AUG. 15 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyz PM Almazbek Atambayev officially declared his candidature in the country’s presidential election. Mr Atambayev will head into the election race as one of the favourites.
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(News report from Issue No. 53, published on Aug. 17 2011)
JULY 29 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan tore down a statue dubbed the “Statue of Liberty” which had acted as a national focal point in the centre of Bishkek. The statue of the woman called Freedom had replaced one of Vladimir Lenin in 2004. Kyrgyzstan will now unveil the third statue in Bishkek’s main square in seven years.
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(News report from Issue No. 51, published on Aug. 2 2011)
AUG. 1 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s GDP grew by 7.3% in 2010, a 0.3% increase from an earlier estimate, the state statistics agency said. In 2009, Kazakhstan’s GDP growth was 1.2%. This annual GDP growth jump reflects the country’s rebound from the global economic slowdown.
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(News report from Issue No. 51, published on Aug. 2 2011)
JULY 5 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – India has agreed to help train Kyrgyzstan’s army and to teach the soldiers English, Indian media reported after a trip to Bishkek by Indian defence minister AK Antony. India has been looking to boost its presence in Central Asia this year.
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(News report from Issue No. 48, published on July 12 2011)
JUNE 30 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyz parliamentarians set Oct. 30 as the date for a presidential election, the first under a constitution which shifted power from the president to Parliament. Roza Otunbayeva has been interim president since a revolution in April last year but has said she will not stand in the election.
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(News report from Issue No. 47, published on July 6 2011)
JUNE 17 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyz parliamentarians voted to ban the Moscow-based news website fergana.ru for inciting ethnic hatred, media reported, raising questions over free speech. Last month parliamentarians also banned the Finnish author of a report that criticised security forces in ethnic violence last year.
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(News report from Issue No. 45, published on June 21 2011)
JUNE 15 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan hosted the 10th annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a Central Asian security organisation lead by Russia and China. Heads of states and senior officials from India, Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan joined leaders from the SCO member states for the meeting.
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(News report from Issue No. 45, published on June 21 2011)
JUNE 10 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajikistan could join Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan in a Customs Union, local media quoted the country’s customs chief, Gurez Zaripov, as saying. The Customs Union, which analysts have said extends Moscow’s influence, is due to come into effect on July 1. The Kyrgyz PM has also said Kyrgyzstan may join the Customs Union.
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(News report from Issue No. 44, published on June 14 2011)
JUNE 14 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad joined Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev as a guest at a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Astana. China, Russia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are SCO members.
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(News report from Issue No. 44, published on June 14 2011)
JUNE 6 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Hoping to distance his government from the corruption of the past, Kyrgyz PM Almazbek Atambayev promised more transparency in mining tenders, Reuters reported. The fragile coalition government is looking to boost its support and brush off allegations of graft.
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(News report from Issue No. 43, published on June 6 2011)
