Tag Archives: Tajikistan

Tajikistan accuses IRPT of attacks

SEPT. 20 2015, DUSHANBE (The Conway Bulletin) — Tajik security forces detained 13 leaders from the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) and accused them of being linked to attacks this month that killed two dozen people.

Pressure has been mounting on the IRPT, the only real opposition party in Tajikistan, over the past few months. It’s leader, Muhiddin Kabiri, has fled into exile and the ministry of justice has said that the IRPT has to disband because it lacks members.

Now, the Tajik authorities have allegedly seized documents from IRPT office in Dushanbe that proves it was involved in attacks apparently lead by a disgruntled former deputy defence minister.

The IRPT denied links to attacks on two police stations on Sept. 4.

And on the streets of Dushanbe, this is view shared by some residents.

“I don’t think that IRPT are involved. The government is apparently getting rid of former Civil War opposition members,” a Dushanbe resident called Yahyo said.

A Dushanbe analyst agreed and said that Pre.s Rakhmon had used the attacks to get rid of opponents.

“Rakhmon will further centralise the regime with these lies being his main tool,” he said, anonymously.

The authorities also said they killed Gen. Abduhalim Nazarzoda, the ex-deputy defence minister blamed for organising the attacks (Sept. 19).

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 249, published on Sept. 25 2015)

Tajikistan boosts imports of LNG

SEPT. 21 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – To meet growing demand, Tajikistan has increased the volume of liquefied natural gas (LNG) it imported to 220,000 tonnes in the first eight months of the year, an increase of 18% over the same period last year. Tajikistan imports LNG from Kazakhstan. Over the past year, the proportion of LNG-fuelled vehicles on the road in Tajikistan has increased to 60% from 40%.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 249, published on Sept. 25 2015)

Tajikistan says ex-minister killed

SEPT. 16 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajikistan’s interior ministry said security forces had killed the fugitive former deputy defence minister Gen. Abduhalim Mirzo Nazarzoda after a manhunt spanning nearly a fortnight. The authorities in Tajikistan have accused Nazarzoda of masterminding two attacks on police stations in Dushanbe and a nearby town on Sept. 4 that killed two dozen people.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 248, published on Sept. 18 2015)

HRW warns on rights in Tajikistan

SEPT. 14 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Tajik government has presided over an “steady, unmistakable decline of freedom of expression”, Human Rights Watch said in a statement referring to the clampdown on the opposition Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT).

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 248, published on Sept. 18 2015)

GMEX-Group to build Tajik stock exchange

SEPT. 15 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – London-based GMEX-Group said it signed a deal to help build Tajikistan’s inaugural stock exchange. The Central Asia Stock Exchange (CASE), as it will be known, aims to launch trading of securities later this year and derivatives next year. GMEX supplies the technical know-how to produce pricing and trading data.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 248, published on Sept. 18 2015)

Tajikistan hosts regional security summit

SEPT. 15 2015, DUSHANBE (The Conway Bulletin) — Leaders from member states of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) travelled to the Tajik capital for their annual summit, with talk of the threat from Islamic extremism dominating the conference.

Security was tight across Dushanbe. Earlier this month twin attacks on police stations, one in Dushanbe and one in a nearby town, killed nearly two dozen people.

The day after the summit, Tajikistan’s Prosecutor-General accused the opposition Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) of coordinating the attacks (Sept. 17). The authorities have been putting the IRPT under increased pressure over the past year. Linking it to the attacks will now, almost certainly, mean it will be banned.

At the CSTO summit, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon said the number of young Tajiks lured to join IS in Iraq and Syria is increasing.

“The spectre of emergencies and security threats in the region is not diminishing, and could even grow,” he said. This rhetoric, Western analysts have said, suits the security- focused agenda of Central Asia. Many think it is overstated.

Russian president Vladimir Putin said he will help Central Asia strengthen its southern border against any Taliban incursions.

“Here in Tajikistan you are confronted with problems, with encroachments and attempts to rock the situation, and I would like to say that you can always count on our assistance and support,” media quoted Mr Putin as saying.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 248, published on Sept. 18 2015)

Markets: Inflation rallies in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan

SEPT. 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — On inflation, the data looks worse in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan, compared to other economies which have managed to keep prices flat. In the period between Jan.-Aug. 2015, prices in Armenia grew by 4.8%, in Tajikistan by 3.2%, in Azerbaijan by 3.8%, according to their statistics committees.

Despite the steady growth in consumer prices, the region’s economies are containing inflation. For a comparison, inflation in Russia reached 15% in August.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 248, published on Sept. 18 2015)

Tajik opposition ditch meeting

SEPT. 5 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), the country’s main official opposition, has indefinitely postponed a congress it had planned for Sept. 15, media reported. The IRPT linked the decision to attacks in Dushanbe last week. Earlier this month the authorities also said the IRPT was illegal.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 247, published on Sept. 11 2015)

Kyrgyzstan increases alert on border

SEPT. 9 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Kyrgyz military has ordered its units on high alert around the border with Tajikistan because of an increase in tension, media reported. Reports were not specific on what had triggered the alert but Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have rowed about border issues this year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 247, published on Sept. 11 2015)

China buys Tajik somoni

SEPT. 4 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – China agreed to buy $470m worth of Tajik somoni, media reported, a currency swap designed to prop up Tajikistan’s weakening currency. The somoni has been losing value this year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 247, published on Sept. 11 2015)