Jan 2009
Austria hears witnesses in Kazakh kidnapping case
29.01.2009. Category:Kazakhstan
An Austrian court began hearing witnesses Tuesday in a kidnapping case involving Rakhat Aliyev, the former son-in-law of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, a group representing the victims said.More ...
Uzbek group linked to video terror threat against Germany
29.01.2009. Category:Uzbekistan
Referring to Germany's involvement in international coalition operations in Afghanistan, six masked men claiming to be members of the Islamic Jihad Union in a video posted on the Internet say the group has prepared a "few surprise gifts for the occupation forces."More ...
Kazakhstan's media law amendments valuable first step, further reform needed, says OSCE media freedom representative
29.01.2009. Category:Kazakhstan
The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Miklos Haraszti, welcomed today the adoption of a number of amendments to Kazakhstan's media law, and underscored the need for further democratization of media governance. More ...
European Parliament: Iran should participate in Nabucco pipeline
29.01.2009. Category:Central Asia
Iran could hold the key to breaking the European Union’s energy dependence on Russia, a senior European parliamentary official has told EurasiaNet.More ...
EU-Central Asia-Russia: The inept Gas triangle continues
29.01.2009. Category:Central Asia
It was just last week that I put in a blog piece that the EU’s chances of diversifying their gas supplies were extremely poor.
More ...Results of the Nabucco Conference in Budapest
29.01.2009. Category:Central Asia
There was an air of optimism following a one-day Nabucco international natural-gas pipeline conference in Budapest.More ...
Austrian justice investigates accusations against Aliyev again (in Russian)
29.01.2009. Category:Kazakhstan
В Австрии органы юстиции и СМИ снова обнаружили интерес к так называемому делу Р. Алиева
По прошествии полутора лет после того, как венский суд принял решение не экстрадировать в Казахстан бывшего посла республики в Вене, бывшего заместителя председателя КНБ и, что немаловажно, бывшего зятя президента Н. Назарбаева, прокурор земельного суда Вены во вторник заслушал свидетельницу из Казахстана А. Капашеву.More ...
По прошествии полутора лет после того, как венский суд принял решение не экстрадировать в Казахстан бывшего посла республики в Вене, бывшего заместителя председателя КНБ и, что немаловажно, бывшего зятя президента Н. Назарбаева, прокурор земельного суда Вены во вторник заслушал свидетельницу из Казахстана А. Капашеву.More ...
First 2009 edition of ETG Central Asia News Digest released
25.01.2009. Category:Central Asia | Turkmenistan
The first edition of ETG’s Central Asia News Digest 2009 is available. This time we focus on Turkmenistan, discussing the health system, the energy supply in Turkmenistan, the influence of the financial global crisis on the country, reasons for Berdymukhamedov’s decision to fire members of the cabinet and the negotiations with NATO on security and further cooperation.
Again, this report is available in Russian and can be ordered.
Again, this report is available in Russian and can be ordered.
Justice Department in Austria: Aliyev case on the run again
24.01.2009. Category:Kazakhstan
After ETG’s press release in December 2008, the Austrian officials now got the order from the Government to the case against R. Aliyev, former Deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan, Ambassador and, last but not least, son-in-law of the Kazakh President. Follow-up the article by „Der Standard“ here, ETG will publish an unofficial translation later.
More ...Kazakhstan’s Peacekeepers Penciled in for Afghanistan?
23.01.2009. Category:Kazakhstan
On January 14 Commander of United States Central Command (CENTCOM) General David Petraeus, visited Kazakhstan. Among the key senior Kazakh military officers he met with was Lieutenant-General Bolat Sembinov, the deputy defense minister responsible for cooperation with the West. Ostensibly they discussed progress in implementing the new five-year bilateral military cooperation program agreed on in February 2008. General Petraeus was especially interested in bolstering stability in Afghanistan.
More ...Karimov quells Russian gas fears, secures deal
23.01.2009. Category:Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan has pledged to support a new trans-Russian gas pipeline, easing Moscow's fears it would succumb to European pressure to bypass Russia with its energy supplies and reduce its influence in the region.More ...
Jailed activist remains out of contact with wife and lawyer
23.01.2009. Category:Uzbekistan
Mutabar Turgunova told RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service that her husband, Azam, a well-known human rights activist who is serving a 10-year sentence, has had no contact with his lawyer or with her since December.
A vocal human rights activist for more than a decade, Turgunov has defended the rights of political and religious prisoners and protested against the use of torture in Uzbekistan's prisons.
He once told Human Rights Watch that "if everybody stays silent, the situation would get even worse."
In October, he was tried and convicted on charges of extortion.
But since the case was reviewed last month, "neither I nor his lawyer know where he is," Turgunova said.More ...
A vocal human rights activist for more than a decade, Turgunov has defended the rights of political and religious prisoners and protested against the use of torture in Uzbekistan's prisons.
He once told Human Rights Watch that "if everybody stays silent, the situation would get even worse."
In October, he was tried and convicted on charges of extortion.
But since the case was reviewed last month, "neither I nor his lawyer know where he is," Turgunova said.More ...
EU to expand contacts
23.01.2009. Category:Turkmenistan
The European Union is to expand relations with Turkmenistan by opening a diplomatic mission in Ashgabat, a source in the Turkmen government has told Trend.az. According to the Azeri news agency, the aim is to "extend mutually beneficial cooperation" between energy rich Turkmenistan and Brussels.More ...
Turkmenistan's 'gray cardinal' leaves government
23.01.2009. Category:Turkmenistan
With the resignation this week of a cabinet minister widely regarded as the "gray cardinal" behind its current president, Turkmenistan has lost the last of the old guard installed by the late strongman Sapamurat Niyazov. More ...
Medvedev visits as Uzbekistan looks West...again
23.01.2009. Category:Uzbekistan
Dmitry Medvedev is expected to stress bilateral cooperation as he makes his first state visit to Uzbekistan since becoming Russia's president in May. More ...
Incompetent officials hinder Turkmen reforms
23.01.2009. Category:Turkmenistan
Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdymuhammedov is engaged in a major reshuffle of his top officials, although NBCentralAsia analysts question whether simply bringing in new faces will be enough to make government more efficient.
More ...Students prohibited to approach the US Embassy in Tashkent
23.01.2009. Category:Uzbekistan
Ferghana.Ru sources in Tashkent say that administration of colleges and universities demand written reports from their students on every visit to the US Embassy.
More ...Russia on Nabucco
23.01.2009. Category:Central Asia
Russia will not oppose the construction of the Nabucco pipeline and is keen to see it become a success, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced Tuesday.More ...
The EU’s got a gas problem
23.01.2009. Category:Central Asia
So it appears that Ukraine and Russia have finally come to terms on a Gas Transportation deal that will allow the former Soviet state to receive gas and send it on to Western Europe. This is just the latest in a long line of dramas involving the transport and ownership of energy reserves between the triangle of Russia, Central Asia, and the EU. For Russia must first acquire most of the gas it sells to Europe from its former Soviet states to its south, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
More ...US and Central Asia during the "Obama Era"; Interview Deutsche Welle (in Russian)
21.01.2009. Category:Central Asia
"В фокусе будет находиться Афганистан, а права человека и дальнейшая демократизация в Центральной Азии не будут столь важны"- считает немецкий экспертMore ...
US Embassy in Turkmenistan: Improving relations
20.01.2009. Category:Turkmenistan
The U.S. Embassy in Ashgabat says bilateral relations have improved since Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov came to power in late 2006. More ...
Rumsfeld and Central Asia
20.01.2009. Category:Central Asia
Eurasianet writer Joshua Kucera reported on an interesting story involving former US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s new foundation, which focuses on the Central Asian region. Kucera starts out skeptical of Rumsfeld and his foundation’s motivations at first, neoconservative policy pushers?, but his research seems to lead him to conclude that their goals are of a non-partisan and generous nature.
More ...Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan as a Ministry of Propaganda
20.01.2009. Category:Uzbekistan
On January 15 2009 Embassy of Uzbekistan to the United States released a press release on the consideration of Uzbekistan’s National Report within the framework of Universal Periodic Report of UN Human Rights Council.
More ...Interview with Nabucco official
20.01.2009. Category:Central Asia
The ongoing dispute between Russia and Ukraine over natural-gas shipments to Europe has left the European Union cold -- and eager to re-examine its options for fuel supplies. One alternative is the Nabucco pipeline, which would ship Central Asian gas directly to Europe and circumvent Russia and other troublesome countries altogether. But the EU has yet to put its weight fully behind the Nabucco project, which is still years away from completion.More ...
Petraeus visits Turkmenistan
16.01.2009. Category:Turkmenistan
U.S. Central Command chief Gen. David Petraeus on Jan. 15 arrived in Turkmenistan to seek cooperation in improving security in Afghanistan, The Associated Press reported. Petraeus will meet with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimukhammedov on Jan. 16. His trip is part of a tour of Central Asian countries aimed at getting assistance for U.S. efforts to secure supply lines for troops in Afghanistan.
Top US General courts Astana's participation in Afghan resupply initiative
15.01.2009. Category:Kazakhstan
The head of the US Central Command, Gen. David Petraeus, is touring Central Asian states amid frenzied speculation that Kyrgyz leaders are considering closing an American air base outside of Bishkek in return for $2 billion in assistance from Russia.More ...
If Obama and Khamenei want to get along, they should start watching TV
15.01.2009. Category:Tajikistan
At five minutes to five yesterday afternoon, Tehran time, Iranian television viewers finally got the channel they have been asking for. It delivered both national and international news in a snappy, professional style. The first item was about Gaza. The channel also reported the results of a specially commissioned opinion poll which suggests that 94% of Iranians believe their country is entitled to develop civil nuclear power but only 50% are comfortable with the idea of the Islamic Republic having nuclear weapons. Then there was an interactive programme called Your Turn, with people from inside and outside the country ringing and texting in to discuss Iranians' perceptions of themselves and the world's view of Iran.More ...
Death threats against journalist continue
14.01.2009. Category:Turkmenistan
Journalist Osman Hallyev continues to receive death threats as pressure on him and his family members continues because of his work for RFE/RL's Turkmen Service.More ...
Freedom House: Human Rights Erosion in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan continued in 2008
14.01.2009. Category:Tajikistan | Turkmenistan | Kyrgyzstan | Kazakhstan | Uzbekistan | Central Asia
According to US-based Freedom House recent Freedom In The World 2009 (FITW) annual report, based on analysis of the events from January 1 to December 31 of 2009, none of Central Asia states had positively changed the situation with human right.
More ...US seeking Afghan supply route via Kazakhstan
14.01.2009. Category:Kazakhstan
ALMATY (Reuters) -- The United States is talking to Kazakhstan about using the former Soviet republic as a transit point for supplies to NATO troops in Afghanistan, U.S. Central Command chief General David Petraeus has said.More ...
HRW calls on the new US President to reverse the damage of the Bush years
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has used its annual report to urge the incoming Obama administration to make the protection and defense of human rights the central tenant of its policy decisions on foreign and national affairs.More ...
Web 2.0 used by Kazakh PM
14.01.2009. Category:Kazakhstan
The Prime Minister of Kazakhstan K. Masimov is probably the first PM of Central Asia who announced an interactive blogging page. Citizens should be able to post comments in Russian or Kazakh language and getting in dialogue with the PM. It was also said that Masimov asked all Cabinet ministers to starting blogging.
New Central Asia Facebook Group
14.01.2009. Category:Central Asia
Turkmen leader to keep lid on democracy
14.01.2009. Category:Turkmenistan
The first session of Turkmenistan’s new parliament suggests that President Gurbanguly Berdymuhammedov plans to maintain tight control over the institution, commentators interviewed by IWPR.
More ...The struggle for a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia
13.01.2009. Category:Central Asia
When Kazakhstan's Parliament ratified a treaty establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia earlier this month, the effort to ban nuclear weapons from the region took its final step. Throughout the Cold War, Central Asia had been the epicenter of the Soviet nuclear testing program--with the Soviet military conducting 456 nuclear tests in Kazakhstan alone. Appropriately then, the treaty was signed by representatives from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan in September 2006 at Semipalatinsk, the main Soviet test site in Kazakhstan.More ...
Nabucco Pipeline may be operating by 2015, EU says
13.01.2009. Category:Central Asia
The Nabucco pipeline could be pumping gas to Europe by 2015, the Czech Deputy Prime Minister of European Affairs has claimed.More ...
Nabucco Pipeline's competitors (in German)
09.01.2009. Category:Central Asia
Der russisch-ukrainische Gasstreit hat die Diskussion über Alternativen für Europas Gasversorgung neu in Gang gebracht. Nicht nur die europäischen Abnehmerländer stehen vor der Frage, wie sie eine Diversifizierung ihrer Versorgung erreichen können. Auch Russland sucht neue Exportrouten, um von Transitländern wie der Ukraine unabhängiger zu werden. Die Strategen des Staatsmonopolisten Gazprom versuchen das auf zwei Wegen: Nord Stream, die geplante Ostsee-Pipeline, soll Erdgas vom russischen Wyborg durch die Ostsee direkt ins deutsche Lubmin bei Greifswald führen. Das Projekt, an dem auch die deutschen Unternehmen BASF/Wintershall und Eon sowie die niederländische Gasunie beteiligt sind, stößt jedoch auf Widerstände bei den baltischen und skandinavischen Anrainern, die mit den Genehmigungen zögern.More ...
Is Ashkhabad's interest in Nabucco rising?
09.01.2009. Category:Turkmenistan
The head of Germany’s second largest electricity and gas company, RWE AG, hailed Turkmenistan’s "promising" market and expressed a readiness for "constructive interaction in the energy sphere" during a visit to Ashgabat, news agencies report. This visit is raising speculation about Turkmen intentions to participate in the long-planned trans-Caspian and Nabucco pipeline projects.More ...
Former Soviet States weigh Israel ties vs. popular anger
09.01.2009. Category:Central Asia
In Azerbaijan, Islamic activists have rallied several times since the beginning of the year against Israel's military operations in Gaza. More ...
Niyazov's image disappears from bank notes
09.01.2009. Category:Turkmenistan
The minimum wage and state pensions in Turkmenistan have increased by 10 percent as of January 1.More ...
Ashkhabad turns off the switch to Tajikistan
09.01.2009. Category:Turkmenistan | Tajikistan
Turkmenistan has suspended electricity exports to Tajikistan because Dushanbe has failed to sign a transit agreement with Uzbekistan that would see Tashkent levy a 10 percent transit fee on its impoverished neighbor.More ...
Authorities intimidate journalist
07.01.2009. Category:Turkmenistan
A correspondent for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty working in Turkmenistan has been warned that he will face retribution, if he continues reporting for the broadcaster’s Turkmen service.More ...
Central Asia's era of cheap gas comes to a close
07.01.2009. Category:Central Asia
Starting on January 1, Uzbekistan increased the gas price it charges neighboring Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan for natural gas to $240 per 1,000 cubic meters, saying last year's price of $145 was far below real market prices.More ...
Ashkhabad reveals that gas won't start flowing to China in 2009
07.01.2009. Category:Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan has postponed start date for exporting natural gas to China. At the same time, Ashgabat reported that work on a 7,000-kilometer transnational pipeline was proceeding at "full speed."More ...