AUG. 28 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Nationalist protesters broke into a TV studio in Bishkek shortly before it was due to stage Kyrgyzstan’s first live auction of mining rights. Scuffles broke out and the auction had to be abandoned, dealing another blow to Kyrgyzstan’s foreign investor image.
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(News report from Issue No. 103, published on Aug. 31 2012)
AUG. 27 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyz security forces said they had arrested members of a unit of the banned Hizb-ut-Tahrir Islamist group in the south of the country, media reported. Hizb-ut-Tahrir aims to create an Islamic hegemony through peaceful means although many countries have labelled it an extremist organisation and banned it.
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(News report from Issue No. 103, published on Aug. 31 2012)
AUG. 21 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – A Kyrgyz border guard murdered four fellow soldiers and one of their wives before he was shot dead by police. There have been several cases this year of conscripts in Central Asian armies murdering other soldiers. Most observers blame a culture of bullying for the murders.
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(News report from Issue No. 102, published on Aug. 24 2012)
AUG. 16 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – After months of negotiations, Russian and Kyrgyz officials have agreed a deal to allow Russia to keep its bases in Kyrgyzstan, media quoted officials as saying. Russia maintains an airbase outside Bishkek, a communication station and torpedo testing site near Lake Issyk-Kul and a seismologist centre in the south of the country.
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(News report from Issue No. 101, published on Aug. 17 2012)
AUG. 14 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan’s PM, Omurbek Babanov, has denied allegations that he accepted a racehorse as a bribe in exchange for granting government contracts to a construction firm, media reported. The opposition wants a no-confidence motion against Mr Babanov, which could collapse the ruling coalition.
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(News report from Issue No. 101, published on Aug. 17 2012)
JULY 30 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Canadian miner Stans Energy threatened legal action against the Kyrgyz parliament after it annulled a mining licence. The row deals another blow to Kyrgyzstan’s business reputation. Earlier this year, Kyrgyzstan said it wanted larger payments from its biggest investor Centerra Gold, another Canadian miner.
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(News report from Issue No. 099, published on Aug. 3 2012)
JULY 24 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan became the first country in Central Asia to scrap its visa regime for Western countries. President Almazbek Atambayev signed into law a bill passed last month by parliament that allows citizens of 44 countries — including EU countries and the US — to stay for 60 days without a visa.
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(News report from Issue No. 098, published on July 27 2012)
JULY 24 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Gold producer Highland Gold, 40% owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich through his investment vehicle Millhouse Capital, won licences to produce gold at its two exploration sites in Kyrgyzstan. Tenders on a series of other Kyrgyz gold mining prospects are expected to be handed out next month.
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(News report from Issue No. 098, published on July 27 2012)
JULY 17 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – South Africa-based Gold Fields is preparing to buy the 40% of the Talas gold mine in Kyrgyzstan it doesn’t already own for $10m from London- based Orsu Metals, the companies said. Gold mining is important to the Kyrgyz economy although there have recently been a series of high-profile set backs for investors. Last year armed horse riders raided the Talas gold mine.
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(News report from Issue No. 097, published on July 20 2012)
JULY 17 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – One Kyrgyz border guard died in a shootout with Uzbek soldiers, media reported. The shootout, which occurred in a loosely demarcated border area in southern Kyrgyzstan, underlines both the fragility of peace in the region and the mistrust between the Uzbeks and Kyrgyz.
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(News report from Issue No. 097, published on July 20 2012)
