May 17 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgian Orthodox groups rallied in Tbilisi against a new law designed to protect same-sex relationships. Media estimated that there were several hundred people at the rally, underlining the conservative nature of Georgian society. The Georgian Orthodox Church retains a lot of power in Georgia.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 185, published on May 21 2014)
May 16 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The International Rugby Board (IRB) has accepted Uzbekistan’s rugby association as a full member, media reported. Rugby is in its infancy in Uzbekistan but the IRB has said that it is committed to spread it across Asia. Neighbouring Kazakhstan is already an IRB member.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 185, published on May 21 2014)
May 19 2014 (The Conway Bulletin)- In 2020, Kazakhstan will probably introduce a new pension scheme that will deduct 5% of an employee’s wages and automatically place it in a government plan, the labour ministry told the Tengrinews website.
Employers will match this employee contribution.
It appears that these planned reforms haven’t been announced more widely and loudly because of a very real fear of upsetting people.
The risk for Kazakhstan is fairly obvious. In Armenia a similar plan triggered widespread demonstrations. The problem is that Kazakhstan and other former Soviet States need to reform and update their pension schemes.
Last year, the Kazakh labour sacked its ministers because of backlash over trying to make women retire at the same age as men.
Persuading Kazakhs to accept the latest plan is also likely to be a serious challenge for the Kazakh government.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 185, published on May 21 2014)
ASTANA /Kazakhstan, May 21 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — As a spectacle it was quite brilliant.
This was theatre with former British PM Tony Blair playing the lead role. He may now be very grey but Blair has lost none of his aura. Make no mistake, at this year’s Astana Economic Forum he was the star attraction.
Blair’s role was a short one. He appeared for around two hours on Thursday afternoon, the second day of the three-day annual event (May 21 – 23).
He spoke twice for about three or four minutes from his white armchair in the middle of the main stage during a debate by 21 leaders or former leaders
Blair said that international organisations such as the UN needed to keep up with the shifting power dynamics of the global economy. He also said that Britain should remain in Europe.
These utterances may have been forgettable, and they were, but that wasn’t really the point of Blair’s appearance. He was there not for his wit and wisdom, he was there because he was paid to be there.
Blair has worked for Kazakhstan for nearly three years as a consultant. News reports have said his company earns around $15m a year for this service, although his office has always been tight-lipped on the details. His contract also appears to include a clause which says he must attend the Astana Economic Forum, one of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s pet projects.
Blair far out-ranked the other men, and the one woman, on the stage for this session.
He sat next to Kazakh PM Karim Massimov who also played a starring role. They referred to each other, rather touchingly, by their first names and shared the odd joke while other speakers were talking.
It was, as one wit in the audience, said: “The Tony and Karim Show.”
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 185, published on May 21 2014)
May 17 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgian Orthodox groups rallied in Tbilisi against a new law designed to protect same-sex relationships. Media estimated that there were several hundred people at the rally, underlining the conservative nature of Georgian society. The Georgian Orthodox Church retains a lot of power in Georgia.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 185, published on May 21 2014)
May 20 2014 (The Conway Bulletin)- A Tajik army conscript who died in April was beaten to death, the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) website reported. RFE/RL also reported that another army conscript has been paralysed from being beaten. Bullying and beatings are a major problem in militaries across the former Soviet Union.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 185, published on May 21 2014)
May 15 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Chronicles of Turkmenistan, a human rights website edited from Europe, reported on the plight of 370 families living in temporary accommodation outside Ashgabat.
According to the website, the authorities moved these families into the accommodation because they wanted to knock down the apartment blocks they lived in and replace them with modern buildings, part of an Olympic Village.
Ashgabat is hosting the Asian indoor and Martial Arts Games in 2017 and has aspirations, however deluded, to hold the Summer Olympic Games.
But, the website said, despite assurances from the authorities that new housing would be built quickly, many families have lived in temporary accommodation for years.
This is not the first time a website has reported on the issue of Ashgabat residents being displaced for centrally planned building projects. In 2011, the eurasianet.org website, reported that 50 residents had protested about the demolition of their houses.
Turkmenistan has grown rich over the past five years through the export of gas to clients such as China. The Guinness Book of Records has conferred the dubious honour on Ashgabat as having the highest density of white-marbled buildings.
The Turkmen officials have to ensure they are spending their energy-generated wealth wisely.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 185, published on May 21 2014)
MAY 12 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The head of the Georgian Orthodox Church Patriarch Ilia II called for people to mark a new day of “Strength of Family and Respect for Parents” on May 17, the same day as the International Day Against Homophobia. The Orthodox Church is regarded as anti-gay rights. Georgia has introduced a law protecting same-sex rights.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 184, published on May 14 2014)
MAY 13 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The authorities in Bishkek said they had arrested four policemen for extorting cash from foreigners by falsely accusing them of rape. Media reports said that a female accomplice would set up dates with foreign men and then accuse them, falsely, of rape.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 184, published on May 14 2014)
MAY 13 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s pension plan reform is still causing problems. It was one of the main contributing factors on the resignation last month of the previous government and is also top of the agenda for the new government.
To appease massive discontent over the proposed plan, the government dropped the most controversial part of it — imposing a mandatory 5% salary contribution towards people’s pension. Thousands of people had hated this concept and taken to the street to voice their anger.
Parliament has now heard the government’s new plans which called for an optional 5% salary contribution.
This is a rare concession from the ruling Republican Party but it still may not be enough. The opposition has said that the government has enough power to force companies to impose the 5% salary contribution on its employees.
It looks as if the new government will have to tackle the pension issue head on too.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 184, published on May 14 2014)
