MAY 4 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – A court in south Tajikistan sentenced 10 men to 8-1/2 years in prison each for being members of the banned Islamic extremist group Jamaat Ansarullah. Jamaat Ansarullah is an offshoot of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, blamed for a series of attacks over the past couple of decades in Central Asia.
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(News report from Issue No. 230, published on May 6 2015)
APRIL 28 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Reacting to the traditional start of the fighting season in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan ordered its Border Guards service to beef up its numbers along its southern border, Russian news agencies reported. Central Asian states are worried about the creep north of the Taliban.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 229, published on April 29 2015)
APRIL 24 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko visited Georgia for the first time on April 23-24.
Officially, this visit, initiated by Minsk, was to strengthen Georgian-Belarusian relations. The parties signed 15 different agreements and declared that they want to boost bilateral trade from $65m/year to $200m/year.
But analysts think that this visit was planned to improve Lukashenko’s position at home, in Moscow and amongst western European leaders before the upcoming presidential elections in Belarus in November.
During his visit, Lukashenko once again expressed his support for Georgia’s territorial integrity. He also called for a better dialogue between the Kremlin and Tbilisi, and expressed hopes that Belarus, Georgia and Russia can someday live as “one family like before”.
The director of Georgian Institute of Politics Kornely Kakachia said Mr Lukashenko’s visit had some positive implications for Georgia because he expressed support for Georgia’s territorial integrity over the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
“But on the other hand, Lukashenko is a side player and does not have big influence on Moscow-Tbilisi relations,” he said. “Also, the president of Belarus is not the best company for Georgia to be seen with by the West.”
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(News report from Issue No. 229, published on April 29 2015)
APRIL 16 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Taliban forces have launched a series of major attacks on government checkpoints and bases in the previously stable Badakhshan region of northeast Afghanistan, media reported.
Badakhshan borders Tajikistan and its worsening security situation will alarm Tajik officials. They have warned that the Taliban may have designs on Central Asia once NATO forces leave.
Reuters reported that at least 18 government policemen were killed fighting Taliban forces in Badakhshan. Eight of them had reportedly been beheaded.
It also said that government forces had killed 19 Taiban fighters, suggesting that there had been a series of fairly major battles.
Spring marks the start of the fighting season in Afghanistan after the snow melts away allowing mountain passes to be crossed. This year’s season is being particularly closely watched to see how both government forces and the Taliban respond to the official end of the NATO combat mission.
Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have said that they are all increasing security along their borders with Afghanistan.
Russia has also pledged more support along Central Asia’s borders. It wants to pull Central Asia more closely into its wider security reach.
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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)
APRIL 21 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – On a visit to Seoul, Uzbekistan’s military signed deals with its South Korean counterparts aimed at deepening cooperation. South Korea’s influence in Central Asia, where it has large diasporas, is an important issue to monitor.
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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)
APRIL 21 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan’s deputy PM, Abdyrakhman Mamataliev, said there were now 330 Kyrgyz nationals fighting for the radical IS group in Syria. It’s not possible to confirm this number, but if it is accurate this would be a major worry for Kyrgyzstan.
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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)
APRIL 21 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan and Armenia blamed each other for more clashes along the border of the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan said that five Armenian soldiers had been killed in shootouts; the Armenia-backed government in Nagorno-Karabakh said that one Azerbaijani soldier had been killed.
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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)
APRIL 19 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Another Georgian national has been killed fighting for Ukrainian government forces against pro-Russia rebels in east Ukraine, Georgian media reported. It’s unclear exactly how many Georgians have been killed in Ukraine but some media say that it is probably as many as seven.
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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)
APRIL 21 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia has delivered four Su-30SM fighter jets to Kazakhstan, media reported, part of a major overhaul of the Kazakh air force. By 2020, reports said, Kazakhstan is planning on buying another 32 fighter jets from Russia. Kazakhstan has spent billions upgrading its military.
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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)
APRIL 21 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan has built a 22,000km barb wire fence along its borders with Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, media reported, highlighting the often strained border issues in Central Asia.
AKIpress, a Bishkek-based news agency, said that most of the barb was erected along the border with Uzbekistan.
Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have a long-standing quarrel over borders and over the last few years there has been an increase in the number of incidents between the two neighbours along their shared border. These could be locals wandering into no-go areas, or a stand-off between soldiers. The tensest area is around the city of Osh in south Kyrgyzstan, which is part of the Fergana Valley in Uzbekistan.
The borders of Central Asia are complex. Historians have said that Soviet officials deliberately drew the borders to divide people.
Analysts have also said that tension over borders is one of Central Asia’s most serious flashpoints.
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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)
