Tag Archives: Uzbekistan

BBC airs Central Asia spoof

OCT. 23 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Utter the word Borat to a Kazakh diplomat and he or she may cringe.

It took years to purge the image of Kazakhstan — which wants to be seen as a modern, progressive country — from Borat, the boorish fictional character created by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen for his 2006 film “Borat: Cultural learnings of America make benefit glorious nation of Kazakhstan”.

Now, though, it appears that the BBC has created another comedy to, potentially at least, poke more fun at the Central Asian republics.

The BBC will broadcast the first episode of its new three-part comedy on Oct. 23 called “Ambassadors”. It’s essentially a sideways, tongue-in-cheek look at the British diplomatic service and the challenges of a foreign posting in a little-known and far-away country.

The twist, for Central Asia at least, is that the fictional little-known and far-away country is called Tazbekistan. No prizes for guessing the mish-mash of republics it is based upon.

And there’s more. The pre-broadcasting blurb goes further. The plot is based around an incoming British ambassador’s attempts to get to grips with Tazbekistan’s idiosyncrasies. This includes being oil-rich and having a woeful human rights record.

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(News report from Issue No. 157, published on Oct. 23 2013)

Agreement boosts business between Uzbekistan and Russia

OCT. 16 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russia signed into law an agreement with the Uzbek government that it hopes will defend Russian businesses in Uzbekistan.

The statement on the Russian government website was vague but also unequivocal. It said simply that the agreement would boost investments between Russia and Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan has developed a reputation for being a notoriously difficult country for private companies to operate in. Businesses talk of intimidation from the authorities, police raids and unscheduled tax inspections.

Earlier this year Russian mobile operator MTS closed down its Uzbek subsidiary after a series of run-ins with the authorities.

This month VimpelCom, MTS’s main Russian rival, also complained of unscheduled tax inspections by the authorities in Tashkent.

So, the ratification by Russia’s government of an agreement with Uzbekistan to promote and protect each other’s business interests is, at least, timely. Time will tell just how useful it is too.

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(News report from Issue No. 157, published on Oct. 23 2013)

Uzbekistan skips meeting in Kyrgyzstan

OCT. 18 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan skipped a meeting in Bishkek to discuss details of a dam Kyrgyzstan intends to build across the Naryn River, Kyrgyz media reported. Kyrgyzstan’s plans to build a dam upstream of Uzbekistan have strained already tense relations between the two countries.

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(News report from Issue No. 157, published on Oct. 23 2013)

Uzbekistan exports cotton in Asia

OCT. 18 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan signed deals to export 680,000 tonnes of cotton fibre at its annual trade fair in Tashkent, a similar amount to last year, Uzbek state media reported. Western companies have boycotted Uzbek cotton over concerns it uses child labour but China and other countries, such as Bangladesh, have increased purchases.

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(News report from Issue No. 157, published on Oct. 23 2013)

Uzbekneftegaz denies shortages

OCT. 16 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan’s state-owned energy company Uzbekneftegaz has denied reports that households across the country are facing a shortage of gas supplies, local media reported. People living in rural areas of Uzbekistan have previously talked of gas shortages to a Conway Bulletin correspondent.

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(News report from Issue No. 157, published on Oct. 23 2013)

Uzbek president’s daughter responds to criticism

OCT. 17 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Gulnara Karimova, eldest daughter of Uzbek President Islam Karimov, responded to criticism from her sister by accusing her of embezzling cash and having links with sorcerers, media reported. Lola Karimova-Tillayeva had told the BBC in an interview last month that Gulnara had little chance of ever becoming Uzbek president.

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(News report from Issue No. 157, published on Oct. 23 2013)

Uzbek police arrests president’s cousin

OCT. 17 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbek media have reported that police have arrested Akbarali Abdullayev, a nephew of Uzbek president Islam Karimov. Analysts had talked of Mr Abdullayev as a potential successor to Mr Karimov and his arrest may indicate that a power struggle is ongoing. Reports did not specify why police arrested Mr Abdullayev.

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(News report from Issue No. 157, published on Oct. 23 2013)

Uzbek president visits Latvia

OCT. 16 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbek President Islam Karimov made his first state visit to the EU in nearly three years when he landed in Riga on Oct. 16.

Mr Karimov was officially in the Latvian capital to discuss bilateral relations and trade with Latvia’s president, Andris Berzins, as well as the withdrawal from Afghanistan of NATO forces. Latvia is a member of NATO and has supplied the US-led military alliance in Afghanistan with soldiers.

For Mr Karimov, though, there were other important reasons to visit Latvia. Until relatively recently, the EU had considered Uzbekistan a pariah state for various human rights abuses. European leaders are still wary of hosting Mr Karimov and he hadn’t been on a state visit to the EU since flying to Brussels in January 2011 to meet the EU and NATO chiefs.

An invitation to visit Latvia, an EU member since 2004, therefore carries more significance than it might normally. The publicity of a state visit to an EU member country would play well in the Uzbek press and television networks.

Latvia also takes over the EU presidency in 2015, so courting it now may be a clever strategy for Mr Karimov.

And then, of course, there is the small matter of a corruption investigation involving Sweden-based mobile operator TeliaSonera and payments allegedly made to Gulnara Karimova, Mr Karimov’s daughter, for a 3G licence in Uzbekistan in 2007. Investigators are looking into the role that a Latvian bank may have played in these alleged deals.

A useful trip to Latvia, then, for Mr Karimov.

(News report from Issue No. 157, published on Oct. 23 2013)

Uzbekistan investigates VimpelCom

OCT. 15 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — The authorities in Uzbekistan have started an investigation into alleged tax irregularities at Unitel, a local subsidiary of Russian telecoms operator VimpelCom, the company reported. Last year VimpelCom’s Russian rival MTS, quit operations in Uzbekistan after a similar audit was carried out.

(News report from Issue No. 156, published on Oct. 16 2013)

Tajik military train derails in Uzbekistan

OCT. 11 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — A train carrying 200 Tajik soldiers through Uzbekistan derailed, injuring dozens, media reported. The train had to pass through a sliver of Uzbek territory en route from Dushanbe to northern Tajikistan. Tajikistan blamed the Uzbek authorities for the accident, raising tension between the two neighbours.

(News report from Issue No. 156, published on Oct. 16 2013)