Author Archives: admin

Turkmen minister visits Afghanistan

JULY 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan’s foreign minister Rashid Meredov will travel to Afghanistan for talks with his Uzbek counterpart, media reported. Turkmenistan has become increasingly worried about the build up of Taliban forces on its borders. It also has an interest in stability in Afghanistan because of the proposed TAPI pipeline that will pump gas to Pakistan and India.

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(News report from Issue No. 241, published on July 23 2015)

Armenian constitution row heats up

JULY 17 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – YEREVAN — Armenia’s opposition accused President Serzh Sargsyan of trying to fiddle with the constitution so that he can run the country from parliament after he leaves the presidency in 2018.

Last week, Armenia’s Constitutional Court unveiled plans for a transition to a parliamentary democracy. Armenians are due to vote on the reforms in December.

The government has said a new system would strengthen democracy.

The opposition disagree.

“Serzh Sargsyan is carrying out the reform with one purpose only: to circumvent the constitutional ban on seeking a third term as president and thus extend his own power, Levon Zurabyan, the head of the ANC parliamentary faction,” said in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Armenia’s constitution currently concentrates power with the president. It limits him or her to two terms of five years, a ceiling that Mr Sargsyan will hit in 2018.

David Harutyunyan, an MP from the ruling Republican Party, defended the constitutional changes.

“The basic idea of constitutional reform is to prepare the country for a peaceful change of power, he told journalists at a press conference.

“The current constitution with a semi-hybrid form of government has brought some countries to a dangerous situation. For Armenia, it may have even more damaging consequences.”

There is precedent for reducing the power of the president and switching to a parliamentary democracy in the Central Asia and South Caucasus region.

Mudslides hit rural Tajikistan

JULY 21 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Landslides in eastern Tajikistan have killed at least seven people and destroyed 50 homes, media reported quoting local officials.

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(News report from Issue No. 241, published on July 23 2015)

Georgia’s parliament passes new budget cuts

JULY 17 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Highlighting the recent economic downturn across the region, Georgia’s parliament passed a new budget for 2015 that cut government spending and reduced projected GDP growth of the country to 2% from 5%.

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(News report from Issue No. 241, published on July 23 2015)

Georgia’s parliament speaker travels to Brussels

JULY 22 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia’s parliamentary speaker Davit Usupashvili travelled to NATO HQ in Brussels to urge for its membership of the Western military alliance to be sped up. “I told our partners very clearly, unequivocally that Georgia is ready for more,” he told Georgian media.

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(News report from Issue No. 241, published on July 23 2015)

Turkmenistan hopes to finish East-West pipeline

JULY 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan hopes to complete construction of is 300km East- West gas pipeline by the end of the year, local media reported quoting government officials. The pipeline is important because it will pump gas from Turkmenistan’s fields in the east to the Caspian Sea for shipment to Europe.

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(News report from Issue No. 241, published on July 23 2015)

Turkmen port receives investment from Japan

JULY 22 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Japanese officials said they want to invest in the Caspian port of Turkmenbashi on the western shores of Turkmenistan. The port is currently being expanded and could become a major hub.

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(News report from Issue No. 241, published on July 23 2015)

Kyrgyz forces foil attacks

JULY 17 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Kyrgyz National Security Committee said it had prevented two attacks planned by the extremist group IS. Kyrgyz special forces said it killed six men during two gunfights in Bishkek. Allegedly, their targets were a square in Bishkek and the nearby Kant airbase, leased to Russia’s military.

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(News report from Issue No. 241, published on July 23 2015)

Georgian car imports fall

JULY 21 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The value of car imports to Georgia slumped by 26%, in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2014, data from the statistics agency showed, more evidence that an economic slowdown across the region is hitting Georgian consumers. Overall, imports in H1 2015 were down 9% compared to H1 2014.

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(News report from Issue No. 241, published on July 23 2015)

Turkmenistan has lowest smoker rate

JULY 21 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan has the lowest number of smokers per capita in the world, according to World Health Organisation’s director general, Margaret Chan, during a trip to Ashgabat.

Ms Chan was visiting Turkmenistan to attend a health conference.

“Recently a WHO overview showed that in Turkmenistan only 8% of the population smokes,” the AFP news agency quoted Ms Chan telling Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov.

“This is the lowest national indicator in the world. I congratulate you on this achievement.”

But not only is it an achievement for the country, it is also an accolade of sorts for Turkmenistan’s authoritarian tendencies.

It was Mr Berdymukhamedhov’s predecessor Saparmurat Niyazov who pushed for a strict mass anti-smoking campaign.

He was a reformed heavy smoker who grew to hate the habit and pushed several campaigns to eradicate it. These were effective, much like his other, rather eccentric mass campaigns, such as outlawing ballet and banning men from having long hair.

Mr Berdymukhamedov is perhaps more restrained in his public campaigns but he too is considered an authoritarian leader.

Earlier this year officials in Ashgabat unveiled a golden statue of Mr Berdymukhamedov riding a horse. They said it symbolised his role as the protector and leader of the nation.

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(News report from Issue No. 241, published on July 23 2015)