Tag Archives: politics

Kazakh MPs approve moratorium on land code changes

 

ALMATY, JUNE 23 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — In a surprise move, Kazakhstan’s parliament voted to approve a moratorium laid down by President Nursultan Nazarbayev earlier this year on reforms to the country’s land code.

Although the vote doesn’t change the process, it does confirm that Mr Nazarbayev and the Kazakh elite have delayed controversial changes to the land code until at least January.

The changes to the land code, that would have made it easier for foreigners to own and rent land, triggered a wave of protests across the country in April and May. These were the largest popular protests against Mr Nazarbayev since he took office in 1991, forcing him to announce the moratorium.

He also heaped blame on government officials for the mishandling of the land code reform that had been designed to attract much-needed foreign investment.

Like the rest of the region, Kazakhstan has been dealing with a sharp economic downturn that has hit its finances. It is heavily reliant on sales of oil and gas for its income, both of which has plummeted in value since mid-2014.

There were some suspicions that the land reform proposal were being used by opponents of Mr Nazarbayev to whip up a popular revolt against him.

The authorities accused the boss of a brewery in Shymkent for attempting a coup.

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)

 

 

Editorial: Georgia PM rules

JUNE 24 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – It may sound like a technicality but the move to allow Georgia’s PM to keep his position and campaign to be an MP is an important one.

Rules that meant a sitting PM had to resign before an election were archaic and a hangover from the previous system of government that had steered more power to the president. Then, the PM and parliament were democratic window dressing, a talking house designed to buffer a highly centralised presidential system.

This system needed reform, and it has finally been given this makeover.

Changes to Georgia’s political system, which shifted power from the presidential palace to parliament and the PM, have made its politics more open and vital.

A parliamentary election in October promises to be a hard-fought affair between rivals who have grown to hate one another.

By allowing PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili to keep his job and campaign to become an MP, Georgia is strengthening and modernising its parliamentary system of government.

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(Editorial from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)

Kyrgyz PM changes government

JUNE 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan’s PM Sooronbai Jeenbekov ordered changes to the ministerial structures of the government, establishing two new committees to take over responsibilities from the National Energy Holding, formerly the energy ministry, and the ministry of transport and communications). Mr Jeenbekov justified the changes as being needed to improve efficiency. His critics have said he is wasting money.

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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)

 

Tajikistan releases Rahmon rival

JUNE 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Yakub Salimov, former Tajik interiorminister and renowned warlord and smuggler, was released from jail after serving a 13-year sentence for plotting a coup in the 1990s.Mr Salimov, one of President Emomali Rakhmon’s biggest opponents, was charged in 1998 but fled the country. He was finally detained in Russia in 2003 and later extradited to Tajikistan.

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(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)

 

Editorial: Nazarbayev’s reshuffle

JUNE 24 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – When Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev reshuffles his top government officials, it’s time to start thinking about the politics of succession.

The latest reshuffle is an important one. Apart from the PM post, held by Karim Massimov, one of Mr Nazarbayev’s most trusted aides, the head of the presidential administration, the speaker of parliament and mayor of Astana are some of the most important and high-profile posts that he can hand out.

Mr Nazarbayev has promoted the slick, media-savvy Asset Issekeshev to be major of Astana, Adilbek Dzhaksybekov was shifted from that position to head of the presidential administration and Nurlan Nigmatullin, was moved to be speaker of parliament.

All are now guaranteed to play a role inMr Nazarbayev’s plans but perhaps the most eye-catching is the promotion ofMr Issekeshev. He will now be the face of EXPO-2017 in Astana, one ofMr Nazarbayev’s pet project. If that goes smoothly, there could be even more important roles forMr Issekeshev.

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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(Editorial from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)

 

Georgia MPs allow PM to stand in parliamentary vote

TBILISI, JUNE 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgian MPs voted to modify the election code to allow the PM to run for parliamentary elections without having to resign, a major blow to the opposition’s calls for separation of powers.

The bill, which included other technicalities, such as free airtime for parties, was approved with a 79-1 majority.

The defenders of the bill said that it is constitutionally illogical to be left without a government during an election campaign, or to have to form an interim government, if the PM was forced to resign to run for MP.

“To have to form a new government, which could change completely within two months, just before a parliamentary election is not appropriate for the stability of a con- constitutional system,” Vakhtang Khmaladze, MP for the Georgian Dream, said as he presented the bill.

Georgia’s President Giorgi Margvelashvili will have to sign the bill before it enters into force.

The Georgian Dream coalition, although showing cracks as the election campaign builds up, voted en masse to back the proposal, which will allow PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili to run for MP without having to resign.

On Oct. 8, Georgia will vote to elect a new Parliament. The opposing factions are already gearing up to what analysts have said will be a heated political campaign, fought between two deeply opposed sides.

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)

 

Kyrgyz MPs pass media bill

BISHKEK, JUNE 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan’s parliament passed the first reading of a law that will restrict foreign funding of TV channels, a move its proponents have said is vital to protect media integrity but its detractors have said limits freedom.

The bill, which will have to be passed two more times, cuts the share of foreign financing for mass media outlets down to 35% and prohibits any foreign parties from establishing TV channels in Kyrgyzstan.

Media reported that the bill had been passed by 79 votes to 30.

Medet Tiulegenov, a political studies expert, said that the bill may have been pushed through by MPs to feed off popular mistrust of foreigners and boost their profile.

“By promoting a law against foreign investments in local media, MPs are trying to listen to that part of the population, which blames foreigners for problems here,” he said. “There are many MPs, who are not well-known among the population yet, but would like to get attention and popularity.”

This is the second major stand-off in Kyrgyzstan this year between groups of conservative, nationalist MPs and rights campaigners. Earlier this year, at the final reading, parliament rejected a bill that would have banned NGOs from directly receiving foreign funding.

Critics of the bill have said that its main aim was to close down the local office of the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Begaim Usenova, a Kyrgyz media expert, said that this law is another attempt to restrict people’s freedom. “It is incorrect to say that foreign funded media sources are a threat to the state, the bill’s initiators could not prove that there has ever been such a case,” she said.

And the bill appears to have already been watered down after protests by a few dozen people in front of parliament. Restrictions on foreign funding of media were reduced to just TV, rather than including print and radio too.

Still, the bill does carry a degree of popular support in Kyrgyzstan.

Yulia, 33, a Bishkek resident, said: “This is a good law, as every foreigner has its own interests, whereas we have to care about our security.”

And Dauren, 30, another Bishkek resident, said: “I am happy that there are more Kyrgyz patriots in our parliament than western lobbyists.”

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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)

 

Georgian anti-LGBT activists want referendum on blocking gay marriages

TBILISI, JUNE 12 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s Central Election Committee (CEC) gave preliminary approval for a referendum on enshrining the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman in the Georgian Constitution, setting up a potentially acrimonious clash between liberals and conservatives.

If activists manage to collect the 200,000 signatures needed to trigger a referendum it is likely that the vote would be held on the same day as a parliamentary election — Oct. 8.

It’ll be closely watched by the European Union. Georgia wants to join the European Union and has been lobbying for visa-free access but, among other issues, Brussels has said that Georgia’s attitude towards gay rights undermines its application.

Georgia’s society is broadly conservative and against gay rights, although it does have a vocal LGBT community. In 2013, a crowd attacked a gay rights march in Tbilisi injuring several people. A Georgian Orthodox priest was photographed wielding a stool as a weapon.

The proposed referendum was put forward by several MPs, including Sandro Bregadze, who had been a deputy minister within the Georgian Dream coalition and is known for his staunchly homophobic comments.

He told a press conference after the CEC approval that the referendum question he wants to put forward is: “Do you agree or not the definition of marriage is a union between a man and a woman for the purpose of starting a family?”

Lika Jalagania, lawyer at Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center, later told The Conway Bulletin that there was a strong chance that the group lobbying for the referendum would be able to collect the 200,000 signatures.

“I really think that they will reach this number, bearing in mind the current homophobic attitudes of Georgian society”, she said.

On June 13, outside the US embassy in Tbilisi a group of gay rights campaigners were holding a vigil in support of the victims of a homophobic attack on a nightclub in Orlando two days earlier. At least 49 people died in the attack, one of the worst mass shootings in the US.

A 57-year-old activist who declined to be named said that mainstream Georgians’ attitude towards the LGBT community would not change.

“The Church rules our country and that is not good for us,” she said.

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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 285, published on June 17 2016)

 

Kyrgyzstan’s fund chief resigns

JUNE 15 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Almazbek Kadyrkulov, chairman of Kyrgyzstan’s State Property Management Fund quit abruptly after a year in the job. Mr Kadyrkulov did not explain his resignation but he had recently received harsh criticism from PM Sooronbay Jeenbekov and other MPs. The Fund is in charge of managing state assets.

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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 285, published on June 17 2016)

 

Kazakh authorities accuse imprisoned businessman of coup attempt

SHYMKENT/Kazakhstan, JUNE 6 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The authorities in Kazakhstan accused imprisoned Kazakh businessman Tokhtar Tuleshov of stirring protests across the country in April and May in an attempt to overthrow the government.

The protests morphed from a demonstration in Atyrau in the west of the country against proposed land reforms into country-wide demonstrations against the government and the worsening economic scenario.

President Nursultan Nazarbayev has already sacked a couple of ministers over the handling of the land reform issue as well as two senior interior ministry officials but some analysts said that he is still looking to deflect blame for the protests away from his government.

The National Security Committee have now said that Mr Tuleshov, who was arrested in Shymkent in the south of the country, in January on various corruption and gun running charges has been plotting for the past year to overthrow the government.

Quoting a National Security Committee spokesperson, media said that Tuleshov’s “plan included destabilising the situation in the country by creating flash points, organising protests and mass unrest.”

Over the weekend, police also arrested a deputy prosecutor-general and two senior military officers for involvement in the plan.

It’s not clear, though, how Tuleshov would have organised this from prison and other analysts were quick to rubbish the theory.

Rasul Zhumaly, a former Kazakh diplomat and now a political analyst, said that Tuleshov was too well-connected to the establishment to risk attempting a coup.

“He had powerful patrons in Russia and Kazakhstan, even among military representatives, and his activity in pro-Kremlin propaganda,” he said.

“It’s more likely that these official charges are nothing but an attempt to find a fall guy and make him responsible for everything.”

Tuleshov was based in Shymkent near the border with Uzbekistan. He was the representative of a Russia- linked military think tank in Kazakhstan and also the CEO of Shymkentpivo, one of the country’s biggest breweries.

In Shymkent, people said that Tuleshov had been targeted because officials coveted his business.

“Tokhtar had a big profitable busi- ness, his family had everything, so there was no need for him to go against current authorities,” said Galina, 38.

“It seems like his business was very attractive for someone.”

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 284, published on June 10 2016)