MARCH 14 2015 (The Bulletin) – Georgia received nearly 8% less visitors in January and February this year compared to the same period last year, media reported quoting government figures. Some analysts blamed the drop on tightened visa regulations for visitors from China, Iran, Iraq and Egypt.
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(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)
MARCH 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russian President Vladimir Putin is heading to Central Asia for his first overseas trip since re-emerging into public view.
He is due to fly to Astana for a summit with his Kazakh and Belarusian counterparts on March 20.
The meeting was postponed from March 13. Kazakh officials at first said that the meeting had been delayed because Mr Putin was ill. Russian officials denied this, keeping people guessing on just why he cancelled several appointments and disappeared for a few days without explanation.
And Central Asia has played a prominent role in the episode. Mr Putin used a brief video with visiting Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev on March 16 to show the world that he was not hiding. He previous public appearance had been on March 5.
The summit with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has also stirred controversy, although this time not by Mr Putin.
It appeared to be a meeting of the heads of state of the Eurasian Economic Union members, except that the group’s newest member, Armenia, was missing.
This set off rumours that Armenia had grown increasingly disinterested in the Russia-led group since joining in January, especially given the context of the increasingly painful economic downturn.
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has had to step in and reassure both Russia and the general public that this was not the case. Instead, he said, the meeting just didn’t include Armenia.
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(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)
MARCH 11 2015 (The Bulletin) – Carrefour, the French supermarket group, opened their first store in Armenia. The news is a boost to Armenia which has been hit hard by a financial downturn in the region. Carrefour said it had taken three years to open its new store in Yerevan.
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(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)
MARCH 16 2015 (The Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan has admitted that it is on the brink of losing control of a measles outbreak with up to 250 suspected cases of the disease reported every day, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.
Responding to the outbreak, which has been becoming increasingly aggressive over the past year, Kyrgzstan announced that it would vaccinate 2m people under the age of 20.
WHO laced its statement with thinly disguised criticism of Kyrgyzstan’s late response to the epidemic.
“The outbreak, which began in early 2014, has caused over 11,300 suspected cases to date and continues to increase by 120–to 250 suspected cases every day,” WHO said.
“The country’s decision to initiate the mass immunization campaign comes in the wake of a call on 25 February 2015 by WHO Regional Director for Europe Zsuzsanna Jakab for policy-makers, health-care workers and parents to immediately step up vaccination against measles across age groups at risk to stop the outbreaks.”
The measles epidemic and the apparent slow response of the Kyrgyz authorities to deal with it has done damage to Kyrgyzstan’s already tarnished international image.
Bishkek needs its vaccination programme to work.
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(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)
MARCH 16 2015 (The Bulletin) – Food prices in Azerbaijan rose in February by 6.6%, media reported quoting the state statistics agency. Economists have been warning that Azerbaijan may be facing inflation after a sudden devaluation by 33% of the manat in February.
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(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)
MARCH 12 2015 (The Bulletin) – A court in the northern Tajik town of Khujand is trying 23 men for allegedly belonging to an offshoot of the banned Islamic extremist group the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), media reported. Tajikistan says is has become increasingly concerned about Islamic extremism.
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(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)
MARCH 12 2015 (The Bulletin) – Armenia is planning a bond issue to help it through the current financial crisis, Reuters reported quoting sources. Armenia’s last bond was issued in September 2013 and was worth $700m.
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(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)
MARCH 16 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russian president Vladimir Putin is due to fly to Astana on March 20 for a meeting with his Kazakh and Belarusian counterparts, his first overseas trip since he disappeared from public view for a few days. Mr Putin’s disappearance sparked speculation that he was ill.
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(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)
MARCH 12 2015 (The Bulletin) – Starting on June 1, Turkmen citizens, organisations, and parties will be allowed to organise public demonstrations, a law signed by president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov stated.
This unexpected relaxation of oppressive laws governing demonstrations, took observers by surprise. It may be linked to worsening economic conditions across the country. It may be a ruse to appear more relaxed while changing very little.Turkmenistan is, after all, interested in pulling in the EU as a client for its gas.
Demonstrations in Turkmenistan are extremely rare with only a couple of small protests linked to housing in the past few years.
And the law has caveats. Any party or organisation which has been banned by the government will not be allowed to set up public action. The law also appears to be subjective stating that “individuals declared incompetent or of limited competence by a court or those who are facing legal charges” are not eligible to organise others.
All public rallies must take place at a distance from government buildings and should be aimed at the “peaceful gathering” of Turkmen citizens.
Importantly, demonstrations funded by foreign subjects will not be allowed. This echoes the country’s attitude towards NGO activities, which are strictly regulated to contain international influence.
The new demonstrations will likely be organised by pro-presidential organisations to burnish Mr Berdymukhamedov’s image at home and abroad.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)
MARCH 18 2015 (The Bulletin) – A court in Aktobe, west Kazakhstan, convicted three police officers of torturing a robbery suspect, media reported. The sentence is a rare victory for rights activists who say torture is used by Kazakh police to extract confessions.
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(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)
