Tag Archives: politics

Newspaper is suspended and politician retires in Kazakhstan

SEPT. 23 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Early on Sept. 19 news started to filter through to Almaty’s small opposition intelligentsia that Bulat Abilov, one of their more charismatic leaders, was retiring.

At 56-years-old this could have some as a surprise, instead there was a knowing understanding.

Being an active opposition leader in Kazakhstan, even if you’re not a militant one, is exhausting. You’re increasingly marginalised and harassed. This has intensified since violence in the town of Zhanaozen, western Kazakhstan, in December 2011. At least 15 people died in fighting in Zhanaozen between police and demonstrators.

It appears as if Mr Abilov, a wealthy businessman, had just had enough.

A few days later, on Sept. 23, a court in Almaty suspended the Kazakh-language Ashyq Alan (Tribune) newspaper for three months. Its transgression was not to publish between July 10 and Aug. 21. Apparently this was in breach of its licence.

Ashyq Alan, a new weekly newspaper, is considered a critic of the government. Newspapers are not particularly influential in Kazakhstan, the readership numbers are too low, but suspending Ashyq Alan still resonates. Last year, the authorities suspended or closed a handful of opposition newspapers.

In the past week, dissenting voices in Kazakhstan have become even less audible.

ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 153, published on Sept. 25 2013)

Kazakh opposition leader quits

SEPT. 18 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Bulat Abilov, a relatively high-profile opposition leader in Kazakhstan, announced that he was retiring from politics. His decision is a blow to the increasingly marginalised opposition. Mr Abilov, a wealthy businessman, was considered a moderate.

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(News report from Issue No. 153, published on Sept. 25 2013)

Election debate turns into chaos in Azerbaijan

SEPT. 20 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — A TV debate between nine of the 10 people standing in Azerbaijan’s presidential election descended into farce when pro-president candidates shouted insults at Camil Hasanli, the only genuine opposition figure. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, standing for re-election, didn’t take part in the debate.

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(News report from Issue No. 153, published on Sept. 25 2013)

Azerbaijan’s election campaign starts

SEPT. 16 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Officially, campaigning in Azerbaijan’s Oct. 9 presidential election kicked off on Sept. 16 although reports from Baku suggested that not many people have noticed.

The election script already appears to have been written. The vote will deliver a third consecutive five-year term for President Ilham Aliyev and the opposition will complain of fraud and an uneven playing field.

Azerbaijan’s economy is booming and living standards are rising, mainly due to energy sales, although opposition and human rights groups complain that this has come at the expense of personal freedoms.

On Sept. 13, Azerbaijan’s Central Election Committee (CEC) barred Ilgar Mammadov from the election. A genuine opposition leader, Mr Mammadov has been sitting in jail awaiting formal prosecution for fomenting anti-government protests in February.

Since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, vote monitors from the EU’s official monitoring unit have never judged an election in Azerbaijan to be free and fair.

And Azerbaijan’s, rather beleaguered, opposition have already complained that Mr Aliyev has been campaigning before the official start, giving election-style speeches and handing out free apartments to journalists.

The CEC officially registered 10 candidates for the election, including Mr Aliyev and opposition candidate Jamil Hasanli. The other candidates are pro-presidential.

In an interview with the BBC on the eve of the election campaign start, Mr Hasanli described Mr Aliyev as an autocrat.

“We wish to move from authoritarianism to democracy through a normal election,” he said. As well as Mr Haslani’s strongly held views on Mr Aliyev, though, it was also clear from the interview that he thought Mr Aliyev would win another term.

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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 152, published on Sept. 18 2013)

Kazakhstan reviews “gay propaganda” bill

SEPT. 16 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s parliament will debate a proposal to ban homosexual nightclubs and gay rights marches, local media quoted MPs as saying. The proposal follows a law brought in by Russia earlier this year that bans homosexual “propaganda”. Russia’s ban triggered an international outcry and accusations of homophobia.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 152, published on Sept. 18 2013)

Foreigners barred from buying land in Georgia

SEPT. 18 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Until July farmers from around the world had eyed up Georgia as good place to move to, buy a patch of land and start farming.

On July 17, though, President Mikheil Saakashvili signed a decree passed by parliament that places a moratorium on foreigners owning land.

Mr Saakashvili had, it has to be said, been against the decree but he was powerless to resist parliament which is now controlled by an opposition coalition led by PM Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Mr Ivanishvili’s government has proved their populist touch once more.

The previous government of Mr Saakashvili’s United National Movement had suspended a law banning foreigners from owning land unless they were part of a Georgia-registered business. They said that foreigners’ expertise was needed to boost productivity and efficiency.

They also actively encouraged some groups, such as Boer farmers from South Africa to migrate to Georgia. Other groups also arrived, such as Punjabi Indians.

This, though, triggered a backlash. Local people protested earlier in the year under the banner: “Georgian land for Georgians”. Once again politics and business in Georgia appear intimately entwined.

(News report from Issue No. 152, published on Sept. 18 2013)

Russian diplomat killed in Georgia’s breakaway region

SEPT. 9 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Gunmen shot dead a Russian diplomat in Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia. Criminal deals have been touted as a possible motive for the murder of Dmitry Vishernev, First Secretary at the Russian consul, although his death could unsettle Georgia-Russia relations. Russia recognises Abkhazia’s independence.

(News report from Issue No. 151, published on Sept. 11 2013)

Deadline approaches for candidates in Azerbaijan

SEPT. 9 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s Central Election Committee (CEC) has registered 21 candidate nominations for the presidential election on Oct. 9, media reported. The CEC has to approve the nominations before the start of campaigning on Sept. 16. The election is likely to hand incumbent President Ilham Aliyev another five-year term.

(News report from Issue No. 151, published on Sept. 11 2013)

Georgia burns blackmail CDs

SEPT. 5 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Officials in Georgia destroyed 180 hours of secret audio and video recordings of politicians, journalists and business people. The records, taken mainly by interior ministry officials under the previous government, were potentially to be used to blackmail people.

(News report from Issue No. 151, published on Sept. 11 2013)

Azerbaijan considers pre-marriage HIV test

AUG. 28 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s parliament will consider legislation that will force couples to take a series of health tests for HIV and other infections before they marry, media reported. A number of countries already insist on these tests, including some parts of Russia. Human rights groups criticise the tests as invasive.

(News report from Issue No. 150, published on Sept. 2 2013)