MAY 5 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbek President Islam Karimov visited Ashgabat for the second time in seven months to sign agreements with Turkmen leader Kurbanguly Berdimukhamedov. Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, both major gas producers, have increasingly worked together to open new markets and leverage more economic power.
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(News report from Issue No. 39, published on May 9 2011)
MAY 3 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – An independent report headed by an ex-Finnish parliamentarian said Kyrgyz security forces attacked Uzbeks during ethnic violence in the south of the country last June and committed “crimes against humanity”. The Kyrgyz government rejected the report.
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(News report from Issue No. 39, published on May 9 2011)
MAY 9 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – A row between the Uzbek government and London- listed gold producer Oxus Gold over control of Amantaytau Goldfields, their joint venture, escalated. Oxus Gold said the Uzbek government had accused it of violating tax regulations and replied that the Uzbek government was trying to run it out of the country.
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(News report from Issue No. 39, published on May 9 2011)
APRIL 30 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – The US State Department issued a warning to its citizens in Uzbekistan that Islamic militant groups were planning attacks against US interests (April 25). In Kyrgyzstan, the head of the National Security Committee said a new militant group, the Islamic Movement of Kyrgyzstan, was active (April 30).
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(News report from Issue No. 38, published on May 2 2011)
MAY 2 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – In its annual global press freedom index, the United States-based group Freedom House ranked Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as the second and third-worst countries for media freedom. Only North Korea was ranked lower in the 196- country index.
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(News report from Issue No. 38, published on May 2 2011)
APRIL 25 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) members — China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan — pledged greater cooperation at a meeting in Shanghai. Russian news agency RIA Novosti described the meeting as the first summit for the SCO military chiefs. Some analysts have said the SCO could act as a counterbalance to NATO.
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(News report from Issue No. 37, published on April 25 2011)
APRIL 19/20 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – China extended its influence in Central Asia by signing gas and finance deals worth billions of US dollars with Uzbekistan during a visit by Uzbek President Islam Karimov to Beijing. In the last few years China has steadily bought assets across the region where it is competing with Russia and the West for influence.
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(News report from Issue No. 37, published on April 25 2011)
APRIL 25 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – In contrast to the cool reception he received when he visited the European Union in Brussels in January, China laid on smiles and a guard of honour for Uzbek President Islam Karimov’s state visit on April 19/20.
Mr Karimov was in Beijing to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao and to sign deals worth billions of dollars including an agreement to double the amount of gas Uzbekistan sells to China. The Uzbek state news website uza.uz said the deals were worth $5b and that Chinese banks had also agreed to lend $1.5b to 4 Uzbek banks for joint-ventures.
The numbers underscore just how much power and impact China can buy in Central Asia. Mr Hu hosted a similar visit to Beijing by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in February.
Over the last few years China has steadily bought up assets across the region, subverting the influence of both Russia and the West.
For the Central Asia states, China allure is not just its wealth, its proximity and its hunger for oil and gas. For now, at least, China is also less troublesome to deal with.
Former colonial power Russia has quarrelled with Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan over the price of gas and the West has previously condemned human rights abuses, such as the shooting in 2005 of around 500 people at a protest in eastern Uzbekistan. China, instead, talks of jointly defeating terrorism, is welcoming and lays on the charm.
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(News report from Issue No. 37, published on April 25 2011)
APRIL 25 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Senior officials from Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Oman and Iran signed an agreement to link their railway systems to create a transport corridor between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. The deal potentially creates another important export route for oil and gas.
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(News report from Issue No. 37, published on April 25 2011)
APRIL 7 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Following warnings of low water levels, Tajikistan has now extended its seasonal electricity restrictions, AP reported. Water running off the Pamir Mountains is vital for both Tajikistan’s hydroelectric dams and the cotton fields of downstream Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 35, published on April 11 2011)
