economic damage. This was another evidence that "solid roofs could not guarantee" the economic safety, says the author of the article.

Ferghana.Ru already reported that Vimm-Bill-Dann operations were shut down in Tashkent by the demand of Sanitary and Epidemiological authority. It turned out that the violation of sanitary norms was only the formal reason. The main charge against Russian-Uzbek JV was the violations of financial regulations of Uzbekistan that prohibits cash operations. Uzmetronom notes there were no arrests in this case.

Fearing the arrest, Mukhiddin Asomiddinov, the owner of Alp Zhamol-Bank, also left the republic.

In mid-February the authorities arrested Batyr Rakhimov, the owner of wolframite mines and fat-and-oil plant, the major shareholder of Capital-Bank and CEO of Football Club Pakhtakor. (The details are available in the Ferghana.Ru message).

Radjabbay Jumanazarov, the Head of Kzylkumcement, is officially wanted now. The law enforcement bodies arrested Alik Nurutdinov, the Director of Bekabad cement plant and the graduate of Moscow steel and alloy institute.

Personal sources of Ferghana.Ru in Tashkent also reported the arrest of Zahid Khakimov who was the CEO of Uzbektourism National Company in the last four years and controlled this high-profit industry.

The sources also indicate that Chief Executive Officers of the number of banks, not including Alp Zhamol and Capital, will be also brought to trial.

Kyrgyzstan: The opposition forces organized mass meeting against raising the electricity and heating tariffs

In the morning of March 10 the opposition forces in Kyrgyzstan launched the mass meeting against raising the electricity and heating tariffs in Naryn City stadium.

March 10, 2010. Naryn. Roza Otunbaeva gives a speech at the meeting. The photos are provided by NGO Coalition For Democracy and Civil Society.

Ferghana.Ru learned from Jumabek Osmonaliev, the coordinator of Social-Democratic party (SDPK) Naryn city branch, that the meeting gathered about 4000 people.

The demonstration was attended by the head of SDPK Roza Otunbaeva, former parliamentary deputy and Ak-Shumkar party leader Temir Sariev, Head of Ata-Meken party apparatus Almambet Shykmamatov, the Chairman of the Committee against political repressions Topchubek Turgunaliev and others.

March 10, 2010. Naryn

The meeting leaders demand to cancel the raise of electricity and heating tariffs, re-grant 110 kilowatt-hours of electricity for each resident of mountainous region and re-consider 50% addition to salary for "living in the mountainous region" that had been cancelled recently.

The opposition leaders also criticized the current regime policy that sells state assets in energy and other strategic industries as well as the family and the clan rule. Specifically, President’s son Maxim Bakiev and his state asset management policy were given very critical comments.

March 10, 2010. Naryn. A. Shekmamatov, the deputy Chairman of Ata Meken opposition party (leftmost), Temir Sariev, the Head of Ak-Shumkar party (rightmost)

Roza Otunbaeva invited all residents of Naryn for the grand opposition kurultai (meeting), scheduled for March 17 in Bishkek, i.e. one week prior to President’s "kurultai of consent" that will also consider the issue of raising electricity tariffs among other important issues.

The law enforcement officers have not interrupted the meeting.

It has to be mentioned that in November of 2009 the government of Kyrgyzstan decided to raise electricity and heating tariffs by twice (effective of January 1, 2010) and by five times (effective of July 1, 2010).

March 10, 2010. Naryn

On February 24 the activists in Naryn already conducted the protest action when they demanded to solve the number of social issues of the Naryn Oblast, located in the mountainous area, as well as to cancel possible transfer of land to China.

The opposition forces used the chance to intensify its political struggle. “The Naryn case" became the first alarm signal for the government, indicating that raised tariffs for utility services may become serious reason for growing the protest potential through more active involvement of the opposition parties.

On March 9 Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev already fired the Governor of the Naryn Oblast that gave verbal permission to conduct the meeting without prior notification of the local authorities. However, at today’s meeting the protesters noted that they deny new Governor Almazbek Akmataliev.

Kyrgyzstan: Is the financial consultant of Bakiev’s family the associate of Italian mafia?

According to San-Francisco Chronicle, Rome Judge Aldo Morgigni has issued an arrest warrant for US citizen Eugene Gourevitch, the Director of MGN Capital financial group and de facto the key international consultant of Kyrgyz President Bakiev’s family.

Few months ago MGN Capital was selected through tender procedure by Kyrgyzstan’s Development Fund as the financial consultant and asset manager. Some sources indicate that Bakiev’s government transferred $300 million of Russian credit money to be managed by Gourevitch. MGN also provided consulting service for privatization of state-owned OJSC Severelectro and OJSC Kyrgyztelecom; the outcome produced the scandal in Kyrgyzstan.

The Italian court named Eugene Gourevitch among other 55 associates that were allegedly involved in a fraud that have siphoned an astonishing US$2.7 billion from the wholesale telephony divisions of Telecom Italia SpA and Fastweb SpA between 2003 and 2006. Gourevitch's Italian associates allegedly employed fictitious receipts for telephony. Judge Morgigni's 1,600 page arrest warrant claims "Gourevitch used his international contacts and financial expertise to help the Italian criminals launder their illicit profits".

Judge Morgigni alleged the U.S. citizen had "created, managed and used... a series of companies through which he moved an enormous quantity of money constituting the 'cuts' destined for the various members of the conspiracy".

The news on possible links of Eugene Gourevitch with Italian mafia shocked Kyrgyz society. However, in the opinion of Edil Baisalov, the connection between the current Kyrgyz government and international criminal circles is no news for Kyrgyz political opposition.

"Kyrgyzstan turned into gigantic laundry machine for criminal money. Dozens of billions of US dollars are being laundered in our country. The banks of Nadel and Gourevitch absorbed entire banking industry. In addition to drug lords’ assets they manage the millions of Russian loan money now. Is not this the legalization of criminal funds?" says Edil Baisalov, one of the opposition leaders, residing outside of Kyrgyzstan, in his comments to Ferghana.Ru.

"We are not even going to claim statements from Kurmanbek Bakiev and his son Maxim. People got one thing clear: the current regime is not motivated by law and national interests, but greediness and desire to make money. Gourevitch’s company is so much tied up with current regime that it was not only limited by financial consulting; it was also involved in the state reforms and promotion of changes in the constitution. If the government transferred entire national wealth of Kyrgyzstan to the management of international Mafia members how can people still trust them?" notes Edil Baisalov, adding that the opposition will demand the immediate resignation of Maxim Bakiev, the arrest of all international accounts, related to him or Gourevitch; besides, the opposition leaders are going to demand early presidential and parliamentary elections.

It has to be mentioned that in his interview to Azattyk Radio, dated October of 2009, Eugene Gourevitch shared the details about his business in Kyrgyzstan.

NOTE: Eugene Gourevitch is the CEO of CJSC MGN Group and an entrepreneur with over 13 years of experience in management consulting, commercial and investment banking and asset management. Eugene founded the MGN Group in 2008. In April of 2009 Mr. Gourevitch was elected as a member of the Board of the OJSC "Manas International Airport", the biggest airport services provider of the Kyrgyz Republic and CJSC "Electricheskie Stancii", the State-owned electricity monopoly.

Prior to founding the MGN Group Mr. Gourevitch established and managed a number of successful ventures. From 2001-2007 he co-founded and was President of Virage Consulting Ltd, a US-based management consultancy firm, focused primarily on emerging markets. He was also the co-founder of several high-profile investment funds with total assets under management in excess of 200 million USD. Eugene has also developed a number of start-up high-tech businesses, the latest example being Adotube Inc, where he serves as a Member of the Board and helped co-raise several rounds of investment.

Eugene Gourevitch holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the Haas School of Business at University of California, Berkeley. Mr. Gourevitch currently resides full-time in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic. Source: www.mgncapital.com

Kyrgyzstan-USA: The renewal of transit center lease in Manas is under question?

Last week the local media actively discussed news that, allegedly, Kyrgyzstan and USA reached the agreement on renewal of Manas airbase lease, officially named as the Transit Center since last summer. The mass media sources referred to the statement of Richard Holbrooke, US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, which informed about signing new agreement as almost set issue at the special press-conference.

However, in his interview to Slovo Kyrgyzstana governmental newspaper Kadyrbek Sarbaev, Kyrgyz Foreign Minister, noted that "the government of the republic signed no agreement on the renewal of Manas Transit Center lease at the territory of Kyrgyzstan with Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke during his visit in Bishkek".

Same information was confirmed by personal sources of Ferghana.Ru in Pentagon. High ranking American officials admitted that the statements of Richard Holbrooke "were given a wrong interpretation" and the agreement on renewal of lease has not been signed yet. On the other hand, it is hard to believe that Kyrgyzstan is not going to keep the base after June, 2010. It has to be mentioned that the agreement assumes automatic prolongation for another year "if neither of the parties informs another party about its decision to break the agreement 180 prior to the end of the agreement’s term".

The importance of Manas base for the new phase of NATO military operations in Afghanistan is hard to overestimate. Every month the Manas airbase is the transit point for 35 000 soldiers that stop over the base on the way to and back from Afghanistan. The Manas airbase also hosts fuel transporters that transport over 60 000 tons of jet fuel to Afghanistan every month. The volume of re-export of fuel from Kyrgyzstan is so significant that this matter was officially raised by Russian side during the intergovernmental committee session in Moscow at the end of February.

The observers believe that jet fuel supply for American troops is the biggest incentive for Pentagon to motivate Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev to keep the airbase (the same argument was used in the negotiations with Askar Akaev whose son and son-in-law owned the fuel supply companies). Today, all these enterprises and, therefore, multi-million contracts are controlled by Maxim Bakiev. According to unofficial estimates of insider experts, the annual profits, made by Bakiev’s family on jet fuel free of taxes and customs duties, reach at least 80 million US dollars.

Uzbekistan: The CEO of Football Club Pakhtakor is arrested in Tashkent

Ferghana.Ru learned that few days ago Batyr Rakhimov, the CEO of Football Club Pakhtakor had been arrested in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, says the anonymous influential official, close to football federation of Uzbekistan.

The reason of Uzbek oligarch’s arrest is not known yet, but according to the source, most likely, it is related to his business rather than sports:

Rakhimov is the owner of Capital holding company that includes same-name bank, insurance company and the nonferrous metal combined mine. Besides, Rakhimov owns the Uzbekistan hotel, My Dream trademark (vegetable oil and margarine), wine and alcohol producing plant and restaurant chain in Tashkent.

Bakhtier Rakhimov, the brother of Rakhimov, co-owner of his business and vice-President of Uzbekistan’s Football Federation, is now located at Kuala Lumpur where he left, apparently, fearing the arrest.

The local press, information agencies, radio and TV have paid absolutely no attention to this event.

The official election results in Tajikistan: The President’s party received 54 seats in the parliament

The Peoples’ Democratic party of Tajikistan, headed by President Emomali Rakhmon, received 54 seats in the parliament out of 63, winning 70.06 percent of votes. These are the official results of the February 28 elections, announced by Central Election Committee of Tajikistan, BBC reports.

The Islamic renaissance party collected 8.2 percent of votes. Communist party, Agrarian party and Economic reforms party gained 7, 5.1 and 5.03 percent of votes respectively.

On March 14 there will be rerun for one parliamentary seat – from Kanibadam district – since none of the candidates there was able to collect over 50 percent of votes. It is expected that the representatives of Peoples’ Democratic Party of Tajikistan and Social-Democratic party have best chances in this district.

Overall, there were 8 parties, running in the parliamentary elections. Over 3.1 million electors out of 3.5 million registered showed up for voting. 41 deputies were elected at single-seat electoral district while 22 others were elected, based on the party lists, at national electoral district.

The observers from CIS and SCO gave positive comments about the election process. On the other hand, the observers from OSCE and USA reported the number of falsifications and violations of the electoral code of Tajikistan. The leaders of Social-Democratic party and Islamic renaissance party said they were going to challenge the election results.

The Uzbek citizen is shot down at Kyrgyz-Uzbek border

On March 4 as a result of the accident at Kyrgyz-Uzbek border the Kyrgyz border guard shot down the citizen of Uzbekistan. This fact was confirmed to Ferghana.Ru by the Border of Service of Kyrgyzstan. The Kyrgyz frontier guards refused to share the details, reasoning that all information was directed to the office of President’s Advisor for defense, security and law order.

The automobile road in the ravine, close to Kadamzhai town. Photo of Kadamzhay.com Kadamzhay.com

The unofficial sources report that the incident took place at the border check point in the Kadamzhai district in the Batken Oblast of Kyrgyzstan. The Kyrgyz frontier guard opened fire at the vehicle, driven by the citizen of Uzbekistan, who did not pull over at the border line (as it is required) after the warning shot. As a result, the driver died at the scene while the passenger was placed to the hospital.

The special commission, established by the Border Service of Kyrgyzstan, started the investigation of the accident.

It has to be mentioned that the conflicts at Uzbek-Kyrgyz border is not a rare event. Every year the media report the dozens of clashes (including fatal outcomes) between the frontier guards and local dwellers.

USA and Kyrgyzstan to prolong the lease agreement on the Manas airbase

USA and Kyrgyzstan agreed to extend the term of using the Manas airbase by American military. Kommersant says that after the completion of his visit to all Central Asian republics Richard Holbrooke, US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, noted that Washington and Bishkek were close to prolong the agreement on American military presence in the Manas airport. Holbrooke said that the Manas transit center was very important to USA. Every month nearly 35 thousand US soldiers, flying to and back from Afghanistan, stop over the base. "We are going to prolong the agreement in the next few weeks and the goal of my visit was to initiate this process", Richard Holbrooke said.

American soldier plays the trumpet at the Manas base. Photo by US Air Force.

Kyrgyz side has not officially commented on this statement yet. Commersant quotes the anonymous Kyrgyz diplomat who said that if Bishkek wanted to break the Manas agreement, it would have informed US Department of State before December 22, 2009: "The agreement, signed on June 22, 2009, assumes automatic extension for another year in case neither of the parties informed another party about its readiness to break the agreement within 180 days prior to the end of the agreement’s term".

It has to be mentioned that at the beginning of February 2009 Bishkek said it was going to shut down Manas airbase. At the same period Russia announced that it will provide Kyrgyzstan with $2 billion loan and $150 million financial aid. It was viewed by some experts as the payment for "displacing" USA out of Russia’s sphere of influence. In April of 2009 Kyrgyzstan broke the agreement with USA on the placement of the military units of USA and 11 anti-terrorist coalition countries. However, in June of 2009 the governments of USA and Kyrgyzstan signed another agreement on establishing the Transit cargo Center in the Manas international airport. USA was paying $60 million for the base rental, which exceeded the initial sum by three times.

Richard Holbrooke visited Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan in February of 2010. The goal of the tour was to gain the Central Asian governments’ support for President Obama’s strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Lufthansa returns to the market of Uzbekistan

German Lufthansa resumes the flights between Germany and Uzbekistan after nine-year break, Deutsche Welle reports. On March 28 the carrier company is launching new flights, including such destinations as Miami, Teheran and Tashkent.

The Munich-Tashkent flight will be offered three times a week: on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 8.30 pm. Tashkent-Munich flights will be carried by Boeing 737-800 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, arriving in Munich at 10pm. The average flight duration is about 6 hours.

Bernhard Ludewig, the head of Lufthansa flight planning department in Europe, says that it has been nine years since the last Lufthansa flight to Uzbekistan. "Until 2001 we were flying from Frankfurt three times a week – Mr. Ludewig said. – However, after 9/11 the world flight connection has been changed and we had to shut down certain flights. In the following years we several times attempted to reopen this flight, but we also faced other events, such the war in Iraq, the threat of SARS and etch. In 2010 we are ready to fly to Tashkent". Mr. Ludewig noted that Lufthansa is planning to strengthen its positions in Central Asia.

Lufthansa representative also highlighted that Uzbekiston hova yollari has been the major carrier from Tashkent to Western Europe. "On this background, Lufthansa’s offer is modest, but quite attractive".

Lufthansa provides air service to Central Asia, offering four flights from Frankfurt to Ashgabat (Turkmenistan) and daily flights to Kazakhstan. According to Mr. Ludewig, the flights to Tashkent will be demanded by businessmen, tourists and employees of international organizations.

UN General Assembly adopts resolution on UN-CSTO cooperation development

The UN General Assembly on Tuesday adopted a resolution aimed at the development of cooperation between the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) and the United Nations. This document co-authors of which are all CSTO member states (Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) was presented at the UN General Assembly meeting by Russia’s delegation.

The document emphasises “the importance of the strengthening of the dialogue, cooperation and coordination between the UN system and CSTO.” It also contains an appeal to specialised bodies of the UN system, “such as the Department for Political Affairs of the UN Secretariat, UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Counterterrorism Committee and its Executive Directorate, to cooperate and develop direct contacts with the CSTO aimed at the attainment of their goals.”

Presenting the draft resolution Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin noted that since 2004 the CSTO has the status of observer in the UN General Assembly, and on January 16, 2008 the Agreement on the peacekeeping activity of this organisation came into force.

“The new resolution will make it possible to really strengthen CSTO-UN interaction, to expand their mutual abilities to assist the efforts to ensure peace, security and cooperation on the regional and global scale,” Churkin said. The mechanism of CSTO peacekeeping activity “can be used in peacekeeping operations, including under the aegis of the United Nations,” he added.

The Collective Security Treaty Organisation was founded on October 7, 2002, by the Presidents of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, who signed a charter in Tashkent, founding the CSTO or simply The Tashkent Treaty. Nikolai Bordyuzha was appointed secretary general of the new organisation. On 23 June 2006, Uzbekistan became a full participant in the CSTO and its membership was formally ratified by its parliament on 28 March 2008. The CSTO is an observer organisation at the United Nations General Assembly.

The charter reaffirmed the desire of all participating states to abstain from the use or threat of force. Signatories would not be able to join other military alliances or other groups of states, while aggression against one signatory would be perceived as an aggression against all. To this end, the CSTO holds yearly military command exercises for the CSTO nations to have an opportunity to improve inter-organisation cooperation. The largest-scale CSTO military exercise held to date were the “Rubezh 2008” hosted in Armenia where a combined total of 4,000 troops from all 7 constituent CSTO member countries conducted operative, strategic, and tactical training with an emphasis towards furthering efficiency of the collective security element of the CSTO partnership.

The CSTO grew out of the framework of the Commonwealth of Independent States, and first began as the CIS Collective Security Treaty (CST) which was signed on May 15, 1992, by Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, in the city of Tashkent. Azerbaijan signed the treaty on September 24, 1993, Georgia on December 9, 1993 and Belarus on December 31, 1993. The treaty came into effect on April 20, 1994.

The CST was set to last for a 5-year period unless extended. On April 2, 1999, only six members of the CST signed a protocol renewing the treaty for another five-year period - Azerbaijan, Georgia and Uzbekistan refused to sign and withdrew from the treaty instead. At the same time Uzbekistan joined the GUAM group, established in 1997 by Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova, and largely seen as intending to counter Russian influence in the region.

On October 6, 2007, CSTO members agreed to a major expansion of the organisation that would create a CSTO peacekeeping force that could deploy under a UN mandate or without one in its member states. The expansion would also allow all members to purchase Russian weapons at the same price as Russia.

On February 4, 2009, an agreement to create the Collective Rapid Reaction Force (KSOR) was reached by five of the seven members, with plans finalized on June 14. The force is intended to be used to repulse military aggression, conduct anti-terrorist operations, fight trans-national crime and drug trafficking, and neutralize the effects of natural disasters.

CSTO Secretary-General Nikolai Bordyuzha said at a UN meeting devoted to UN-CSTO cooperation in January, in particular, that “We believe that countering of terrorism, fight against illicit production and trafficking of narcotic drugs, putting an end to the illegal arms trade, organized trans-national crime, prevention of and rehabilitation after emergency situations form yet an incomplete list of topics in providing regional and international security that require intensified cooperation of the UN with regional organisations and the enhanced interaction between the organisations themselves.”

ITAR-TASS

EU-Turkmenistan: The important guests from London and Brussels visited Ashgabat

The European community "supports the reformative policy line of Turkmenistan", Pierre Morel, EU special representative for Central Asia, said on March 2 during the meeting with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.Ru reports.

EU representative underlined that top European companies "are very interested to participate in promising projects, conducted in Turkmenistan, in the oil and gas field, intensification of economic ties and other industries".

The press-service of Turkmen President informs that in this context the parties highlighted the importance of Memorandum of understanding and cooperation in the energy field, singed in May of 2008 by Turkmenistan and European Union, "that launched productive partnership program in this important area".

According to Pierre Morel, "new incentives in this process are driven by National Fuel and Energy Complex Development Strategy, implemented by Turkmenistan, based on its modernization and diversification of routes for the export of Turkmen energy sources to the world markets".

On March 2, the President of Turkmenistan met Philip Hunt, the deputy Leader of the House of Lords and the Minister of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change. According to Turkmen President press-service, the important guest from London named Turkmenistan "reliable and very promising partner, safeguarding the peace and stability in Central Asia" and said that "the UK government pays much attention to the development of partnership with Ashgabat".

In his turn, the Turkmen leader underlined that Ashgabat "is open for constructive dialogue and sees great opportunities for successful cooperation with British partners in various fields, including fuel and energy sector".

It has to be mentioned that in 2007 EU adopted the strategy on Central Asia in order to (according to EU representatives) develop "qualitatively new partnership" with all the republics in the region.

How to make Bishkek more comfortable for visitors and citizens?
According to a discussion in the Kyrgyz Parliament, the main street of Bishkek has changed its time at least five times since the foundation of the City. The given names are also not relevant to the local history and reality. What does Moskovskaya, which is the name of one of the central streets of Bishkek, means to Bishkek citizens? The same can be said about Baitik baatir, Abdrahmanova, etc. These imposed titles may be important for some Kyrgyz tribes or regional elites, but doesn't give any comfort to visitors and ordinary citizens

From Lenin square to Shakhidon square: 20 years after February massacre in Dushanbe
It has been twenty years since tragic events, no one remembers today for some reason. In February of 1990 dozens of people were killed and hundreds were injured in the dispersal of the opposition forces in the Tajik capital. The bloody event in Dushanbe became the prologue of the multi-year and big civil war in Tajikistan – one of the most bloody military conflicts in the post-Soviet area that killed hundreds of thousands people. In February of 1990 the political and military conflict was initiated in Tajikistan that continued through June of 1997

Kyrgyzstan: Who sponsors the murder of dissidents?

Kazakhstani investigators revealed the track of Kyrgyz special services in the murder of journalist Gennadiy Pavlyuk. Considering the nature of today’s ruling regime, there is nothing new here. The persecution of believers in the southern part of the republic, the Nookat events, the murders and assaults against politicians, journalists, public figure, the conflicts in the Petrovka village and the Balykchi events prove that current regime, its characteristics and application are the major source of troubles

Dilshod Usmanov: The future of our country is the future of our children
The group of young businessmen in Uzbekistan launched big project, aiming to raise the productivity of cultivation areas, re-cultivation of dead and contaminated soil, ecological improvement through the use of biohumus, produced by Oltin vodiy (Golden valley) bloodworms. Major raw material for mass production of biohumus will be million tons of domestic waste from gigantic city dumps. Therefore, the project initiators are going to cover the project costs and lead Uzbekistan to the top world’s producers of biohumus. The idea of industrial scale production of biohumus in Uzbekistan was born in 1980s by Rustam Usmanov, PhD in Economics, famous Uzbek entrepreneur and the founder of the first private bank in the republic. Ferghana.Ru correspondent met Mr. Usmanov in his office

The conflicts at Kyrgyz-Uzbek border became more frequent
On January 17 another armed incident took place at the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border: the Uzbek border guards wounded Kyrgyz guard at Kyrgyz territory and took him to Uzbekistan. The conflicts at Kyrgyz-Uzbek border are frequently originated by both sides. Among the reasons there are unauthorized interference of the border guards to the territory of neighboring state, the move of cattle, water use, illegal fees for crossing the border and conveyance of goods. Ordinarily Uzbek media do not cover the border conflicts, but in 2010 two of them broke with the precedent

Islam Karimov & Co are the ones radicalising Central Asia
Over the past decade and a half, the regimes in Central Asia have with the help of labels such as ‘extremist’ and ‘terrorist’ practically exterminated all opposition. “But by imprisoning and torturing thousands, the dictators in Central Asia are creating a time bomb of discontent”, says the Danish journalist Michael Andersen, “and unfortunately, the West is looking the other way”. Andersen who has covered Central Asia for many years, has just finished his latest film ‘The Myth of Religious Extremism in Central Asia’. The film will be shown on the channel Aljazeera English from this Wednesday, and can also be seen on the channel’s website. Fergana.ru interviews Michael Andersen about his latest project. “The heroes of the film are the incredibly courageous human rights defenders and journalists who stand up to the regimes, often risking their own lives”, says the Danish journalist, “I think we all know who the villains are”

Uzbek secret services collect the records about independent journalists
In the beginning of January of 2010 in cooperation with National Security Service and Uzbek Foreign Affairs Ministry the Tashkent public prosecutor’s office conducted intimidating actions against independent journalists. Few people were invited for interrogations where each one was presented the detailed record while their articles, written by the journalists, were named "biased" and "tendentious". This event can be treated only as the attempt to muzzle very few independent journalists in Uzbekistan. One of them is the Ferghana.Ru free-lance correspondent Alexei Volosevich that shares his story of communicating with the prosecutor’s office

Tajikistan: Men’s work for fragile women
When every seventh citizen of Tajikistan goes abroad for earnings, those, staying home, have to make a living. Tajik women are mastering traditional "male" professions such as potters, irrigators, crane operators, taxi drivers, brick layers, woodworkers and blacksmiths. While gentlemen are working abroad, ladies replace them at home. Tilav Rasul-zade, Ferghana.Ru correspondent in Tajikistan, writes about fragile women, carrying man’s work

Uzbekistan: The embassies of USA and Russia awarded best journalists of the year
In the holiday season the embassies of USA and Russia in Uzbekistan announced the winners of the journalist contest on coverage of bilateral relations. The list of winners included freelance correspondents of Ferghana.Ru news agency - Sid Yanyshev, Sergey Naumov and Pavel Kravets. Ferghana.Ru editorial staff congratulates colleagues and friends with the victory and wishes happy New Year!

Second Advent or what is expected in Turkmenistan under Ruhnama?
The second advent of Ruhnama in the socio-cultural area of Turkmenistan makes us think not only about circling politicians, but also what is expected in the country in the future and how the neighbors view such development. New Turkmen national culture policy is the Niyazov-initiated surgery of lively and diverse Turkmen culture of various groups of Turkmen and other ethnicities to some varnished imitation, substituting genuine culture. Those, who are not aware of Turkmen realities, need to understand the following: titular ethnic group consists of complex tribal structure. The scientist still cannot explain the emergence of many groups. Each group – clan or tribe – has many unique independent features

The International Group to support Umida Ahmedova
The group of photographers, artists, art critics and journalists from Uzbekistan, Russia, Europe, USA and Canada disseminated an open letter, addressed to the Foreign Affairs Ministry of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Internal Affairs Ministry of the Republic of Uzbekistan as well as international human rights organizations and international community in general. The letter supports the creative work of prominent Tashkent-based photographer Umida Ahmedova

American military uniform is highly demanded in Uzbekistan
American apparel and shoes are very popular in Tashkent even if they are second hand items. They are highly demanded among customers because they meet major criteria – quality. The sellers do not tell us where they get the merchandise. However, people are happy that at moderate prices they can afford the apparel and shoes of much higher quality than those, produced in Uzbekistan or China.

Uzbekistan: The criminal case has been filed against the photographer and documentary film maker Umida Akhmedova
The criminal case has been filed against prominent photographer and documentary film maker Umida Akhmedova in Tashkent. She is accused of slander and insult of Uzbek people. The reason for accusation became "Men and women: from dawn to dusk" album, produced in 2007 under the support of Swiss Embassy Gender Program. The album consists of over 100 pictures, reflecting various aspects of people’s lifestyle in Uzbekistan. "Where is the slander?" question, asked by Akhmedova, remained unanswered

Uzbekistan's rating. Shall President Karimov take pride in "accomplishments"?
Speaking at the solemn conference dedicated to another anniversary of the Constitution, Uzbek President Islam Karimov spoke at length of the "reforms on a major scale" under way in the republic and of the astonishing successes of his astute leadership over the previous two decades. Karimov was stone-cold confident that the international community adequately appreciated achievements of Uzbekistan "on the way to development to a democratic state, civil society, modern economy" and to "a deserving place in the world". Ferghana.Ru did its honest best to sort out these achievements and decide whether or not they were anything to take pride in

Uzbekistan: The first POS terminals appeared in the markets of Tashkent
UzA official news agency of Uzbekistan learned from Toshbozortayerlovsavdo that over 30 POS (point of sale) terminals were set up in twelve markets of Tashkent; from now on, the local residents can use their debit cards there. Ferghana.Ru correspondents took a walk around Tashkent bazaars in order to personally observe the work of terminals. POS terminals were found only at one of the four markets of Uzbek capital; it turned out that terminals process only VISA cards while the customer can pay only for limited food items.

Ferghana.Ru news agency
Daily Central Asian news

 

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An Azerbaijani court on Wednesday rejected an appeal by two bloggers jailed after satirizing the government with an Internet video that showed a donkey giving a press conference, their lawyer said. T...

Bp To Buy Exploration Rights In Brazil, Azerbaijan, Gulf Of Mexico From Devon Energy For $7b
LONDON - Oil company BP PLC said Thursday it will pay $7 billion to acquire exploration rights in Brazil, Azerbaijan and the Gulf of Mexico from Devon Energy Corp. BP said it is also selling, for $50...

Azerbaijan Doubles Gas Sales To Russia
Azerbaijan has more than doubled its natural-gas exports to Russia, shipping up to 3 million cubic meters of gas per day to its northern neighbor as of March 5, the Russian energy giant Gazprom announ...

Petraeus Visits Kyrgyzstan Amid U.s. Plans For Counterterror Center
Bilateral cooperation and the situation in Afghanistan were on the agenda of talks today between Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev and the visiting head of U.S. Central Command, General David Petraeus...

Pacheco Plays-down 'gamesmanship' Charge
11.03.2010 10:22:38 Al Shabab coach Jamie Pacheco defended his side's tactics late in their 3-1 triumph over Pakhtakor as a double from Flavio and a late strike from Ahmed Al Kaabi saw the Saudi side ...

Global Travel To Rebound By As Much As 4% – Unwto Chief
11.03.2010 10:12:42 The head of the United Nations tourism organization is calling on the industry to strengthen its resilience, stimulate sustainable growth and contribute to the green economy as it ...

New Un Satellite Standards To Boost Communications In Emergencies
11.03.2010 10:10:31 New radiocommunication standards for satellite services that could be used to save greater lives in the wake of natural disasters have been approved, the United Nations Internation...

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Kyrgyzstan: Brewing Financial Scandal Stoking Media Controversy
An arrest warrant issued for a financial manager in Kyrgyzstan with ties to the Kyrgyz government is stirring a media controversy in Bishkek.

Armenia: US Genocide Recognition Resolution Fosters Hopes for Peace with Turkey
BY GAYANE ABRAHAMYAN A US congressional committee’s approval of a non-binding, draft resolution to recognize Ottoman Turkey’s 1915 slaughter of ethnic Armenians as genocide has sparked optimism among some Armenian analysts and pro-government politicians that the measure will push Turkey to reconcile with Armenia.

Kazakhstan: Fallen Tycoons Still Rankle Ruling Elite
BY JOANNA LILLIS Fresh salvoes are being fired in a running battle between members of Kazakhstan’s ruling elite and tycoons who have fallen out of favor.

Kazakhstan: Astana Intensifying Efforts to Hold OSCE Summit
A EURASIANET INTERVIEW WITH ANTHONY PAHIGIAN Kazakhstan is redoubling efforts to get two important holdouts - the United States and Uzbekistan - to endorse an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe summit in 2010. EurasiaNet recently sat down with Anthony Pahigian, deputy director of the US State Department’s Office of European Security and Political Affairs, to get Washington’s diplomatic take on the summit idea.

Fergana Valley: Relations Cooling, Uzbek-Kyrgyz Border Growing Increasingly Violent
BY JONIBEK KADAMJAYOV The deteriorating relationship between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan is giving rise to violence along the countries’ shared frontier. Adding to the tension, Tashkent has unilaterally closed one of the largest border crossings between the two countries.

Georgia: Amid Democratization, Village Elder Tradition Survives in Mountainous Svaneti Region
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY TEMO BARDZIMASHVILI In the remote mountain villages of Georgia’s northwest region of Svaneti, 84-year-old Bauchi Qaldani of Adishi is universally regarded as a wise man. And Qaldani, a village elder now in his fifth decade as a mediator and matchmaker, is still ready to dispense his wisdom whenever called upon. "I was born for others," he says.

Armenia: US Congressional Committee Adopts Resolution Recognizing Armenian Genocide
BY JOSHUA KUCERA A US congressional committee narrowly passed a resolution on March 4 officially to term Ottoman Turkey’s 1915 massacre of ethnic Armenians as genocide. The move is likely to complicate relations between the United States and Turkey, and could bring the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation process to a halt.

Afghanistan: President Karzai Modifying Election Law in His Favor -- A EurasiaNet Q & A with Grant Kippen, former Chairman of the Electoral Complaints Commission
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR President Hamid Karzai has taken action to substantially curtail the independence of Afghanistan’s Electoral Complaints Commission before parliamentary elections scheduled for this September.

Kyrgyzstan: US Intends to Construct Military Training Center in Batken
BY DEIRDRE TYNAN The United States intends to build an anti-terror training center in the southern Kyrgyz province of Batken. The exact location of the facility, which is projected to cost $500,000, has not yet been determined.

Afghanistan: Does Brazil Hold the Key to Afghan Stabilization?
A EURASIANET COMMENTARY BY MOHAMMAD ASIF RAHIMI AND M. ASHRAF HAIDARI The development of Afghanistan’s agricultural sector has been overlooked by the international community, despite the fact that roughly 80 percent of the Afghan population lives in rural areas and scratches out a meager existence from the land. In trying to rectify the existing situation, the international community would do well to look to Brazil for answers.

Kazakhstan: Astana Finding that Running the OSCE is a Constant Challenge
A EURASIANET VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH VLADIMIR SHKOLNIKOV The responsibility of running the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe may be having a moderating effect on Kazakhstan, Vladimir Shkolnikov, an expert on the workings of the Vienna-based multilateral organization tells EurasiaNet. For one, officials in Astana are finding that it is not so easy to impose their own political preferences on a group that comprises 56 member states, and which requires consensus to get anything done.

Armenia: Parliamentary Vote Deals Blow to Turkish Reconciliation Chances
BY GAYANE ABRAHAMYAN Armenia is ready to back out before it enters into a binding reconciliation agreement with its long-time foe, Turkey.

Report: Azerbaijan Bans Koran, Islamic Symbols in Government Offices
BY SHAHIN ABBASOV Following violent clashes between police and Islamic activists in Baku in mid-February, the government has ordered all state employees to remove Islamic symbols from their offices, a source in Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs tells EurasiaNet.

Uzbekistan: Sting Stung Amid Media Swarm
An electronic media feeding frenzy is taking a bite out of Sting, the British rocker and self-styled defender of the environment and the downtrodden. In recent days, British newspapers and blogs have savaged the musician for playing a concert in Uzbekistan, which is home to one of the world’s most repressive governments. Sting may have exacerbated his image crisis by appearing unrepentant over his appearance in Tashkent, for which he reportedly received over $1 million.

Tajikistan: Parliamentary Elections
BY KONSTANTIN PARSHIN Tajikistan’s upcoming parliamentary elections on February 28 appear to have little chance of producing a surprise outcome. The governing People’s Democratic Party of Tajikistan (PDPT) is widely expected to retain a dominating legislative majority, as the campaign has been marked by public skepticism and lackluster opposition activity.

Uzbekistan: Karimov Reaps Deals and Praise from South Korea
South Korea is Uzbekistan’s new best friend. Not only has Seoul emerged as an important commercial partner for Tashkent, South Korean leaders are heaping praise on Uzbek President Islam Karimov’s management style.

Kazakhstan: Nazarbayev Synchronizes His Watch with Russia’s
BY JOANNA LILLIS President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s administration in Kazakhstan has received a diplomatic boost from Russia, as Astana strives to convene a summit of Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe member states.

Afghanistan: Loyal Political Opposition Feeling Left Out in the Cold
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR Violence in Afghanistan pays and offering the criticism of loyal opposition does not. So thinks Abdullah Abdullah, the losing presidential candidate in Afghanistan’s 2009 election. In an interview with EurasiaNet in Kabul, Abdullah derided Afghan government plans to contain the Taliban insurgency, complaining that new policies could end up undermining democratization and increasing the chances of renewed inter-ethnic strife.

Georgia: Olympic Luger Nodar Kumaritashvili’s Hometown Mourns His Death
BY GIORGI LOMSADZE Not long after Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili’s fatal February 12 accident at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, a crowd started to gather outside his parents’ small house in the Georgian mountain town of Bakuriani. Hours went by, but nobody dared to wake Kumaritashvili’s parents and tell them that their 21-year-old son’s first Olympic competition had proven to be his last.

Kyrgyzstan: Moscow Withholding Promised Aid to Bishkek
In February of 2009, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev traveled to Moscow and secured roughly $2.15 billion in economic assistance, apparently in a quid-pro-quo deal in which Kyrgyzstan took action to evict US and NATO forces from an air base outside Bishkek. Twelve months later, American troops are still in Kyrgyzstan, and Moscow is balking at disbursing the bulk of its pledged aid.

Azerbaijan: Base Shooting Focuses Attention on Possible Hazing in Military
BY SHAHIN ABBASOV A fatal shooting incident at a military base west of Baku is raising questions about the extent of hazing in Azerbaijan's armed forces.

Georgia: Russia Bets on Ex-Georgian Prime Minister as Saakashvili Alternative
BY GIORGI LOMSADZE With chances for reconciliation with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili close to non-existent, Russia appears to be trying to gain political currency with ordinary Georgians via a cooperation pact with Georgia’s former-premier-turned-opposition leader Zurab Noghaideli.

Iran: American Experts Want Obama Administration to Press Tehran on Human Rights Violations
BY RICHARD WEITZ In Iran, authorities are resorting to repressive measures to contain discontent as they prepare to mark the 31st anniversary of the overthrow of the shah’s despotic regime. Meanwhile, American experts say that the resilience of the Iranian opposition movement is creating a way for the international community to exert pressure on hardline leaders in Tehran.

Kazakhstan: Are OSCE Duties Exerting Positive Influence on Astana?
BY JOANNA LILLIS Recent developments in an ongoing libel case in Kazakhstan indicate that Astana’s responsibilities as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s chairman may be exerting a moderating influence on official attitudes toward free-speech issues.

Kyrgyzstan: Dark Days for Performing Arts in Osh
BY USMAN KHAKIMOV Southern Kyrgyzstan is a region where residents experience plenty of every-day drama, much of it rooted in a prevailing sense of financial uncertainty. The preoccupation with economic issues is such that the performing arts are an afterthought. Yet, one troupe of young Uzbek thespians based in the southern capital of Osh is defying long odds against them, filling a niche and finding a small audience.

Mongolia: Harsh Winter Weather Wiping Out Livestock
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY ANDREW CULLEN While international attention has been focused on earthquake-ravaged Haiti, a quiet, prolonged catastrophe is playing out in Mongolia.

Central Asia & Caucasus: Obama Administration Adopts Moderate Assistance Stance
BY JOSHUA KUCERA The Obama administration is embracing austerity when it comes to providing economic assistance to the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus. Many states in the region will see their assistances levels remain unchanged, under the administration’s proposed budget for the coming fiscal year. Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, two countries that have emerged as important conduits for resupplying US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, may even see aid levels fall slightly.

Afghanistan: Are US Troops Coming or Going?
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR In Kabul, US President Barack Obama’s strategic vision for Afghanistan seems to be sowing confusion and skepticism.

Kazakhstan: Watchdog Group Calls on Astana to Enhance the Rights of Migrant Workers
BY JOANNA LILLIS Energy-rich Kazakhstan has been a magnet for Central Asian migrant workers for much of the last decade. Many make a decent living, but for some the dream turns into a nightmare of shakedowns by police, stolen wages, poor conditions and, in the worst cases, modern-day slavery.

Kazakhstan: Battle over Flagship Bank Illustrates Volatile Mix of Business and Politics
BY JOANNA LILLIS The erstwhile flagship of Kazakhstan's banking sector, BTA Bank, is wrapping up a turbulent year: embattled by the credit crunch, dogged by allegations of massive fraud, nationalized under duress and forced to default on its debts. The bank is now at the center of an acrimonious legal battle in London while simultaneously negotiating with creditors to restructure debts.

Azerbaijan: Baku Developing Satellite to Kick Off National Space Program
BY SHAHIN ABBASOV First came oil. Now comes space. Flush with energy revenues, Officials in Baku are intent on launching Azerbaijan's first satellite by 2011.

Tajikistan: Is the West Showing Signs of Democratization Fatigue?
BY ANDREI BOLGAR The Organization for Security and Co-operation of Europe (OSCE) is expected to face a democratization test in February, when Tajikistan holds parliamentary elections. It's already a safe bet that the governing People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan will retain its hammerlock on the legislature. The election will nevertheless be interesting to follow as a gauge of the West's commitment to promoting democratization.

Washington: US Legislators Launch Congressional Caucus on Central Asia
BY LAURIE RICH Nothing highlights the growing importance of Central Asia in Washington more than the formation of a congressional caucus.

Uzbekistan: Opposition Figure's Release Signal of Warming Uzbek-US Ties?
Uzbekistan's recent release of a leading jailed opposition figure is stoking hopes for warmer relations between Tashkent and the West. But critics of President Islam Karimov's administration caution that the move does not signal Tashkent's intent to change its authoritarian ways.

Georgia: Government Plans Makeover of Get-Tough Financial Police
BY MOLLY CORSO A proposal to revamp Georgia's aggressive financial police is raising red flags among some Georgian economists, who see the planned restructuring as contradicting the Georgian government's libertarian economic outlook.

Turkmenistan: Washington Finesses Study-Abroad Controversy
BY DEIRDRE TYNAN Prominent human rights advocates want the United States to consider invoking the Jackson-Vanik amendment against Turkmenistan over Ashgabat's refusal to let hundreds of young scholars leave the country to pursue their studies.

Georgia: Falconers Struggle to Keep a Traditional Sport Alive
A EURASIANET AUDIO SLIDESHOW BY TEMO BARDZIMASHVILI Almost every day, Ramiz Beridze, a 78-year-old widower, climbs a hill in his native region of Achara, a Georgian province on the Black Sea, to set a net for birds of prey. Falconry is the only thing that he does and the only thing he enjoys. But Berdize's hobby -- a traditional sport across Georgia -- raises questions about Achara's status as one of the world's top sites for seasonal bird migration.

Azerbaijan: Proposal to Cancel 2010 Parliamentary Elections Hits Road Block
BY MINA MIRADOVA A governing party politician's proposal to postpone Azerbaijan's 2010 parliamentary elections "until the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is resolved" has met with both support and censure from President Ilham Aliyev's Yeni Azerbaijan Party. While senior party officials now dismiss the proposal as "a joke," the idea suggests that some politicians are keen to test the outer limits of the ruling party's 16-year hold on power.

Kyrgyzstan: A Bleak Future Awaits Children with Disabilities
BY HAMID TURSUNOV Radik Kutluev is now a pale and lean 31-year-old man living in Kyrgyzstan's southern capital of Osh. Before his body failed him, he aimed for a career as an accountant. Muscular dystrophy derailed that dream.

Central Asia Remains a Corruption Problem Area, While the Caucasus Registers Mixed Gains
BY JOSHUA KUCERA Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan all showed significant decreases in corruption over the past year, according to a recently published worldwide survey by a Berlin-based watchdog group. The survey also showed that Armenia's rating declined, and the rest of the Central Asian states remained near the bottom of the rankings.

Georgia: Unions Press for Labor Law Reform
BY PAUL RIMPLE As Georgia strives to recover from the global economic crisis, the government is struggling to find a balancing point between the protection of workers' rights and the need for employers to boost output. President Mikheil Saakashvili's administration is hearing it from both sides. Labor union leaders claim that the government's overriding interest in attracting foreign investment is encouraging businesses to trample on workers' rights. Employers, meanwhile, are worried that potential changes to the labor code could turn off outside investors.

Azerbaijan: Baku Sees Turkey as Tough Customer on Gas Exports
BY SHAHIN ABBASOV Amid a diplomatic chill, Azerbaijan and Turkey opened a new round of talks November 16 on an energy export price. Recent agreements on gas supplies to Bulgaria, Iran and Russia suggest that Baku is exploring alternative export routes as a means to pressure Ankara into paying significantly more for Azerbaijani natural gas.

Turkey: Government Launches PR Offensive on Kurdish Question
BY NICHOLAS BIRCH Turkey's political leaders are taking to the road to explain their plans to end a 25-year Kurdish war to the people. The PR offensive is opening amid rising political tensions and dwindling hopes of a multi-party accord on the initiative.

Azerbaijan: Outrage and Disappointment Follow Bloggers' Conviction
BY JESSICA POWLEY HAYDEN Many international and domestic observers worry that the recent convictions of two youth activist-bloggers in Azerbaijan are sounding the death knell for the democratization process in the South Caucasus country.

Kazakhstan: Nazarbayev Dodges President-for-Life Question Ahead of Astana's OSCE Chairmanship
BY JOANNA LILLIS As Kazakhstan gears up to chair the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 2010, Astana is facing criticism over its recent democratization record. Helping to highlight the country's image issue is the question of whether or not President Nursultan Nazarbayev favors a proposal to dispense with elections and become president-for-life.

Yerevan Goes Modern: $35 Million Museum to Promote Contemporary Art in the Caucasus
A EURASIANET PHOTO STORY BY MARIANNA GRIGORYAN AND ANAHIT HAYRAPETYAN They have built roads and hospitals; schools and factories. And now, with the recent opening of Yerevan’s $35 million Cafesjian Center for the Arts, members of Armenia’s deep-pocketed Diaspora has moved into modern art.

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</