Tag Archives: politics

EU criticises Kazakhstan

MARCH 10 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The European Parliament issued a rare strongly worded statement criticising a recent crackdown on media in Kazakhstan. “MEPs are deeply concerned about the climate for the media and free speech in Kazakhstan, where strong pressure on independent media outlets includes some being closed down, and news agency directors and journalists being detained, placed under criminal investigation and sentenced to prison,” it said.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 271, published on March 11 2016)

Turkmen President reshuffles government

MARCH 2 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan’s President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov replaced the heads of the National Security Service and the Border Service, key government positions. Obstentiously the changes were made for health reasons and for a job transfer. Mr Berdymukhamedov has been increasingly vocal about improving border security with Afghanistan where the Taliban have become increasingly powerful.

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(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)

Editorial: Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Georgian civil unrests

MARCH 4 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The economic downturn that has hit Central Asia and the South Caucasus in the past two years has dented people’s purchasing power.

Most people earn salaries in their local currency but these have lost between 50% and 25% of their value in the past months.

This has triggered some social unrest, especially in the South Caucasus. In January, people in Azerbaijan took to the streets to protest against rising food prices and stagnating wages.

The same reasons were voiced by miners in Tkibuli, Georgia, who went on strike for two weeks asking for a 40% increase in salaries. Now reports have emerged from Yerevan where market stall owners briefly scuffled with police over rental prices.

In Central Asia, protests are less frequent and, generally, silenced quickly by the authorities. Last month, however, dozens of Kazakh women banging pots and blowing whistles protested in Almaty about mortgage repayments.

The crisis is starting to bite hard and the people are growing increasingly restless.

ENDS

(Editorial from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)

Turkmenistan unveils Olympic torch

FEB. 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan’s President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov is a keen sportsman.

He loves horse riding and urges Turkmens to keep fit, even declaring April to be the month of “health and happiness”.

And now he has his own sporting mega project to organise — the 2017 Asian Indoor Games which Ashgabat is due to host.

At the latest meeting of the organising committee for the 2017 Games, which state television portrayed as an important step forward in the setup of the event, Mr Berdymukhamedov unveiled the design of the Olympic torch, featuring Turkmenistan’s trademark bright green branding.

Turkmen opposition media, based in Europe and not in Turkmenistan, reported that the Olympic torch for the 2017 Games might be lit at the giant Galkynysh gas field in the south of the country.

It’s still unclear if gundogar.org was making mischief or reporting fact. If it does materialise, it will be another reminder of the importance of gas in the national psyche of Turkmenistan.

And the Games have already attracted controversy. Last year, Amnesty International used satellite imagery to show how several urban clusters on Ashgabat’s fringe were being demolished to make room for the Olympic Village. Turkmen officials didn’t refute the allegations.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)

Uzbek President creates deputy khokims

MARCH 3 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbek president Islam Karimov has created the position of deputy khokim across the countries regions in a move apparently aimed at reducing the power of the main khokims, RFE/RL reported. Khokims are powerful regional governors who are centrally appointed. They control swathes of the country.

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(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)

Georgian ex-minister survives attack

FEB. 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Alexi Petriashvili, a former Georgian minister for European integration in 2012-14 under the Georgian Dream coalition, was shot three times in the legs and stomach. Mr Petriashvili, leader of the Free Democrats, survived the attack and a hospital in Tbilisi said that he should make a full recovery. He was shot while visiting a graveyard.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)

Georgians protest Old Town transformation

FEB. 27 2016, TBILISI (The Conway Bulletin) — Anger, frustration, despair. These were the main emotions described by the hundreds of protesters who marched through Tbilisi’s Old Town protesting against plans supported by Bidzina Ivanishvili, the former PM and the richest man in the country, to transform the surrounding hills into a series of hotels and entertainment centres.

“It’s unbelievable to me that they can get away with this.” Denis, 28, told The Conway Bulletin, while he was drawing a green NO on the palm of his hand.

“Why don’t they invest the $500m in revitalising our crumbling old town?”

Of course, though, there is another side. Mr Ivanishvili has said that the plans, which would also mean building a new cable car starting in Freedom Square at the heart of the city, will not alter the character of the city and will instead draw thousands more tourists, create much needed income and jobs.

“This project is interesting for our children and tourists. This will be a main tourist attraction. I am able and I want to assist my city,” Bidzina Ivanishvili has previously said.

For now, the developers appear to be winning the argument over the Panorama project and construction work has started, although planners have ruled against other projects.

The issues, though, remain the same across the region. Officials and businessmen, often linked to the political elite, want to develop a part of a city. Frustrated locals, often with few issues to protest legally about, want to stop them.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)

Armenia’s President appoints new energy minister

MARCH 1 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan appointed Levon Yolyan as his new energy minister. Mr Yolyan, who had been deputy head of the Control Chamber which holds various government agencies to account, replaces Yervand Zakharyan.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)

Azerbaijan drops currency tax

FEB. 23 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Azerbaijani parliament formally dropped a plan to impose a 20% tax on all deals in foreign currencies. It voted to drop the bill, which had passed earlier in the year, after President Ilham Aliyev refused to sign it. The motive for the bill had been to protect Azerbaijan’s manat currency which has lost around half its value but critics said it was unfair and unworkable. Low oil prices have hit Azerbaijan hard. It is reliant on oil to earn export revenue.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 269, published on Feb. 26 2016)

Kazakh Parliament to discuss neew subsoil law

FEB. 23 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – A new subsoil law in Kazakhstan, which Western investors hope will reduce costs and improve access to geological information, will be presented to parliament within the next few months, Aset Magauov, the deputy energy minister said. Kazakhstan has been developing a new subsoil law for the past 18 months.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 269, published on Feb. 26 2016)