JULY 5 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Security services in Kyrgyzstan said they have detained the minister for social development, Ravshan Sabirov, for allegedly planning to take a bribe. The day before, the security services said, they arrested Mr Sabirov’s assistant for taking a $10,000 bribe, cash he alleged was going to his boss.
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(News report from Issue No. 095, published on July 6 2012)
JUNE 30 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Politics in Georgia can often be messy and spill out on to the streets.
That, possibly, is part of the reason why President Mikheil Saakashvili appointed long-time ally Vano Merabishvili as prime minister.
Mr Merabishvili has a reputation as a tough operator willing to take difficult decisions. He had been interior minister since 2004 and is credited with reforming the police and stamping out corruption — a popular move that has earned him respect and a reputation as a man of action.
Installing Mr Merabishvili as PM will boost the appeal of Mr Saakashvili’s party, the United National Movement.
It’s going to be a busy election season with a parliamentary election in October and a presidential election in January. Billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili is a tough opponent. He has already proved that he can galvanise Georgia’s opposition and pulled thousands of supporters on to the streets.
Mr Saakashvili may have played one of his ace cards already by installing the popular Mr Merabishvili as prime minister.
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(News report from Issue No. 095, published on July 6 2012)
JUNE 22 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev pardoned 66 prisoners, including nine arrested during anti-government demonstrations last year, media reported. Earlier this month, during a visit to Baku, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for the release of opposition prisoners in Azerbaijan.
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(News report from Issue No. 094, published on June 29 2012)
JUNE 22 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijani police arrested Khilal Mamedov a prominent local journalist and human rights activists for possessing heroin, media reported. Supporters of Mr Mamedov, who edits the popular Tolishi Sado newspaper in the southern region of Talysh, said his arrest was politically motivated.
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(News report from Issue No. 094, published on June 29 2012)
JUNE 27 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – The authorities in Georgia seized several stakes in financial companies belonging to opposition leader Bidzina Ivanishvili because they said he has refused to pay a multi-million dollar fine imposed earlier this month. The move will raise political tension ahead of a parliamentary election later this year.
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(News report from Issue No. 094, published on June 29 2012)
JUNE 4 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Villagers living near Kyrgyzstan’s most important single economic entity, the Kumtor gold mine, blocked the only road leading to the site for three days in a protest over environmental protection. Kumtor generates roughly 12% of Kyrgyzstan’s GDP. Officials said the protest did not stop production, unlike a strike earlier this year.
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(News report from Issue No. 091, published on June 8 2012)
MAY 27 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tens of thousands of people protesting against Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili rallied in Tbilisi. This was the largest anti-government demonstration in Georgia since 2009 and showed the depth of support that billionaire opposition leader Bidzina Ivanishvili has generated.
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(News report from Issue No. 090, published on June 1 2012)
MAY 13 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Police in Uzbekistan have opened a murder inquiry into the death of Anvar Jabborov, the Uzbek minister for culture between 2009 and 2011, local media reported. According to reports, Mr Jabborov disappeared from his office on May 8. His body was found five days later.
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(News report from Issue No. 088, published on May 18 2012)
MAY 10/16 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgian opposition leader Bidzina Ivanishvili sold his Russian bank, Rossiysky Credit, to a group of private investors for $352m. A week later he also sold off his Moscow property assets for nearly $1b. Mr Ivanishvili is Georgia’s richest man and is gearing up to challenge President Mikheil Saakashvili in a parliamentary election later this year.
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(News report from Issue No. 088, published on May 18 2012)
MAY 9 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – The UN’s special envoy on torture, Juan Mendez, started a week-long tour of Tajikistan. On the eve of his visit, media quoted Mr Mendez as saying that Tajikistan needed to update its laws in line with international standards. Human rights groups have criticised Tajikistan for alleged torture in police custody.
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(News report from Issue No. 087, published on May 11 2012)
