FEB. 14 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Worried about the spread of Western aspirations, Uzbek officials once again tried to ban Valentine’s Day. The US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that, on the orders of the authorities, teachers at universities in Uzbekistan had asked students to sign a document saying they would not celebrate Valentine’s Day.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 172, published on Feb. 19 2014)
FEB. 12 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Highlighting homophobia in Central Asia, a man who recently described his life as a homosexual for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty was beaten up and stab. The man said that the attack was directly linked to the interview. Tajikistan has decriminalised homosexuality although prejudice is still rife.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 172, published on Feb. 19 2014)
FEB. 14 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmenistan’s president Kurbangkuly Berdymukhamedov gave amnesty to 859 prisoners to mark State Flag Day. Mr Berdymukhamedov has used presidential amnesties to pardon hundreds of prisoners previously. Turkmenistan is considered one of the most repressive countries in the world.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 172, published on Feb. 19 2014)
FEB. 15 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The sudden 20% devaluation of the Kazakh tenge on Feb. 11 generated anger and despair across Kazakhstan.
Police detained roughly 50 protesters in rare antigovernment demonstrations in Astana and Almaty and rumours of an imminent collapse triggered a run on several high street banks.
In central Almaty the manager of a store selling underwear could barely constrain herself. She had no customers and was angry.
“This devaluation is terrible and we don’t want it. In our store, prices will not increase, but the cost of living will surely soar,” she said.
At a clothing store in a busy shopping mall, Gaukhar shared this view.
“This could turn into a nightmare,” said the shop assistant. “While prices will undoubtedly increase, we haven’t heard a word from our directors to raise our wages.”
One of the big fears for Kazakhstan’s policy makers is that rather than making the economy more competitive, the devaluation will simply stoke inflation. Some large industries, including the steel plant owned by the Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal has already said it will increase its workers’ salaries by 10%.
There were mixed signals in Almaty. Many shopkeepers said that they hadn’t yet put up their prices but that they soon would.
“There’s already been a significant change in prices of between 500 and 1,000 (tenge) per pair of shoes,” said Assel as she tendered to her shop in Almaty’s Green Bazaar. “We’ve seen a lower turnout of customers this past week. They come in, try on the shoes but then go out empty-handed.”
Assel’s shoes were imported mainly from China and an increase of 500 to 1,000 tenge per pair represented a rise of roughly 20%.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 172, published on Feb. 19 2014)
FEB. 14 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Figure-skater Denis Ten won Kazakhstan’s first medal of the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Mr Ten, 20 came third in the men’s short programme figure-skating. The medal is important to Kazakhstan which wants to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.
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(News report from Issue No. 172, published on Feb. 19 2014)
FEB. 12 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — A law specifically banning books and pamphlets that encourage people to switch religion came into force in Uzbekistan last month, the Forum 18 news service reported. The law, which was formalised on Jan. 27, also allows the authorities to confiscate Muslims’ literature when they return from a Hajj to Mecca.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 172, published on Feb. 19 2014)
FEB. 8 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan intends to use the inaugural European Games in Baku next year to build its case to hold the 2024 Olympic Games, Azad Rahimov, the Azerbaijani sports minister told reporters at the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Azerbaijan has twice bid to host the Olympics. It failed to make the short-list on both occasions.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 171, published on Feb. 12 2014)
FEB. 6 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Highlighting Azerbaijan’s poor infrastructure, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) pledged to lend $150m to build new roads. The loan is part of a multi-tranche plan by the ADB to boost the road network across the country. The total cost of the project is $625m with ADB funding $500 and the Azerbaijani government the other $125m
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 171, published on Feb. 12 2014)
FEB. 11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Around 700 workers building the 88-storey Abu Dhabi Plaza in Astana went on strike after complaining about their pay, media reported. The Abu Dhabi Tower project was unveiled last year to much fanfare. UAE investors are funding the $1.6b tower which was expected to be finished by 2016.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 171, published on Feb. 12 2014)
FEB. 10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s new power duopoly is in its infancy but unrest in the Georgian prison system has given it an early test.
Media has reported that around 1,000 prisoners in the west of the country have been on hunger strike since Feb. 7 complaining about conditions which they have described as abusive.
The government dismissed their hunger strike as being organised by criminal bosses but on Feb. 10 17 inmates apparently intensified their protest by cutting themselves.
The rather ominously named Georgian Ministry of Correction said that the prisoners had stabbed themselves multiple times in the chest and arms.
“The injured inmates received medical treatment and were brought back to the prison in a normal condition. No force was used against them by the prison administration which is fully in control of the situation,” media quoted a ministry statement as saying.
The previous administration, under former president Mikheil Saakashvili, was accused of torturing prison inmates. Now Georgia’s new PM, Irakli Garibashvili, and president, Giorgi Margvelashvili, who both took office in November, have to show that they can handle the politically sensitive issue of prison unrest more deftly.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 171, published on Feb. 12 2014)
