11 June to 17 June 2010

Azerbaijan


Political Front

• Flooded Azerbaijani Villagers Want Dam Dismantled

BAKU -- Residents of villages in central Azerbaijan still flooded from last month's heavy rains are seeking greater help from the government to lower the water level, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports.

Geo strategic Front

• British Group To Expand Nagorno-Karabakh Demining

STEPANAKERT, Nagorno-Karabakh -- A British humanitarian organization says it has cleared land mines and unexploded ordnance from the bulk of Nagorno-Karabakh's war-affected territory and will soon begin demining Armenian-controlled areas outside the disputed region, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports.

• U.S. Reaches Out To Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (right) meets with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Baku on June 6.

• OSCE to monitor line of contact between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops

The OSCE will monitor the line of contact between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops.

According to the mandate of the Personal Representative of the OSCE chairman-in-office, the contact line between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops near the village of Ashagi Buzgov in Babek region of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan will be monitored on June 16, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported.

• Azerbaijani defense minister meets NATO chief special envoy in Baku

The Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev discussed cooperation with the NATO Secretary General's special representative Robert Simmons, according to the Defense Ministry. The meeting between Abiyev and Simmons revolved around military and political situation in the region and, in particular, the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

• Azerbaijani and Russian border guards conduct joint exercises in the Caspian Sea

Azerbaijani and Russian border guards have conducted joint exercises in the Caspian Sea.

The forces, participating in joint operational-tactical exercises "Identifying and preventing terrorist activities and smuggler, illegal drug trafficking, illegal immigration and other illegal activities in the Caspian Sea basin, the protection of biological resources, assistance to the wrecked ships and rescue of people", have demonstrated high combat effectiveness and fully accomplished their mission, the Azerbaijani State Border Service said.

Economic/Energy Front

• Ukraine set to buy Azerbaijani natural gas

Ukraine plans to purchase nearly 5 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas.

Ukraine’s Fuel and Energy Minister Yuri Boyko says Ukrainian officials have held talks with Azerbaijani counterparts, who build a liquefied natural gas terminal in Kula in Georgia together with Romania and Bulgaria, according to RBK.

• Azerbaijan, China discuss prospects for cooperation

The Azerbaijani Parliament Speaker met with visiting member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China, Secretary of the Parliament's Central Commission on disciplinary affairs Hee Gotsian.

Social Front



Kazakhstan

Political Front

• Kazakh President's Son-In-Law Wins Court Case

ALMATY -- An Almaty court has ruled that accusations of embezzlement against a son-in-law of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev are untrue, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports.

• Kazakh State Media Publishes Law Proclaiming Nazarbaev 'Leader Of The Nation'

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev has not signed the law, but has not formally vetoed it.

ASTANA -- Kazakhstan's state media outlets today printed the text of a law giving President Nursultan Nazarbaev special powers for life, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports.

According to the law, Nazarbaev receives the status of "leader of the nation." As such, he cannot be prosecuted for any crimes, and his property and that of members of his family cannot be confiscated.

Geo strategic Front

• Moscow and Astana plan to sign agreements on cooperation in space and nuclear energy

Tashkent. June 11. Interfax-Kazakhstan – Russia and Kazakhstan plan to sign agreements on cooperation in space and nuclear energy during the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC ) summit in Astana in July, said the Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev at a meeting with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev.

Economic/Energy Front

• Iran and Kazakhstan open direct air flight

Astana. June 14. Interfax-Kazakhstan - Kazakhstan and Iran launched a direct scheduled flight to link two capitals Tehran and Almaty, Minister of Transport and Communications told Interfax-Kazakhstan on Saturday.

• Kazakh uranium drive sheds Soviet nuclear legacy

(Reuters) - Cameco Corp is now among the leading foreign investors in Kazakhstan’s fast-growing uranium sector.

Kazakh uranium drive sheds Soviet nuclear legacy

TAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (Reuters) - With a twist of his wrist, Jerry Grandey prised open a 400 kg drum of yellowcake to mark the official launch of Kazakhstan's latest uranium mine.

• Kazakhstan, China Sign Gas, Nuclear Energy Deals

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Chinese President Hu Jintao, and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at a summit in Tashkent.

ASTANA (Reuters) -- China and Kazakhstan have agreed to build and finance a gas pipeline and deepen atomic energy ties, extending Beijing's influence in a region where it has used its financial might to access natural resources.

Social Front

• Residents Flee Floods In Southern Kazakhstan

A Kazakh man lives in makeshift housing after fleeing floods earlier this spring.

SARYAGHASH, Kazakhstan -- At least 56 houses have been damaged by floods in the village of Zhylga near the town of Saryaghash in South Kazakhstan Oblast, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. Some 300 local residents have fled their homes, fearing that more houses might be affected by the floods.

Kyrgyzstan

Political Front

• Breaking Kyrgyzstan's Cycle Of Violence

An ethnic Uzbek man walks through the ruins of his house, which was destroyed during ethnic clashes in Osh, on June 17.

It has been a few days now that the Kyrgyz interim government has been trying to restore order in the southern region of the impoverished republic of Kyrgyzstan, where hundreds died and as many as 200,000 refugees fled to the border with Uzbekistan following clashes between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz.

• Ex-Kyrgyz Leader Denies Role In Unrest

MINSK (Reuters) -- Exiled former Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiev has denied any involvement in a wave of ethnic violence in the south of Kyrgyzstan that has killed at least 84 people.

• Kyrgyzstan Mobilizes Troops As Violence Spreads In Southern Cities

Kyrgyzstan's interim authorities have mobilized army reserves and authorized troops to shoot to kill in the southern cities of Jalal-Abad and Osh, where at least 79 people have died in three days of violence.

• Situation Remains Tense In Kyrgyzstan's South As Death Toll Reaches 124

Kyrgyz health officials now say at least 124 people have been killed and some 1,600 wounded in riots and ethnic clashes that began in southern areas four days ago.

It's the worst violence to hit the country in two decades. Tens of thousands of ethnic Uzbeks from Osh and Jalal-Abad provinces are reported to have fled across the border into Uzbekistan to escape attacks by Kyrgyz gangs, who have been accused of killings and setting fire to Uzbek-operated properties.

• Ferghana Valley: A Tinderbox For Violence

The violence in Osh has once again put the focus on the Ferghana Valley as one of the potentially most explosive regions of the former Soviet Union. What makes it that way?

The home of cities like Osh and Andijon, the Ferghana Valley is the most densely populated area of Central Asia and the most explosive.

• Ex-Russian Foreign Minister Says CSTO Should Intervene In Kyrgyzstan

MOSCOW -- Former Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov says a regional security organization should send peacekeeping troops to intervene in the ethnic conflict in Kyrgyzstan, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports.

• Bakiev's Son Being Held In Britain, Kyrgyz Officials Say

The son of toppled Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev has been arrested in Britain on an Interpol warrant.

Geo strategic Front

• UN Urges Kyrgyz Government To Act Decisively Amid Turmoil

The United Nations has urged Kyrgyzstan to take “swift and decisive action” to end indiscriminate ethnic killing and to protect people in the southern part of the country near the border with Uzbekistan.

• Pakistani Students Flee Osh; Turkmen Await Assistance

Pakistani students rescued from Osh arrive in Pakistan on June 15.

A Pakistani air force plane has brought some 130 Pakistani nationals back to their home country from the embattled Kyrgyz city of Osh, while some 350 Turkmen university students are waiting for assistance in leaving the city.

• Belarus Refuses To Extradite Former Kyrgyz President

BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz officials say Belarus has officially refused to extradite former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev to Kyrgyzstan, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports.

Azimbek Beknazarov, a deputy chairman of Kyrgyzstan's interim government, told RFE/RL that Belarusian officials explained their refusal on the grounds that Bishkek's official extradition request was "politically motivated."

• Dushanbe Rejects Reports Tajiks Involved In Kyrgyz Unrest

DUSHANBE -- The Tajik Foreign Ministry is rejecting allegations that people from Tajikistan have been involved in the ethnic unrest in Kyrgyzstan, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports.

• EU Expresses 'Great Concerns' Over Kyrgyz Violence, Pledges Aid

BRUSSELS -- Although not initially on the agenda of the EU foreign ministers' meeting, the situation in Kyrgyzstan forced its way to the top of the bloc's current list of concerns.

Speaking after the meeting on June 14, the EU's high representative for foreign policy, Catherine Ashton, said the bloc is watching events in Kyrgyzstan with "great concerns."

• Sphere Of Reluctance: Russia Hesitant About Kyrgyz Intervention

A billboard in southern Kyrgyzstan, where the ethnic violence has killed at least 170 people and injured many hundreds more, shows Russian President Dmitry Medvedev with the now-deposed Kyrgyz leader Kurmanbek Bakiev in April 2010.

Be careful what you wish for.

• Russian-Led Security Group Says No Peacekeepers For Kyrgyzstan

Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) says it will not deploy peacekeepers to Kyrgyzstan but may send security "specialists."

CSTO Secretary-General Nikolai Bordyuzha provided no further details about what he called security "specialists" but suggested they could be used to track down those behind the five days of clashes between majority Kyrgyz and ethnic Uzbeks that has killed a confirmed 191 people and injured many hundreds of others.

• Tajikistan Asks Kyrgyz Officials To Explain 'Tajik Involvement' In Unrest

DUSHANBE -- Tajikistan's National Security Committee has sent a letter to the Kyrgyz interim government asking it to explain media reports that say Tajik citizens are involved in the violence in southern Kyrgyzstan, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports.

Tajikistan's parliament tasked the country's National Security Committee with sending the letter.

Economic/Energy Front



Social Front

• Pakistani Student Killed In Kyrgyzstan

Pakistani officials say that one of their country's citizens, a student, has reportedly been killed and 15 others taken hostage in Kyrgyzstan's volatile south.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said today authorities are working to confirm the reports.

• Premier English Soccer Club Denies Links To Maksim Bakiev

On mentioning the name of Maksim Bakiev, the former Kyrgyz president's wayward son, it's often mentioned that he's a part owner of Blackpool Football Club (FC), a small seaside team that this year was promoted to the top flight of English soccer, the Premier League. After lurking in the lower divisions for the last 40 years, Blackpool have had a meteoric rise of late, climbing four divisions in eight years.

• More Than Half Of Osh Citizens Have Left The City

OSH, Kyrgyzstan -- About 60 percent of the nearly 250,000 citizens of the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh have left the city since ethnic clashes began last week, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports.

• Ethnic Tatars, Bashkirs Want To Leave Osh

OSH, Kyrgyzstan -- Ethnic Tatars and Bashkirs living in the city of Osh in southern Kyrgyzstan are desperate to leave the city, where clashes between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz have left around 190 dead and about 2,000 wounded, RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service reports.

Tajikistan

Political Front



Geo strategic Front

• Tajikistan Asks Kyrgyz Officials To Explain 'Tajik Involvement' In Unrest

DUSHANBE -- Tajikistan's National Security Committee has sent a letter to the Kyrgyz interim government asking it to explain media reports that say Tajik citizens are involved in the violence in southern Kyrgyzstan, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports.

• Emomali Rahmon heads to China

Dushanbe. June 16. “Asia-Plus” -- Tomorrow, June 17, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon will start his three-day working visit to Sinjan-Uigur autonomous district of the People’s Republic of China.

• Rahmon, Medvedev agree to meet in Sochi

Dushanbe. June 14. “Asia-Plus” -- In the course of his official visit to Uzbekistan’s capital of Tashkent Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon met with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev, President’s press service reported.

• Emomali Rahmon heads to China

Dushanbe. June 16. “Asia-Plus” -- Tomorrow, June 17, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon will start his three-day working visit to Sinjan-Uigur autonomous district of the People’s Republic of China.

• Uzbekistan Wants To Close Rail Link To Tajikistan

DUSHANBE -- The Uzbek state railroad company has sent a letter to Tajik authorities notifying them that it wants to close a 44-kilometer stretch of railroad connecting the two countries, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports.

Economic/Energy Front



Social Front

• Tajikistan Sends Humanitarian Aid To Kyrgyzstan

DUSHANBE -- The Tajik government has dispatched an aid caravan to the Kyrgyz city of Jalal-Abad to help people suffering from the ethnic unrest in that southern region, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports.

Turkmenistan

Political Front



Geo strategic Front

• U.S. Official Notes 'Some' Rights Progress In Turkmenistan

ASHGABAT -- A top U.S. official has told RFE/RL's Turkmen Service that Ashgabat has made some progress in human rights but still has a "lot of areas" where improvement is needed.

• Turkmenistan, United States begin bilateral political consultations

The first round of the bilateral Turkmen-American political consultations started in Ashgabat on June 14. The U.S. Government delegation headed by Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake arrived in the Turkmen capital to participate in the consultations. The Turkmen Government delegation is headed by the Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov.

• President of Turkmenistan attends SCO summit in Tashkent

On June 11, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov made a working visit to Tashkent, where on the invitation of the heads of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization he participated in the SCO summit as a guest of honor.

• Turkmen, Chinese leaders hold talks in Tashkent

President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, who arrived in the capital of the Republic of Uzbekistan to attend the summit of the Shanghai Organization of Cooperation (SOC), has met with President Hu Zintao of the People's Republic of China on June 11.

Economic/Energy Front

• First American Business Mission To Turkmenistan Begins



WASHINGTON -- A group of U.S. businessmen was due in Turkmenistan today for the start of the first official American business mission to that Central Asian country, RFE/RL's Central Newsroom reports.

• Ashgabat hosts Turkmen-American Business Forum

Issues relating to development of the mutually beneficial Turkmen-American cooperation were put on the agenda of the fourth joint business forum, which took place at "Parakhat" (Peace) Center in Ashgabat on June 16.

• Turkmenistan and Iran sign agreement for additional gas supplies

On June 16, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov received Minister of Petroleum of the Islamic Republic of Iran Seyed Masoud Mir-Kazemi and Deputy Minister of Petroleum of Iran, Executive Director of the National Iranian Gas Company Jawad Oudzhi.

• President of Turkmenistan receives heads of major U.S. companies

On June 16, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov received in his Ashgabat's "Serdar" residence a number of heads of major American companies participating in the Turkmen-American Business Forum in Ashgabat.

• Turkmenistan discovers new natural gas field - Aigary

The successful testing of a deep exploration well in the perspective structure Aigayry located in Hodzhambaz district of Lebap province was crowned with the discovery of a new gas field, the State News Agency of Turkmenistan (TDH) reports.

Social Front



Uzbekistan

Political Front

• The Demise Of Uzbekistan's Cash Cow Zeromax

It's a complicated game trying to figure out why a country would shut down its largest private-sector employer, whose tentacles reach across a broad spectrum of industries and is a key source of foreign investment and income.

Geo strategic Front

• Iran Threatens Uzbekistan Over Tajik Rail Problems

DUSHANBE -- Iran's state rail company has warned Uzbekistan that it will halt the movement of all Uzbek trains across Iran unless Uzbekistan permits the unrestricted transit of freight bound for Tajikistan, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports.

• Uzbekistan Wants To Close Rail Link To Tajikistan

DUSHANBE -- The Uzbek state railroad company has sent a letter to Tajik authorities notifying them that it wants to close a 44-kilometer stretch of railroad connecting the two countries, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports.

• President of Uzbekistan holds telephone conversation with US State Secretary

President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov held a telephone conversation with US State Secretary Hillary Clinton on 17 June to discuss tragic events in the city of Osh and Jalalabad region of Kyrgyzstan in the recent days.

• President of Uzbekistan holds telephone conversation with UN Secretary General

President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov held a telephone conversation with United Nations Organization Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on 16 June.

During the talk, the leader of Uzbekistan informed the UN head about the concrete data, figures and facts, which give evidence about the unpunished killings, violence, pogroms and arson by organized gangs of bandits towards peaceful citizens, mainly Uzbek population, in the recent days in the south of the Kyrgyz Republic, in Osh city and Jalalabad region.

• President Islam Karimov holds bilateral talks

President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov met at Kuksaroy complex June 11 with President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari, attending the summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Tashkent as head of an observer state.

• Cooperation aimed at bolstering peace and security

In accordance with traditions of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a member state presides at the Organization each year. Following the last year’s summit in Yekaterinburg, Russia, the chairmanship in SCO switched to the Republic of Uzbekistan. Traditionally, the presiding nation arranges for summit of the Organization on its territory.

Economic/Energy Front



Social Front