OCT. 6 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajik security forces donned full riot gear for a training exercise in central Dushanbe aimed at dealing with large anti-government crowds.The exercise was designed as a show of force against any anti-government movement that may be planning protests ahead of a parliamentary election in February.
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(News report from Issue No. 203, published on Oct. 8 2014)
OCT. 4 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Access to various social media and news websites in Tajikistan was blocked, media and sources reported. The government has not officially said that it blocked the websites. It has previously blocked access to facebook and other sites, though, to prevent opposition groups from rallying support.
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(News report from Issue No. 203, published on Oct. 8 2014)
OCT. 7 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Kazakh government has backed a plan to expand the Tengizchevroil oil project in the west of the country despite cost estimates running higher than expected, Reuters reported. Tengizchevroil, led by Chevron, is one of Kazakhstan’s most successful oil projects.
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(News report from Issue No. 203, published on Oct. 8 2014)
OCT. 8 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajik opposition groups based abroad are preparing to challenge the political order built up by strongman President Emomali Rakhmon head of the otherwise predictable parliamentary elections set for Feb. 14.
Against the backdrop of the conflict in Ukraine and the stand-off on the streets of Hong Kong, exiled Tajik politicians have been making calls for the overthrow of Mr Rakhmon via the Internet.
One group, Gruppa 24, is promoting a demonstration against the regime on Oct. 10 on the main square in Dushanbe. The government has responded to the threat by shutting down Facebook and other websites where the the group issued calls to protest.
More menacingly, the country’s services held a bizarre simulation of a protest being put down by riot police.
Having experienced civil war in the 1990s, appetite for revolution among Tajiks is weak, and Gruppa 24’s Turkey- based leader, Umrali Quvvatov lacks the political influence in Tajikistan to pull off a coup. Nevertheless, the government’s response to the calls betrays fear, and Mr Quvvatov told the Conway Bulletin via Skype he expects a strong turnout at the protest.
“Tajiks have given up too much for this criminal regime. If the government responds to our meeting with force we will do the same. We are preparing for war,” he said.
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(News report from Issue No. 203, published on Oct. 8 2014)
OCT. 7 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – France is investigating alleged kickbacks during deals between French and Kazakh companies four years ago, the AFP news agency reported quoting a judge on condition of anonymity. The judge said the case was opened in March 2013 and that three people have been charged. The case will be an embarrassment to Kazakhstan.
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(News report from Issue No. 203, published on Oct. 8 2014)
OCT. 6 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Bank of Georgia, Georgia’s largest bank, bought another hospital in Tbilisi through its subsidiary Evex, continuing its expansion in the health sector. Evex is the biggest private healthcare group in Georgia with 38 medical centres and over 2,000 beds.
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(News report from Issue No. 203, published on Oct. 8 2014)
OCT. 5 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – As well as boosting gas exports to neighbouring Iran, Turkmenistan now wants to increase electricity supplies. Under President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, Turkmenistan has become a major energy exporter across the Middle East. Earlier this year it agreed to boost gas supplies to Iran.
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(News report from Issue No. 203, published on Oct. 8 2014)
OCT. 6 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Bidzina Ivanishvili confirmed that he will launch his weekly TV programme before the end of the year, media reported. This is significant because Mr Ivanishvili is Georgia’s richest man and was the coordinator of the opposition alliance that forced former president Mikheil Saakashvili from power.
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(News report from Issue No. 203, published on Oct. 8 2014)
BISHKEK/Kyrgyzstan, OCT. 8 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Ashraf Ghani, Afghanistan’s new president is on a mission to transform his war-torn country with a shredded economy into a regional force. If he is successful, Central Asia may find in its southern neighbour a strong trading partner and occasional rival rather than the Taliban-tainted bogeyman regional governments have traditionally portrayed it as.
Central Asia’s security-first approach to Afghanistan is understandable. Both Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have had to deal with Islamic extremists linked to the Taliban and other Afghan militants. Neutral Turkmenistan is also taking a newly assertive stance towards events in Afghanistan. Turkmen forces were reported as entering Afghan territory to beat back Taliban that had settled on the two countries’ border (Sept 17).
But Central Asia’s economic ties to Afghanistan are expanding. The long-stalled Turkmenistan- Afghanistan-Tajikistan rail link, which will eventually connect the country to China, looks increasingly likely to happen, while Turkmen gas may one day transit Afghanistan on its way to China.
Mr Ghani is keen to see Afghanistan as a player. His stated ambition to turn the country into an exporter of electricity may make Kabul a rival to both Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The revival of Afghan agriculture may put pressure on scarce regional energy resources.
It is perhaps noteworthy that upon receiving notes of congratulations from all five Central Asian presidents following his inauguration, Mr Ghani’s warmest words were for Kazakhstan and Nursultan Nazarbayev (Sept.29). “Kazakhstan is an important friend and positive example,” he told Kazakh foreign minister Erlan Idrissov at his inauguration.
If Mr Ghani can take Afghanistan on a similar journey, then the country will be ready to both compete and cooperate with Central Asia.
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(News report from Issue No. 203, published on Oct. 8 2014)
OCT. 3 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyz president since 2011, Almazbek Atambayev appears to finally be losing patience with the sluggish pace of reform in Kyrgyzstan. At a speech during a visit to a school Mr Atambayev said that Kyrgyz needed to finally start working and to stop going to other countries begging for financial help.
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(News report from Issue No. 203, published on Oct. 8 2014)
