Category Archives: Central Asia & South Caucasus News

Uzbek president pledges to invest $2.6b developing the Aral Sea region

JAN. 31 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev ordered his government to spend $2.6b developing the area around the Aral Sea, a major investment in a region that was decimated by one of the Soviet Union’s most notorious economic development policies.

Reporting on the decree, RFE/RL said that that the investment would create new jobs and homes as well as improve sanitation and medical service.

The Aral Sea was once the world’s fourth largest inland water but in the 1960s, the Soviets diverted water from the great Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers that flow from the Pamir mountains into the Aral Sea, toirrigate their cotton fields. The Aral Sea was, literally starved of water. Since then the Aral Sea has lost 90% of its water and become a watchword for man-made environmental disasters.

The eye-catching initiative to regenerate the region comes at a time when Mr Mirziyoyev is trying to set himself apart from his predecessor, Islam Karimov, who died in September. He has ordered officials to repair damaged relations with neighbours and also boosted domestic investment.

Although light on detail, the plan will give Karakalpakstan, the most western and poorest region in Uzbekistan, a boost.

And it needs it. Karakalpakstan’s main city is Nukus, a former secret city built by the Soviets to house workers for their chemical weapons plants. Moynaq, 120km north through the desert, was the main city on the Uzbek side of the Aral Sea. It used to house various industries, including a plant that canned fish for export across the Soviet Union. That plant and the rest of the town now lies rotting and rusting having been abandoned in the 1980s.

Eeking out a living in Moynaq is difficult. One of its main revenue earners now is from tourists travelling from Nukus to walk around and photograph the rusting fishing fleet now marooned 60km from the Aral Sea. It is described as a ships’ graveyard.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)

Tajik officials investigate former Dushanbe mayor for corruption

JAN. 27 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Anti-corruption officials in Tajikistan opened an investigation into the former mayor of Dushanbe Mahmadsaid Ubaidulloev, RFE/RL reported. He was sacked earlier this month. The sacking and investigation, which focuses on a new housing scheme, of Mr Ubaidulloev may signal the start of a power struggle within the Tajik elite. Mr Ubaidulloev had been considered an arch loyalist. Anti- corruption campaigners have said that Tajikistan is one of the most corrupt countries in the world.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)f

Kazakhstan to block unregistered phones

FEB. 2 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — A new law means that all unregistered mobile phones in Kazakhstan will be blocked from July 1 2017. The authorities say that the new law has been brought in to help fight potential terrorists but its detractors have said that it has been imposed to help the authorities monitor people who oppose the government more closely.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)

Georgian president gives amnesty to former MoD employees

JAN. 27 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili amnestied seven former defence ministry employees who had been imprisoned for seven years in 2014/15 for embezzlement. The case was high profile and lead to the resignation of Irakli Alasania as minister of defence. Mr Alasania had once been considered a high flyer member of the Georgian Dream party.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)

Freedom House says rights in Central Asia and the South Caucasus worsened in 2016

JAN. 31 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — In its annual report mapping out the status of just how free people are to express themselves, the US-based NGO Freedom House said that in 2016 the countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus cracked down on civil liberties.

Freedom House rates Georgia as the best place for civil liberties in the region, with a “Partly Free” status. It also gave this ranking to Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. The others were ranked “Not Free” with Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan listed as two of the most repressive regimes in the world.

“Apparently unnerved by the repercussions of a lengthy slump in oil prices, the rulers of Azerbaijan and the Central Asian states used tightly controlled constitutional referendums to extend their rule into the future,” Freedom House wrote.

The Freedom House assessment of civil rights broadly mirrors the assessment of human rights groups who have been warning of worsening conditions in the region.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)

Kazakh president demotes former ally

FEB. 3 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — >> How significant is Imangali Tasmagambetov’s shift from central government to Moscow as ambassador?

>> Very. He was considered one of just a handful of people who could take over from Nursultan Nazarbayev as president. This is a major demotion and has come as a surprise. Like a chess player, Nazarbayev is clearly manoeuvring his pieces so that he can execute a well-managed and orderly transfer of power. Last month he said that he wanted to give parliament more power. It was dressed up as a move to increase democracy, although most analysts think that this is a red herring and that the real motivator is transition.

>> So who will really benefit from Tasmagambetov’s move to Moscow?

>> That’s not exactly clear, although Nazarbayev’s daughter, Dariga, is being teed up nicely for a major role in government. She has taken on a bigger public role and since September 2016 has been a Senator and the chair of the Senate’s Affairs, Defence, and Security Committee. It’s our view that this is a way to prepare and groom Dariga for the top job. Essentially, by packing Tasmagambetov off to Moscow, Nazarbayev has dispatched one of her rivals.

>> I see. But are you sure that being the Kazakh ambassador in Moscow is a major demotion?

>> Yes. All the major policy-making goes on in Astana. Tasmagambetov is now marooned in Moscow away from the centre of power in Kazakhstan. Nazarbayev also has form for sending high-ranking men, who have their own powerbase that may threaten his plans, into exile. In 2014, he sent Aslan Musin to Zagreb to be the Kazakh ambassador there. Musin had previously been head of the Presidential Administration between 2008 and 2012 and had a strong powerbase in the west of the country, where he was from.

>> Got it. Why would Tasmagambetov appear to have threatened Nazarbayev?

>> We don’t know the specifics but Tasmagambetov is popular with ordinary people. He is seen as being more “Kazakh” than many of the other elite insiders. He also has a high profile. This is partly because he was a popular mayor of Almaty and Astana. His son-in-law is Kenes Rakishev who has been used heavily by the Kazakh elite as the frontman for buying up various companies. His latest acquisition was a majority stake in Kazakhstan’s biggest bank, Kazkommertsbank.

>> But now he is going to disappear from public view. Is that right?

>> Pretty much. People just wont see or hear of him in his new job. He’ll also be away from the political action in Astana which is important.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)

Armenia wants close ties with Iran

JAN. 31 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenian defence minister Vigen Sargsyan travelled to Tehran for a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Dehqan in which both sides pledged to improve their military ties. Neighbours, Armenia and Iran have become increasingly close over the past couple of years, boosting military, economic and trade relations.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)

Aliyev wants Azerbaijan to boost wine sales

FEB. 2 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan is producing only 20m bottles of wine per year, roughly a fifth of its capacity, media quoted President Ilham Aliyev as saying.

Mr Aliyev wants Azerbaijan to diversify away from oil and gas, which dominates the economy. The economy has taken a hit with the collapse in oil prices. He has previously highlighted the potential for growth in the hazelnut sector and now appears to have earmarked the wine-making industry for growth.

“Most of these plants were built in recent years. Major funds have been invested in them and modern equipment installed. How can it be possible for plants with a production capacity of 100m bottles to produce only 20m bottles of wine?” media quoted him as saying.

Georgia, which has a far more developed wine production and sales system, exports 50m bottles of wine every year. Most of the growth has come in China and other parts of the Far East.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)

Afghan authorities arrest Kazakh national

JAN. 27 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The authorities in Afghanistan have arrested a Kazakh national on suspicion of having links to terrorism, media reported quoting the Afghan foreign ministry. Media reports said that the man was from Atyrau and that he had been arrested in the northern part of Afghanistan. Kazakhstan has been trying to dampen an increase in recruitment by the radical IS group but it is rare for Kazakhs to be arrested in Afghanistan for links to Islamic extremists.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)

Armenia increases trade with Russia

JAN. 31 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Exports from Armenia grew by 20% to $1.8b in 2016, the state statistics service reported. Russia remains the biggest trade partner with total bilateral trade of nearly $1.4b, compared to China which has bilateral trade with Armenia of $454m. Bilateral trade with Russia was up by 15%, indicating a general pick up in the economy.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)