SEPT. 9 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – As many as 6,000 people gathered for the first opposition street demonstration in Yerevan for months, local media reported. Talks between the government and the opposition alliance (HAK) have stalled since Aug. 26 over the detention by police of a HAK youth activist. More protests are planned.
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(News report from Issue No. 56, published on Sept. 12 2011)
SEPT. 1 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Perhaps a sign Russian is losing its prominence in Kazakhstan, the country’s main state TV channel started broadcasting only in Kazakh language. Russian programmes had previously made up about 25% of Kazakhstan-1’s output. Khabar, another state-owned TV, will still broadcast in Russian.
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(News report from Issue No. 55, published on Sept. 6 2011)
SEPT. 3 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Against the backdrop of celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of independence in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, Dushanbe also hosted the 20th summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Media reports said it was a rather fractious affair that ended with a vague declaration to improve regional trade.
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(News report from Issue No. 55, published on Sept. 6 2011)
SEPT. 1 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s opposition coalition (HAK) suspended talks with the government and threatened to organise protests, local media reported. The talks, important for Armenia’s stability, started in July. HAK complained police had unfairly detained one of their activists.
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(News report from Issue No. 55, published on Sept. 6 2011)
AUG. 19 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – A court in Georgia sentenced in absentia the husband of opposition leader Nina Burjanadze, Badri Bitsadze, to 5-1/2 years in prison for organising paramilitary groups to attack police at a protest on May 26. Bitsadze, who has been in hiding since the protest, has said he is innocent.
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(News report from Issue No. 54, published on Aug. 30 2011)
AUG. 12 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s Central Bank said it might revise upwards its inflation target for 2011 because of high food and energy prices. The Bank had forecast inflation for 2011 between 6% and 8%. Central Asia has been hit hard by inflation and analysts say rising prices for food and utilities could trigger unrest.
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(News report from Issue No. 53, published on Aug. 17 2011)
AUG. 15 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbekistan blocked access to a number of western news websites during the London riots apparently to stop the images from reaching its own people. Russian media quoted Uzbek president Islam Karimov saying the websites were blocked to protect the country’s youth from “negative Western influences”.
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(News report from Issue No. 53, published on Aug. 17 2011)
AUG. 5 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan has returned control of its prisons to its interior ministry, which operates its own army, the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported. The ministry of justice had controlled the prisons since 2002 but a series of breakouts and riots undermined its authority. US human rights group Freedom House criticised the decision as a step backwards.
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(News report from Issue No. 52, published on Aug. 10 2011)
AUG. 4 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – In a move aimed at stopping the spread of radical Islam, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon banned youths from mosques, news agencies reported. A batch of new laws entitled “parental responsibility” also banned people under the age of 20 from going to nightclubs or getting a tattoo.
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(News report from Issue No. 52, published on Aug. 10 2011)
JULY 29 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan tore down a statue dubbed the “Statue of Liberty” which had acted as a national focal point in the centre of Bishkek. The statue of the woman called Freedom had replaced one of Vladimir Lenin in 2004. Kyrgyzstan will now unveil the third statue in Bishkek’s main square in seven years.
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(News report from Issue No. 51, published on Aug. 2 2011)
