16 to 22 July 2010

Azerbaijan


Political Front



Geo Strategic Front

• Almaty Meeting Fails To Break Deadlock In Karabakh Talks

Talks on July 16-17 on the sidelines of the OSCE foreign ministers' meeting in Almaty failed to galvanize the apparently deadlocked Karabakh peace process.

• Armenian Opposition Leader Warns Against Karabakh Concessions

YEREVAN -- An Armenian opposition official says any resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that includes an Armenian withdrawal from occupied districts of Azerbaijan would lead to President Serzh Sarkisian's resignation, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports.

• Obama Pick For U.S. Ambassador To Azerbaijan On The Defensive At Senate Hearing

The pick of U.S. President Barack Obama to be the next U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan quickly found himself on the defensive as he appeared before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on July 22.

• U.S. Senate will consider Matthew Bryza's nomination as ambassador to Azerbaijan

The U.S. Senate International Relations Committee will consider the nomination of Matthew Bryza as the U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan, the Senate reported.

Economic /Energy Front

• Azerbaijan, EU to continue trade talks

The trade deal as part of the Azerbaijan-EU association agreement can be signed after the country joins the World Trade Organization, Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Mahmud Mammadguliyev said.

Social Front

• Defendants Testify In Azerbaijan Mass Murder Trial

BAKU -- Baku's Serious Crimes Court has heard testimony from four men accused of abetting Farda Gadirov, the gunman who shot and killed 12 people at Baku's Oil Academy in April 2009, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports.

• Azerbaijan Appeals European Court Ruling On Jailed Journalist

BAKU -- Azerbaijani authorities have appealed the verdict handed down by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) with regard to jailed journalist Eynulla Fatullayev, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports.

Kazakastan

Political Front



Geo Strategic Front

• Almaty Meeting Fails To Break Deadlock In Karabakh Talks

Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian (left) and his Azerbaijani counterpart,

Talks on July 16-17 on the sidelines of the OSCE foreign ministers' meeting in Almaty failed to galvanize the apparently deadlocked Karabakh peace process.

Economic /Energy Front

• Kazakh leader says EU should do more on Nabucco

ASTANA, July 18 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan's leader said on Sunday the European Union was doing too little to bring to life the Nabucco pipeline, which aims to take Caspian Sea gas to Europe and reduce the bloc's independence on Russia. "In Europe there is a lot of talk on Nabucco ... but in reality little gets done," Nursultan Nazarbayev said at a joint news briefing with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the Kazakh capital, adding that his comments were not criticism.

Social Front

• Kyrgyz Officials Accuse Kazakh Website Of Inciting Ethnic Hatred

A Kyrgyz Interior Ministry officer talks to refugees on a street in the town of Osh in mid-June, about a week after the worst of the interethnic violence erupted in southern Kyrgyzstan.

• Kazakh Businessman To Help Independent Weekly Pay Fine

URALSK, Kazakhstan -- A Kazakh businessman says he will give $70,000 to help an independent newspaper in the western city of Uralsk pay a court-ordered fine for libel, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports.

Kyrgyzstan

Political Front

• Osh Mayor Says No International Police Force Needed In Kyrgyzstan

OSH, Kyrgyzstan -- Osh Mayor Melis Myrzakmatov has denied that local law enforcement bodies have abused detainees following the outbreak of interethnic violence last month, and says the majority of the southern Kyrgyz city's citizens oppose the idea of sending an international police force to buttress security.

• Ousted Kyrgyz President's Brother Arrested In Jalal-Abad

Kyrgyz officials say the younger brother of ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiev, Akhmat Bakiev, has been detained in the southern city of Jalal-Abad.

Deputy Interior Minister Melis Turganbaev said that Ahmat Bakiev was arrested during a raid in Jalal-Abad by special forces late on July 21.

• Kyrgyz Defense Minister Resigns To Take Part In Elections

BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz Defense Minister Ismail Isakov has officially resigned in order to be eligible for parliamentary elections scheduled for October, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports.

• Kyrgyz Officials Open Nearly 1,300 Criminal Cases Related To Unrest



Doctors removing stitches from man with gunshot wounds following the ethnic violence in Osh in June.

OSH, Kyrgyzstan -- The Osh city prosecutor says that nearly 1,300 criminal cases have been opened in the southern Kyrgyz city in relation to last month's deadly ethnic unrest, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports.

• Kyrgyz Activists Demand Ousted President, Relatives Be Punished

BISHKEK -- About 50 Kyrgyz activists picketed parliament to demand that former President Kurmanbek Bakiev and members of his family be prosecuted, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports.

Geo Strategic Front

• OSCE Stalls On Police Mission To Kyrgyzstan

The police mission is intended to help restore order after massive clashes in Kyrgyzstan's south last month.

Ministers of OSCE member countries have voiced support for sending an international police mission to Kyrgyzstan following last month's deadly ethnic clashes, but have failed to make solid plans for the deployment.

• OSCE Votes To Deploy International Advisory Police In Southern Kyrgyzstan

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has agreed to "deploy without delay" a police advisory group to southern Kyrgyzstan.

The police advisory group will assist the Central Asian country in reducing interethnic tensions and strengthening the capacities of Kyrgyzstan's regional police forces, according to OSCE spokeswoman Virginie Coulloudon.

Economic /Energy Front



Social Front

• Kyrgyzstan Restores Mandatory Military Duty For Young Men

BISHKEK -- The Kyrgyz government has adopted a decree restoring the mandatory one-year military service for young men, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports.

• Kyrgyz Officials Accuse Kazakh Website Of Inciting Ethnic Hatred

A Kyrgyz Interior Ministry officer talks to refugees on a street in the town of Osh in mid-June, about a week after the worst of the interethnic violence erupted in southern Kyrgyzstan.

Tajikistan

Political Front

• Jailed Tajik General's Brother Sentenced

DUSHANBE -- A brother of Tajikistan's highly influential former presidential-guard commander has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after a closed trial, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports

Geo Strategic Front

• Tajik FM Hopeful Of OSCE Help In Disputes With Uzbekistan

ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi says he is optimistic that meetings with 13 counterparts from other Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) members will help free the movement of people and goods across Central Asia, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports.

Economic /Energy Front



Social Front

• U.S. Blacklists Tajik Cotton Despite Child-Labor Ban

DUSHANBE -- Tajikistan says a prohibition by President Emomali Rahmon on the use of child labor to pick cotton remains in force, but Tajik cotton has still been blacklisted by the United States, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports.

Turkmenistan

Political Front



Geo Strategic Front

• New ambassador of Turkmenistan to Armenia appointed

Ata Serdarov has been appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Turkmenistan to the Republic of Armenia (Yerevan city). President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov signed yesterday a decree to this effect. According to another presidential decree, Ata Serdarov was granted the diplomatic rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.

Economic /Energy Front

• United Nations Regional Centre to host high-level meeting on water resources in Ashgabat

The UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia will host the high-level "Dialogue on Water Resources: Implementing the Decisions of IFAS Summit and the Outcomes of the Visit of the UN Secretary General to Central Asian Countries" in Ashgabat on July 20.

• Representatives of Central Asian countries discuss issues of water management in Ashgabat

A high level dialogue meeting entitled "Implementation of the IFAS Summit Conclusions and Outcomes of the UN Secretary-General's visit to Central Asia" took place in Ashgabat on 20 July 2010. The event was organized by the Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia headquartered in the Turkmen capital.

Social Front



Uzbekistan

Political Front



Geo Strategic Front

• Tajik FM Hopeful Of OSCE Help In Disputes With Uzbekistan

ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi says he is optimistic that meetings with 13 counterparts from other Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) members will help free the movement of people and goods across Central Asia, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports.

Economic /Energy Front



Social Front

• HRW Slams Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan For Impeding Asylum Seekers

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan of preventing ethnic Uzbek refugees from seeking asylum from arrests and alleged torture at the hands of Kyrgyz police.