Tag Archives: Uzbekistan

Uzbek mosques warn faithful against complaining

APRIL 13 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Controlled by the state and with Ukraine’s revolution still fresh in the mind, media reported that mosques in Uzbekistan have been preaching about the joys of refraining from discontent and remaining humble.

Information leaking out of Uzbekistan points to a fairly crude attempt to control the masses through the mosques.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, funded by the US government, quoted one resident of the town of Andijan in the east of Uzbekistan who had listened to the Friday sermon at his local mosque.

“Complaining and criticising is testamount to betrayal,” the unnamed man quoted the imam as saying.

Unsurprisingly, Uzbekistan was opposed to the revolution in Ukraine, mainly because it didn’t want it to set a precedent.

Uzbekistan is also wary of religion. It blames radical Islamists for a series of attacks against government targets in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

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(News report from Issue No. 180, published on April 16 2014)

Uzbek president’s daughter loses Tashkent buildings

APRIL 14 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Uzbek government has taken control of buildings in the centre of Tashkent previously owned by Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of Uzbek president Islam Karimov, media reported. The buildings are just the latest assets to be taken from Ms Karimova who is reportedly under house arrest.

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(News report from Issue No. 180, published on April 16 2014)

Northern region in Uzbekistan attracts tourists for the Aral Sea

APRIL 9 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — More and more foreign tourists are heading to Nukus in Karkalpakstan, western Uzbekistan, to visit the dried up Aral Sea, the Eurasianet website reported. The Aral Sea had been a major inland sea but Soviet water systems siphoned off water and it shrivelled to a fraction of its size.

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(News report from Issue No. 180, published on April 16 2014)

Uzbekistan boosts PM powers

APRIL 10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan’s parliament approved extending the powers of the PM, media reported, a move that some analysts have said shows President Islam Karimov’s influence is waning. It is still unclear what powers have been transferred to the PM although Radio Free Europe said that parliament would control the cabinet’s activities.

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(News report from Issue No. 180, published on April 16 2014)

Uzbekistan jails Tajik spies

APRIL 3 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan jailed three Tajik women for spying, potentially straining relations with neighbouring Tajikistan. The women were found guilty of photographing military hardware and passing on the information to Tajik agents. Relations between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are generally strained.

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(News report from Issue No. 179, published on April 9 2014)

Uzbekistan joins CIS free trade zone

APRIL 2 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan officially joined the Russia-led CIS free trade zone, a rare collegiate move by the generally unilateral Uzbek leadership.

Russian President Vladimir Putin officially signed Uzbekistan in as a member of the group, a few weeks after Russia’s parliament had approved the plan.

The timing, for Uzbekistan, is slightly unfortunate. Uzbek president Islam Karimov agreed the move towards Russia in December last year when close ties were considered vital.

The United States was withdrawing from Central Asia, its main interest had been as a launch pad for missions to Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan no doubt wanted to balance China’s growing influence against Russia.

Uzbekistan pulls in most of its remittance cash from Russia, a vital plank of its economy.

Now, though, after its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, Russia is seen as a global pariah and increasingly heavy sanctions are set to appear.

Still, as a simple free trade agreement, rather than a global statement of geo-political intent, it is still a useful move for Uzbekistan.

It allows for the free movement of goods in the free trade zone, abolishes duties and taxes and introduces anti-dumping regulations.

The other signatures are Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Tajikistan. They signed up to the agreement in 2011.

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(News report from Issue No. 179, published on April 9 2014)

Uzbek couple tries to sell children in Russia

APRIL 8 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Police in Russia arrested an Uzbek couple for trying to sell their two children, a newborn daughter and an 18-month-old boy, for $28,000, media reported. This is the second time this year Russian police have arrested Uzbeks trying to sell children, underlining the desperation of some people in Uzbekistan.

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(News report from Issue No. 179, published on April 9 2014)

Global cotton prices fall hits Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan

APRIL 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The global price of cotton, a key export for Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, fell nearly 2% after the US government said that there would probably be an over-supply this year, media reported.

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(News report from Issue No. 178, published on April 2 2014)

Uzbek internet cafes install surveillance cameras

APRIL 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Under new rules designed to quash Islamic radicals, internet cafes in Uzbekistan will have to install surveillance cameras. The order was signed into law on March 19. Uzbekistan has increased surveillance generally, angering human rights campaigners.

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(News report from Issue No. 178, published on April 2 2014)