JUNE 12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Alexander Rondeli, one of the most high-profile and influential Georgian political commentators, died aged 73. Rondeli was known for his charm and hospitality and was widely quoted by foreign journalists and diplomats.
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(News report from Issue No. 236, published on June 18 2015)
JUNE 17 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia faces a chronic shortage of electricity within three to four years unless it brings online extra generating capacity, the World Bank said in a report.
Power generation in Armenia is particularly controversial as it involves the Metsamor nuclear power station outside Yerevan.
Metsamor, built in the 1970s, generates around 40% of Armenia’s power but is considered a danger by the European Union because of its aging technology and location in an earthquake-prone zone. It has recommended that the power station is closed down although Armenia earlier this year elected to bring a Russian company in to extend the lifespan of the power station.
Lora Bailly, head of the World Bank office in Yerevan, said that even with Metsamor generating power, Armenia still faced a problem.
“Our analysis suggests that in the near future Armenia will need additional capacity to avoid power shortages. It is very important in three to four years to put into operation a new thermal power unit,” she said at a press conference in Yerevan.
And next year the Armenian government plans to close the Metsamor power station for six months for repairs.
Ms Bailly said that Armenia could supplement its current power generation with thermal power.
This month electricity shortages have been in focus in Armenia. The state regulators have just approved a 17% increase in electricity prices, the third rise in two years, irritating many Armenians. Opposition groups have promised protests.
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(News report from Issue No. 236, published on June 18 2015)
JUNE 13 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Swiss embassy in Baku organised for Emin Huseynov, an Azerbaijani dissident and critic of President Ilham Aliyev’s administration, to fly out to Switzerland with Swiss foreign minister Didier Burkhalter. Mr Huseynov had been sheltering in the Swiss embassy since mid-August when police had tried to arrest him on drug-related charges.
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(News report from Issue No. 236, published on June 18 2015)
JUNE 16 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Mikheil Saakashvili, the former president of Georgia, started work as governor of the Ukrainian region of Odessa.
Media recorded an indifferent reaction to Mr Saakashvil and his new chief of police, Giorgi Lortkipanidze, an ex-Georgian vice interior minister.
But, ever the populist, Mr Saakashvili seized his moment.
“Some people think that they are above the law,” Mr Saakashvili was shown in a video broadcast by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty as telling people on a city tram which had been blocked by black Mercedes.
“That’s why I have appointed a new chief of Odessa police who will restore order so that these things won’t happen here,” Mr Saakashvili said.
Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko appointed Mr Saakashvili as governor in Odessa last month, surprising observers.
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(News report from Issue No. 236, published on June 18 2015)
JUNE 17 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s public services regulator approved a 17% increase in electricity prices, the third in two years. The price increase has angered people in Armenia and opposition parties have called for protests.
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(News report from Issue No. 236, published on June 18 2015)
JUNE 13 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Police in Kazakhstan arrested on corruption charges Talgat Yermegiyayev, two days after he had quit as the chairman of the company organising President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s EXPO-217 extravaganza.
The arrest will be a major embarrassment to Mr Nazarbayev who has pledged to crackdown on corruption in Kazakhstan.
Adilbek Dzhaksybekov, the mayor of Astana, was quickly given the job of heading EXPO- 2017.
For Mr Yermegiyayev, a powerful businessmen with links to the top of the Kazakh elite, his arrest marks a very heavy fall from grace.
Alongside him, police also arrested Kazhymurat Usenov on embezzlement charges. Mr Usenov was in charge of much of the construction work for EXPO-2017 in Astana.
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(News report from Issue No. 236, published on June 18 2015)
JUNE 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Muhiddin Kabiri, leader of the Islamic Renaissance Party, is moving into self-imposed exile over fears that he will be targeted and imprisoned in a government clampdown in Tajikistan, he told Eurasinet.org in an interview. The Islamic Renaissance Party is Tajikistan’s main opposition party but has been increasingly marginalised.
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(News report from Issue No. 236, published on June 18 2015)
TBILISI/GEORGIA, JUNE 11 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — To David Gabunia, a well-known Georgian musician, it just doesn’t make sense.
“When you cut down gorgeous big old trees, they let you get away with it,” he said referring to a tree cutting programme by Tbilisi city council. “But when you take a small weed and smoke it, they’ll put you in jail for many years.”
And he’s not alone in pondering this apparent quandary.
Several thousand people across Georgia joined demonstrations and signed online petitions on June 2 calling for the government to reduce harsh laws governing marijuana use.
The largest protest was in Tbilisi, where several hundred people attended a protest in the centre of the city.
Georgia has a zero tolerance drug policy. Drug use is an administrative offence with fines up to 500 lari ($225) for first time offenders and a criminal offence with one year imprisonment for repeat offenders. Carrying small quantities of illegal substances, such as marijuana, can mean prison sentences of between 11 and 20 years, comparable to rape, human trafficking and murder.
Marijuana grows naturally in Georgia, and the Abkhazia version, from the west of the country, is particularly highly thought of. But in the dark days of 1990s post-independent Georgia, society’s view of drugs and their users changed and a zero tolerance policy was introduced.
Since 2013, though, rallies have been organised asking the government to rethink its policies on marijuana. But not everyone is convinced. The powerful Georgian Orthodox Church is staunchly against marijuana and PM Irakli Garibashili also said a couple of days after the rallies that decriminalisation would have disastrous consequences.
“This is an issue of principle, and we are obliged to realise its deplorable consequences. I am personally completely, categorically against it,” he said on his Facebook page.
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(News report from Issue No. 235, published on June 11 2015)
JUNE 11 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Dozens of young Azerbaijanis demonstrated outside the British embassy in Baku against what they described as double standards over criticism from London-based newspaper and human rights organisations of the European Games.
The protesters waved Azerbaijani flags and shouted: “England, avoid double standards!” according to media reports.
The protests appeared to be sanctioned by the authorities, perhaps as a counter demonstration to deflect from criticism generated by Azerbaijan’s crackdown on opposition activists and journalists.
London has become the main centre of criticism of Azerbaijan.
A group called Platform London published a book earlier this week titled: “All that Glitters Sport, BP and Repression in Azerbaijan”. BP is a major foriegn investor in Azerbaijan and is sponsoring the Games.
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(News report from Issue No. 235, published on June 11 2015)
JUNE 10 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Armenian government’s proposed increase of electricity tariffs has angered people in Armenia and triggered small-scale protests.
This is the third price rise in two years by the Russia-owned electricity company and activists said they planned a series of protests against it.
A Bulletin correspondent said around 50 people demonstrated in front of Armenia’s energy ministry in Yerevan.
Susan, 33, was one of the protesters.
“Because of their bad management and inappropriate work, they want us to struggle and pay high prices,” she said.
Hundreds had demonstrated in May through Yerevan against the proposed electricity price rises and a group calling themselves Against Robbery threatened more aggressive action.
“We are going to implement radical actions using all our rights stated by the laws,” the statement said.
The Armenia’s Public Services Regulatory Commission it had received an application from the monopoly electricity company Electric Networks of Armenia to increase the cost of electricity by 40%.
The Commission said it was likely to agree the price rise by June 17, although it did not say whether it would approve the full 40% increase. It said electricity imports have become more expensive because of the falling value of the Armenian dram. Hydroelectric power generation has also dropped because of dry weather.
The parliament plans to debate the price rises on June 12 and the government has said it will subsidise the increase for the poorest families.
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(News report from Issue No. 235, published on June 11 2015)
