Tag Archives: Tajikistan

US to abandon military equipment in Central Asia

JUNE 15 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kommersant, a respected Russian business newspaper, quoted sources close to governments in Central Asia describing negotiations with the US over potentially abandoning some military equipment during its withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014.

The sources said that, as a money-saving plan, senior US generals had discussed leaving trucks, medical and fire-fighting equipment and even armoured vehicles in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

NATO’s exit from Afghanistan is already sensitive and complex. US relations with Pakistan have broken down leaving Central Asia as the only alternative.

This means making deal with government whose human rights record falls, to put it mildly, below Western standards. Russia and China also take a close interest in Central Asia, making NATO’s potential withdrawal through the region even more sensitive.

But NATO has persevered and seemingly managed to carve itself out the route it needs.

Leaving kit in Central Asia though, even if it’s of the non-lethal variety, has not publicly been part of the plan. This has upset the Russians just when NATO needs their support.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 093, published on June 22 2012)

Tajik President signs number of deals with China

JUNE 6 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Ahead of a meeting of heads of states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) members in Beijing, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon signed a number of deals with China, media reported. The deals will ensure a road is built from China across Tajikistan and grant a Chinese company copper exploration rights.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 091, published on June 8 2012)

Tajikistan declines to screen The Dictator

MAY 18 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Perhaps deciding that it was too close to reality, Tajikistan declined to screen a new film by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen entitled The Dictator, media reported. The satirical film depicts a dictator risking his life to crush signs of democracy. Human rights groups have accused the Tajik authorities of cracking down on personal liberties.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 089, published on May 25 2012)

An output drops in Tajik aluminium smelter

MAY 11 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajikistan’s aluminium smelter, vital to its economy, produced 12% less metal in the first four months of the year compared to the same period in 2012, a source at the company told Reuters. The source blamed the shortfall on a gas dispute with Uzbekistan and modernisation work that slowed output.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 088, published on May 18 2012)

Tajik court bans Islamist group

MAY 4 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajikistan’s Supreme Court banned a Muslim extremist group called Jamaat Ansarullah, media reported. Jamaat Ansarullah claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack in Khujand, north Tajikistan, in 2010 that killed 3 policemen. It has also been linked to al Qaeda.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 087, published on May 11 2012)

UN envoy urges Tajikistan over torture

MAY 9 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – The UN’s special envoy on torture, Juan Mendez, started a week-long tour of Tajikistan. On the eve of his visit, media quoted Mr Mendez as saying that Tajikistan needed to update its laws in line with international standards. Human rights groups have criticised Tajikistan for alleged torture in police custody.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 087, published on May 11 2012)

Lavrov visits Tajikistan

APRIL 24 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov flew to Dushanbe for talks with Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon on extending a lease for Russia’s military base. Negotiations have stumbled on the cost and length of the lease extension. No deals were announced but media quoted both sides as saying talks will accelerate.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 085, published on April 27 2012)

Tajik Bank cuts interest rate to 8%

APRIL 16 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Tajik Central Bank cut interest rates to 8% from 9% to combat a slowdown in the economy, media reported. The cut brings Tajik interest rates to their lowest level since the end of the 2008/9 global financial crisis and reflects a general economic slowdown across the Central Asia and South Caucasus region.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 084, published on April 20 2012)

Uzbekistan resumes Gas supply to Tajikistan

APRIL 16 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbekistan restarted pumping gas to neighbour Tajikistan after a 15 day break, the Uzbek energy monopoly, Uzbekneftegaz, said on its website. The resumption of gas supplies eases pressure on Tajikistan’s economy and foils rising Uzbek-Tajik tension. The new contract rolls through to the end of the year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 084, published on April 20 2012)

Long winter triggers crises in rural Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan

APRIL 6 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Heavy snow has cut off villages and destroyed vital pasture in rural parts of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, already Central Asia’s poorest countries, triggering a potential humanitarian crisis.

Local news agencies in Tajikistan quoted officials describing the winter as the heaviest for 50 years. In Kyrgyzstan, officials said that in one area in the south of the country a third of the livestock has already died.

Both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are mountainous and heavy winters can trigger major logistical problems for rural communities which have only fairly basic standards of living.

They are also already both net receivers of aid, which, as ever, comes with a political undertone.

Russian president Dmitri Medvedev has ordered aid to be flown to Tajikistan and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that in January and February Tajikistan received aid worth $6m, mainly from Russia, Egypt and Iran.

Moscow has also strengthened relations with Kyrgyzstan last year since Almazbek Atambayev won a presidential election. Deputies in the Kyrgyz parliament have called for urgent help, a call sure to be answered by Russia and other neighbours such as Kazakhstan and possibly China.

The situation is made worse because the price of fodder to feed cattle has risen in the past few months and the government faces a shortage of airplanes and helicopters.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 082, published on April 6 2012)