Tag Archives: Uzbekistan

Uzbek President fires governor

SEPT. 16 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Acting Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev fired the governor of Jizzakh, his native province in the east of the country, for ‘serious shortcomings’. The phrase is a hollow formula that former President Islam Karimov used often when firing an official. Abdukahkhar Tukhtayev will now replace Asror Kobilov, who had been in charge since 2009, as the Jizzakh governor.

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(News report from Issue No. 297, published on Sept. 23 2016)

Migrant remittances fall to Armenia, Uzbekistan by 30%

SEPT. 20 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Money transfers from migrant workers in Russia to Central Asia and the South Caucasus fell by 12% in Q2 2016 to $2.3b compared to a year ago. Importantly, remittances to Armenia and Uzbekistan fell by 30% and 20% respectively, compared to the same period last year. Kyrgyzstan was the only country which received more than last year, $487m, a 21% increase. Remittances from migrant workers in Russia form a vital part of the economy for non-energy exporters in the region.

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(News report from Issue No. 297, published on Sept. 23 2016)

Border tension eases between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan

SEPT. 20 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Border tensions between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have eased since the beginning of the month when the Uzbek army seized a telecoms and radio tower in a disputed area, media reported. Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan argue over ownership of the Kasan-Sai reservoir and the Ungar-Too mountain.

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(News report from Issue No. 297, published on Sept. 23 2016)

Mirziyoyev to run to be Uzbek president

SEPT. 16 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Acting President and PM Shavkat Mirziyoyev said he will run in the upcoming Uzbek presidential election, scheduled for Dec. 4, immediately installing himself as the favourite to win.

UzLiDeP, the party of former President Islam Karimov, nominated Mr Mirziyoyev for the top job.

Mr Mirziyoyev has served as PM since 2003. He was named acting president less than a week after Karimov died of a stroke on Sept. 2.

After the nomination, Mr Mirziyoyev praised Karimov.

“Karimov is our pride. This man brought me up, he was like a father to me,” he said.

The Central Election Commission also said that the National Revival Party nominated Sarvar Otamuradov as a contestant, although he is expected only to play the role of sparring partner.

No Western election observers have judged a vote in Uzbekistan to be either free or fair.

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(News report from Issue No. 297, published on Sept. 23 2016)f

Kazakh President visits Karimov’s grave

SEPT. 12 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev flew into Samarkand to pay his respects to recently- deceased Islam Karimov, former Uzbek president. At the time of Karimov’s funeral on Sept. 3, Mr Nazarbayev was attending a G20 summit in China. During the visit, Mr Nazarbayev met with Uzbekistan’s acting president Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

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(News report from Issue No. 296, published on Sept. 16 2016)

Comment: Uzbekistan’s smooth power transition

SEPT. 16 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – In some quarters it had been feared that Islam Karimov’s death in Uzbekistan would set off instability in Central Asia’s largest country as rival groups battled for control. So far, though, the power transition in Uzbekistan since Karimov’s death on Sept. 2 has been smooth.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the former PM, has been installed as acting president and will, presumably, be given the job on a full-time basis at an election in December. There is still some time before his coronation can be complete but, so far, there doesn’t appear to be any other actors coming to the fore to challenge Mirziyoyev’s ascension.

There are several striking characteristic about the smooth Uzbek power shift. Firstly, it appears to have been well-organised and well-rehearsed before Karimov’s death. The authorities were able to control the information flow, apparently even delaying the official announcement of Karimov’s death until they were ready, put together a state funeral and arrange for the Speaker of the Senate to decline taking over in favour of Mirziyoyev.

There was planning and agreement in all this. Deals were made on how to retain power and status in Uzbekistan well before Karimov died.

And the second point is that Karimov must have been in on it.

He must have agreed to this succession process while he was alive. It appears that he finally gave up on the idea of installing his favourite daughter, Gulnara, as his successor in 2014. She was deeply unpopular with ordinary Uzbeks and the elite may have considered her a liability that they wanted to get out of the way before dealing with the succession issue.

Their chance came in 2013 and 2014 with corruption accusations linked to Western telecoms companies which had paid out bribes to the Karimovs seven years earlier to access the Uzbek market. The Uzbek elite were then able to imprison Gulnara’s supporters and place her under house arrest. She has not been seen or heard of since.

March 2014, marked the real transition of power in Uzbekistan. Karimov was unable to protect his daughter and most probably had to go along with plans devised by the Uzbek elite to hold on to power.

And their plan meant stripping the Karimov family of power.

In Uzbekistan this month we have seen the natural culmination of what is effectively an internal Uzbek regime change.

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(News report from Issue No. 296, published on Sept. 16 2016)

Russia to increase gas supplies from Uzbekistan

SEPT. 13 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia has intensified talks to increase gas supplies from Uzbekistan, as it looks to buy more Central Asian gas. Alexei Miller, chairman of Russia’s gas company Gazprom, met with Alisher Sultanov, his counterpart from Uzbekistan’s state-owned energy company Uzbekneftegaz, in Moscow. Last year, Gazprom imported 6.4b cubic metres of Uzbek gas. Gazprom has been steadily increasing its dealings with Uzbekistan, once seen as the most awkward of the Central Asian states. The death this month of Uzbek Pres. Islam Karimov may also improve bilateral relations.

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(News report from Issue No. 296, published on Sept. 16 2016)

ITF bannes corrupt Uzbek officials

SEPT. 14 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The International Tennis Federation banned for life two Uzbek officials for betting offences. The two officials, Sherzod Hasanov and Arkhip Molotyagin,communicated via mobile phone the scores of games they were officiating to a third party, before recording them into the official electronic score- board, allowing illegal betting.

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(News report from Issue No. 296, published on Sept. 16 2016)

World Bank finances Uzbek textile factory

SEPT. 13 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The International Labor Rights Forum published a report corroborating claims that the World Bank could be inadvertently financing a textile factory involved in forced labour practices. The report, which follows a petition in July sent by human rights activists directly to the World Bank, targets specifically an Uzbek-Indonesian joint venture, Indorama Kokand Textile. The World Bank had previously denied the allegations, saying it only deals with forced labour-free companies.

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(News report from Issue No. 296, published on Sept. 16 2016)

China connects with AF through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

SEPT. 11 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The first rail freight from China arrived in Afghanistan via Central Asia, potentially opening up a new trade route. China has tried to create interconnected transport infrastructure in Central Asia to promote alternatives to sea shipping. The railway linking China and Afghanistan also crosses Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan for a total length of 7,500 km.

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(News report from Issue No. 296, published on Sept. 16 2016)