FEB. 11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — A gas explosion in an apartment building in the town of Navoi in central Uzbekistan killed six people and injured seven, media reported. The deaths reflect the dilapidated state of Uzbekistan’s infrastructure. Media reported that residents had been trying to heat their apartments from their gas cookers.
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(News report from Issue No. 171, published on Feb. 12 2014)
FEB. 9 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — From July 1 2014, Uzbek citizens will only be able to travel abroad with a newly issued biometric passport, media reported. Biometric passports are being introduced across the world but the issue is probably more sensitive in Uzbekistan where controls on the movement of people are more stringent.
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(News report from Issue No. 171, published on Feb. 12 2014)
FEB. 12 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The extreme cold weather that has gripped Central Asia is disrupting life in Uzbekistan.
Media reports have said that the temperature in Uzbekistan has dropped to minus 28 Celsius, far below the average for this time of year. Some reports have also suggested that the authorities may impose a state of emergency.
Market stall owners have closed their stores, farmers have moved their livestock into barns and taxis are charging excessive prices for short journeys. Very few people are on the street.
“Commerce is at a standstill right now,” the uznews.net website quoted a market stall owner in the town of Qarshi in southern Uzbekistan as saying.
In Karakalpakstan, western Uzbekistan, reports said some of the region’s hospitals are struggling on without power supply because it’s been too difficult to send in supplies of oil or coal.
But there is also a geo-political edge to these cold snaps that means observers of Uzbekistan should pay more attention.
Central Asia’s energy distribution system is complex and interwoven. Uzbekistan supplies parts of southern Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in a swap scenario but the authorities there have reported a drop in gas supplies since the cold snap took hold. They have said that the Uzbeks are keeping back supplies for their own use.
If the cold snap is prolonged the drop in gas supplies to neighbouring countries could also increase tension across the region.
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(News report from Issue No. 171, published on Feb. 12 2014)
JAN. 29 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Police in Moscow arrested a French businessman linked to Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of Uzbek President Islam Karimov.
The Frenchman was named as 48-year-old Eric Cokini. Reports said he was arrested at an airport in Moscow.
Mr Cokini had worked in Uzbekistan for several years, the AFP news agency reported. One of his roles included importing perfume for shops run by Ms Karimova but he is thought to have had far wider and deeper links with her businesses.
A photo dated from 2010 on Ms Karimova’s website showed the pair chatting.
The Russian interior ministry said the Uzbek authorities wanted to charge Mr Cokini with a series of financial crimes including money laundering, tax evasion and theft. They have asked the Russian authorities to extradite him to Tashkent.
His potential extradition could trigger an international row. Information on Mr Cokini and his links to Ms Karimova is still patchy but his arrest is more evidence that people and businesses connected to her are coming under increasing pressure.
Once thought of as a potential presidential successor, Ms Karimova is locked in a battle for influence against her detractors in Uzbekistan. These are mainly people linked to the rival Samarkand clan.
And she doesn’t seem to be winning. This is bad news for her allies, including Mr Cokini.
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(News report from Issue No. 170, published on Feb. 5 2014)
FEB. 4 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan temporarily reduced gas supplies to southern Kazakhstan leaving thousands of people in the south Kazakh city of Shymkent unable to heat their homes or cook, local media reported. Uzbek officials said pipeline repair work had caused the gas supply shortage. Central Asia’s energy system is complex and interconnected.
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(News report from Issue No. 170, published on Feb. 5 2014)
JAN. 29 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the Czech Republic should cancel an invitation to Uzbek President Islam Karimov to visit Prague later this month because of its poor human rights record. HRW accuses Mr Karimov of presiding over a regime that uses torture.
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(News report from Issue No. 170, published on Feb. 5 2014)
JAN. 29 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Police arrested eight demonstrators in Tashkent 48 hours after they held a protest in support of the Euromaidan demonstrations in Kiev.
A court later jailed three of the protesters for 15 days and fined the others.
The story underlines Uzbekistan’s reputation as one of the most repressive countries in the world.
The demonstration may have been small but it was important as it showed the support for the Euromaidan anti-government protests in the former Soviet Union. Among those demonstrating was the relatively well-known Uzbek photographer Umida Akhmedova and her son.
The Uzbek authorities’ reaction is just as indicative.
They came down hard and fast on the demonstrators. For governments in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, the Euromaidan protest is bad news as it shows that the might of the Russia-centric leaders can be challenged.
This may have been a rare pro-Euromaidan demonstration in Central Asia but it is still important to monitor the region for any more signs of unrest. It’s extremely rare for protests in Tashkent to surface. Judging by the authorities reaction, they don’t want to see another one.
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(News report from Issue No. 170, published on Feb. 5 2014)
JAN. 29 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Police in Tashkent arrested eight people 48 hours after they had held a protest outside the Ukrainian embassy in support of the pro-EU Euromaidan demonstrations in Kiev. A court later sentenced three of the activists to 15 days in jail.
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(News report from Issue No. 170, published on Feb. 5 2014)
JAN. 29 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan is looking to secure a $650m loan from the Japan International Development Agency (JICA) to build a thermal power plant in the Ferghana Valley, media reported. Japan has been looking to boost its influence in Central Asia over the past few years.
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(News report from Issue No. 170, published on Feb. 5 2014)
JAN. 29 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — A court in Tashkent ruled that an Uzbek company had broken copyright rules by using branding registered to the Nivea skin-care products, local media reported. German company Beiersdorf owns the Nivea brand. Protecting intellectual property is a challenge for Western companies working in Central Asia.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 170, published on Feb. 5 2014)
