JUNE 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – A court in west Kazakhstan handed the Karachaganak oil and gas project a fine of 7.3b tenge (roughly $40m) for excessive flaring, media reported quoting a court statement. Karachaganak’s shareholders are BG Group, Eni, Chevron, Lukoil and Kazmunaigas.
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(News report from Issue No. 236, published on June 18 2015)
JUNE 16 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), travelled to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan as part of a short trip to the region. Mr Bach first travelled to Baku for the opening ceremony of the European Games and then to Tashkent, Dushanbe and Bishkek.
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(News report from Issue No. 236, published on June 18 2015)
JUNE 12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov was one of a handful of international leaders to head to Azerbaijan for the opening ceremony of the European Games. In Baku, he held talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Turkmenistan wants to send gas to Europe via Azerbaijan.
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(News report from Issue No. 236, published on June 18 2015)
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 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – In a new report on malnutrition and food security, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation highlighted several areas of concern in Azerbaijan. These included stunted growth for under 5-year-olds because of poor diet and anaemia among pregnant women.
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(News report from Issue No. 236, published on June 18 2015)
YEREVAN/ARMENIA, JUNE 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Liana Pakhdigian, 32, was pregnant when she arrived with her husband in Yerevan from Aleppo, Syria, with just one piece of luggage three years ago.
They intended to stay for a fortnight but it has, instead, become their new home.
“War was worsening in Aleppo, forcing us to settle in Yerevan. We didn’t have enough money, shelter or even clothing. So we hired an apartment and intensively searched for a job,” she said.
They left behind their home in Aleppo as well as a furniture manufacturing business.
“We lost everything we had earned in our lives. But what is important is that we’re alive, healthy and looking forward,” the again pregnant Liana said.
She smiled but the tears welling in her eyes betrayed her sadness.
As the war in Syria has worsened, so the number of ethnic Armenians fleeing has increased. Armenians have, generally, been accepting. Armenia’s Ministry of Diaspora now estimates that
it has taken in 12,000 Armenians from Syria since the start of the conflict, most from Aleppo, which was home to more than 80% of Syria’s 100,000 Armenians.
Despite some grumbling, the refugees have generally integrated well. They speak the same language, are the same Orthodox religion and have many of the same customs.
And they are happy to be out of Syria. Gevorg Yepremian, 41, moved to Armenia from Syria 2-1/2 years ago with his wife and two children.
“My salary here is very low and life conditions are far from those in Syria where I have my own home,” he said. “But my children feel good here and they play with many toys. Also, there is no shooting in the streets.”
Then, rather wistfully, more in hope than expectation, he said: “If things improve in Syria I think we’ll go back.”
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(News report from Issue No. 236, published on June 18 2015)
JUNE 12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – At a lavish ceremony in the Olympic Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev opened the inaugural European Games.
The focal point of the $95m opening ceremony celebrations was a haunting rendition of John Lennon’s Imagine by Mr Aliyev hosted a handful of global leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. The leaders of Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Belarus and Serbia also attended.
And the glitz and the glamour couldn’t displace all the criticism of Azerbaijan and its record on human rights over the past few years.
Irish band U2 used a concert in Montreal to call for the release of a number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan. In a strongly worded statement, Rupert Colville, the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights, heavily criticised Mr Aliyev and the authorities in Azerbaijan.
“These cases are indicative of a shrinking democratic space in Azerbaijan,” he said.
The Games themselves haven’t been without controversy either. Police arrested a bus driver who ploughed his coach into a group of Austrian swimmers walking on a pavement in the Olympic village and a partisan Azerbaijani crowd booed Armenian athletes at the Opening Ceremony.
Azerbaijan and Armenia are still officially at war over the disputed region of Nagorno- Karabakh.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(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)
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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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 235, published on June 11 2015)
