MAY 27 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – In a move aimed at appeasing anti-government protests, Armenian authorities released journalist Nikol Pahinian and parliamentarian Sasun Mikaelyan from jail. Mr Pahinian and Mr Mikaelian were prominent opposition figures jailed for allegedly provoking clashes after elections in 2008.
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(News report from Issue No. 42, published on May 30 2011)
MAY 22 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Security forces fired rubber bullets to disperse anti-government demonstrators in central Tbilisi, some of whom had attacked plain-clothed police with sticks during the worst street violence in Georgia since a state of emergency in 2007. The day before, about 6,000 protesters had called for President Mikheil Saakashvili to resign.
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(News report from Issue No. 41, published on May 24 2011)
MAY 15 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Food prices in Tajikistan have risen by about 30% in the last month, RFE/RL reported. Worried about social unrest, US-funded RFE/RL said that the authorities have spent millions stocking up on food and fuel and imposed price caps on meat.
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(News report from Issue No. 40, published on May 17 2011)
MAY 4 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – A court in Azerbaijan sentenced 20-year-old opposition activist Jabbar Savalan to 2-1/2 years in prison for drugs possession. Police arrested Savalan for carrying opium in February immediately after he had called for a “Day of Rage” on Facebook, a networking website. Amnesty International said the charges were politically motivated.
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(News report from Issue No. 39, published on May 9 2011)
APRIL 18 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan deported three Swedish journalists who had tried to film an anti-government protest, said the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. The authorities told the journalists, who worked for Swedish state broadcaster Sveriges Television, they did not have the correct accreditation.
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(News report from Issue No. 37, published on April 25 2011)
APRIL 15 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgian opposition leader Nino Burjanadze, a former ally of President Mikheil Saakashvili, told Bloomberg that revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia were a inspiration and anticipated a summer of anti-government protests. However, sources in Tbilisi said support for Ms Burjanadze and the opposition is on the wane and that serious protests were unlikely.
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(News report from Issue No. 36, published on April 18 2011)
APRIL 17 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Police in Azerbaijan once again snuffed out an anti-government protest. Using tactics which have proved effective in countering protests this year, police detained protesters before they had barely unfurled a banner. Reuters quoted the Prosecutor-General saying that police detained 65 protesters and later released 25.
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(News report from Issue No. 36, published on April 18 2011)
APRIL 11 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – The authorities in Azerbaijan could face their biggest anti-government protest so far this year on April 16 2011 after opposition groups promised to unite for the first time at a demonstration planned for central Baku. Police have clamped down hard on anti-government protests, detaining leaders the day before demonstrations.
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(News report from Issue No. 35, published on April 11 2011)
APRIL 8 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Protests in Armenia calling for the resignation of President Serzh Sargsyan and fresh elections continue to grow. AP reported that roughly 12,000 people demonstrated in the centre of Yerevan and more demonstrations have been promised. So far the protests have been peaceful.
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(News report from Issue No. 35, published on April 11 2011)
APRIL 2 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Opposition groups in Azerbaijan said police arrested 15 activists the day before a planned anti-government rally. Concerned that popular uprisings in the Middle East may spread, the authorities in Azerbaijan have cracked down on protests. Police detained dozens of demonstrators at an unsanctioned rally on April 2.
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(News report from Issue No. 34, published on April 4 2011)
