FEB. 17 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, a 54-year-old former dentist, was sworn in for his second five-year term as Turkmenistan’s president. In his inauguration speech he promised democratic reforms, a pledge he has previously made but failed to deliver.
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(News report from Issue No. 078, published on Feb. 23 2012)
FEB. 10 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – The main opposition leader in South Ossetia, Alla Dzhioyeva, was hospitalised after security forces raided her office. Officials said Ms Dzhioyeva had a stroke but she said the security forces beat her. The authorities wanted to question her over a break-in at a government building in 2011. South Ossetia is a rebel region in Georgia.
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(News report from Issue No. 77, published on Feb. 16 2012)
FEB. 12/13 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – No surprises in Turkmenistan’s presidential election with Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, in power since Feb. 2007, winning 97% of the vote. Mr Berdymukhamedov faced seven token candidates, all government ministers who supported the president. Europe’s election watchdog declined to send monitors.
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(News report from Issue No. 77, published on Feb. 16 2012)
FEB. 16 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Attacks against Israeli targets in Georgia, India and Thailand and an acrimonious row between Baku and Tehran have thrown a spotlight over the relationship between the South Caucasus and Iran.
The same day that Georgian security forces disarmed a car bomb in Tbilisi another exploded in Delhi, injuring an Israeli woman (Feb. 13). Israel has blamed Iran for both attacks and another in Bangkok the following day.
Three weeks earlier the authorities in Baku arrested two Iranians for conspiring to assassinate Israeli diplomats, although Iran denied the charges.
The South Caucasus has a complex, fluid relationship with Iran.
Over the past year, much to the irritation of the US, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia have strengthened ties with Iran. Gas deals have been made, railway and air links solidified, visa regulations waived and military delegations hosted. Private business and trade links have also surged.
But behind these strengthening connections relations often remain strained.
Azerbaijan has built up good links with Israel and Georgia’s main backer is the US. Both are Iran’s sworn enemy. Armenia has more cordial ties with Iran but it also needs to be flexible.
The South Caucasus countries have to deal with their powerful neighbour but they are also wary.
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(News report from Issue No. 77, published on Feb. 16 2012)
FEB. 3 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Police in Yerevan arrested Hayk Gevorgyan, editor of the pro-opposition daily newspaper Haykakan Zhamanak, for allegedly knocking over a man while driving. Mr Gevorgian’s supporters say he has been set up by the police. He was granted bail on Feb. 6.
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(News report from Issue No. 76, published on Feb. 9 2012)
FEB. 1 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – You’d be forgiven for not noticing, but on Sunday Feb. 12 2012 Turkmenistan holds a presidential election.
The election should give voters in Turkmenistan, which has a population of five million people and holds the world’s fourth largest reserves of gas, a chance to judge Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov’s first five years in power.
But it won’t. This is a mirage of an election.
Aside from Mr Berdymukhamedov, a 54-year-old former dentist, there are seven other official candidates. All are party loyalists, some currently hold ministerial positions and none offer genuine choice.
Despite the government’s rhetoric last year inviting its exiled opponents back to Turkmenistan, the opposition is wary and won’t return to contest the election.
The main international newswires have local correspondents inside Turkmenistan but Western journalists met a stony silence when they requested visas to cover the election.
Even the ubiquitous election monitors from Europe’s democracy watchdog, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have declined to go. They said simply that there was no point as democracy and choice in Turkmenistan does not exist.
The only issue is what official proportion of the votes Mr Berdymukhamedov will win. In 2007, he won with 89% of the vote. Will his winning margin in 2012 be bigger?
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(News report from Issue No. 76, published on Feb. 9 2012)
FEB. 3 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – At the annual Munich Security Conference, Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev said Azerbaijan would not succumb to a Middle East-style uprising because of its strong economic growth. Last year police in Baku quashed a series of anti-government demonstrations and some analysts have said it may be vulnerable to an uprising.
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(News report from Issue No. 76, published on Feb. 9 2012)
JAN. 31 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – After 46 days, the Kazakh authorities lifted a state-of-emergency in Zhanaozen. Zhanaozen, about two hours drive from Aktau on the Caspian Sea coast, was the focus of rioting last month. Police opened fire on protesting oil workers, killing at least 16 people.
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(News report from Issue No. 75, published on Feb. 2 2012)
JAN. 31 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili travelled to Washington to meet US President Barack Obama at the White House. No major agreements were concluded but the visit was symbolically important to Mr Saakashvili who has been steering Georgia towards the West since he became leader after a revolution in 2003.
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(News report from Issue No. 75, published on Feb. 2 2012)
JAN. 31 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Officials in western Kazakhstan ended a week-long strike by 300 workers at an engineering business in Atyrau on the Caspian Sea coast by agreeing to boost their wages by 25%. The deal avoids any risk of a repeat of the acrimonious six-month long strike in Zhanaozen, about 600km south of Atyrau, which ended in riots that killed 16 protesters.
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(News report from Issue No. 75, published on Feb. 2 2012)
