Low-level Anti-government Protests Increase
Uzbek Report
Ankara, August 1: Rights activists have reported an increase in the number of low-level protests being held in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent. The country has a poor human rights record, and public demonstrations against the government of President Islam Karimov are generally not tolerated. `People are finally showing their dissatisfaction in a public way,` Matilda Bogner, the office director for Human Rights Watch (HRW) in Uzbekistan, told IRIN from Tashkent. Bogner`s comments follow the latest such incident, on Wednesday in front of Uzbekistan`s Cabinet of Ministers building, in which some 20 protestors carrying placards called for Karimov`s resignation. Such demonstrations have been increasingly common since the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development held its annual summit and business forum in Tashkent in May - an event widely criticised by both international and local rights groups.
President Aliyev`s Health Is Normal
Interfax
Ankara, August 1: `There are no serious concerns about President Heydar Aliyev`s health and preparations for his return to Azerbaijan are in progress,` a source close to the Azerbaijani president told Interfax in Ankara. Azerbaijani Ambassador to Turkey Mamed Aliyev told Interfax earlier today President Heydar Aliyev feels well and has spoken to his doctors about how soon he will be able to return home.
Turkmen People`s Council To Make Amendments To Constitution
Turkmenistan.RU
Ashgabat, July 31: The issue of making amendments to the Constitution of Turkmenistan will be considered at the next session of the People`s Council, scheduled for 14-15 August, in the seaside town of Turkmenbashi. President Saparmurat Niyazov stated it at the meeting held on 31 July to discuss the draft agenda of coming People`s Council meeting. According to remarks made by Niyazov the People`s Council will have a greater role in society and be a permanently operating body with 2,600 members, including the President, members of the Cabinet of ministers and Parliament, judges and elected people`s representatives, leaders of parties and public organizations and professional unions. It is expected that a special law on the People`s Council will be adopted and the Constitution will be amended. `Laws and decrees adopted by the People`s Council will be unshakable, Niyazov said. Only the People`s Council will have the right to change them.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev Had A Number Workign Meetings With Top Officials Of The State
Central Asia Daily
Astana, July 31: The further development of agricultural sector, increase of level of social protection of pensioners and Astana construction was discussed at the working meeting between the President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Prime Minister Danial Akhmetov. Kabar reports that prime Minister reported about the results of 6 months work and about the state of country`s economy. They spoke about the re-configuration of the railway, liberalizations speed of telecommunications systems and about stages of founding retail market of electric energy.
Turkmenistan Is Building The Largest Mosque In Central Asia
Central Asia Daily
Ashgabat, July 31: Turkmenistan is building a grand mosque in Kypchak, the ancestral village of President Niyazov. With enough space for 7000 male and 3000 female worshippers, it will be the biggest mosque of the Central Asia, Kabar reports. The 3-storey building will have a 55 meters high dome and 87.5 meters high towers. The underground parking will be large enough for 100 buses and 400 cars. White marble is being used throughout the construction of the building. French construction company Bouygyes is executing the project. Total cost of the mosque complex is said to be US $ 100 million. The project will be completed in 2004.
Twelfth Session Of Uzbek Parliament To Open On 29 August
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, July 30: The 12th session of the Oliy Majlis (Uzbek Parliament) of second convocation will convene on 29 August 2003 in Tashkent. The deputies will consider a number of issues, including: 1. Performance of the State budget of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the first half of 2003. 2. The Bill `On elections in Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan` (new edition) (second reading). 3. The Bill `On making changes and additions in the Law `On elections in regional, district and city Councils of national deputies`. 4. The Bill `On Regulations of the Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan`. 5. The Bill `On Regulations of the Senate of Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan`. 6. The Bill `On the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan` (new edition). 7. The Bill `On public funds` (second reading). 8. The Bill `On private enterprise` (first reading). 9. The Bill `On bank secrecy` (second reading). 10. The Bill `On protective measures, anti-damping and compensational duties` (first reading). 11. The Bill `On informatisation` (first reading). 12. The Bill `On electronic digital signature` (first reading). 13. Making changes and additions in some legislative acts of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Along with these issues, the Oliy Majlis will consider other questions within its competence.
Kyrgyz Opposition Party Says Government Has Ordered Leader`s Arrest
Radio Free Europe
Bishkek, July 30: The opposition Ar-Namys Party has issued a statement asserting that the Kyrgyz government has ordered the arrest of its acting leader, Emil Aliev, because he criticized the authorities and President Akaev personally at a government-organized roundtable on 19 July (see `RFE/RL Newsline,` 21 July 2003), akipress.org reported on 30 July. Reportedly Aliev was the only roundtable participant to be so outspoken. He is serving as Ar-Namys leader while party chairman Feliks Kulov remains in prison on charges of abuse of government office.
First Cracks Appear In Azerbaijan`s Ruling Party
Radio Free Europe
Political, July 29: Addressing a 28 July meeting of the ruling Yeni Azerbaycan Party (YAP), parliament deputy Musa Musaev claimed that many of his fellow deputies elected on the YAP ticket, together with an unspecified number of ministers and other senior officials, are betraying the party by conducting clandestine talks with opposition party representatives and forging contingency plans for the transition of power that will follow President Aliev`s anticipated demise, zerkalo.az reported on 29 July. Musaev did not name any of the individuals in question. The online newspaper also quoted parliament deputy Igbal Alizade of the opposition Umid party as confirming that he has contacts with some YAP members, whom he described as `people who once trusted Heidar Aliev, but are categorically against entrusting the destiny of Azerbaijan to his entourage.
Aliyev To Return To Azerbaijan Shortly - Son
Interfax
Baku, July 28: Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev`s son, who is first vice president of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), has stated that his father will return to Baku within the next few days. `The president will return home within the next few days. His condition is good and he feels well. I returned from Ankara a few days ago. We keep in touch with him and he is in control of all affairs,` Aliyev told journalists on Monday.
International Journalists` Group Calls For Greater Information Access For Tajik Media
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, July 28: A delegation from the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on the Tajik authorities to create a better environment for the media in Tajikistan, Asia-Plus Blitz and Deutsche Welle reported on 28 July. The delegation spent three days in the country assessing media conditions. After meetings with government officials and journalists, they called for the Tajik media to have greater access to information, and for more democratization and economic development.
Uzbek Journalist Concerned Over Tashkent Court Case
Radio Free Europe
Tashkent, July 27: Uzbek journalists are concerned about the lack of objectivity being shown by the judge in a civil case against the Tashkent newspaper `Zerkalo` and its owners for having allegedly defamed a judge, the Moscow Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations reported on 27 July. The plaintiff asserts that an article that appeared in `Zerkalo` in March damaged her professional reputation and is demanding 10 million sums (about $10,270) in compensation. The article in question, which stated that the judge had improperly released a defendant, was based on information provided by a prosecutor.
Tajik Islamic Party Leader Visits Badakhshan
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, July 27: Said Abdullo Nuri, head of the Islamic Renaissance Party (IRP), visited the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast for the first time since the end of the Tajik civil war in 1997, the Varorud news agency reported on 27 July. Nuri was quoted as telling a press conference in the Badakhshani administrative center Khorog that his visit was intended to help strengthen national unity. He was quoted as saying the IRP is the third-largest party in Gorno-Badakhshan, after the Popular Democratic Party of President Rakhmonov and the Communist Party. Therefore, it is one of the most important political forces in the Pamir region, he said.
2,500 Mobilisation Reserve Servicemen Take Military Oath
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, July 31: The first 2,500 men that have served in mobilisation-conscript reserve took the military oath in Uzbekistan. The Law `On service in reserve of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Uzbekistan` was adopted on 25 April 2003 at the 11th session of Oliy Majlis (Uzbek Parliament), Akhborot reported.
Tajikistan Destroys Own Land Mines
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, July 30: In keeping with its commitments under the Ottawa Convention on Anti-Personnel Mines, Tajikistan has begun destroying its stocks of land mines, Asia-Plus Blitz and centran.ru reported on 30 July. The first stage, involving 400 antipersonnel mines and other explosive devices, was carried out on 29 July at a military base outside Dushanbe in the presence of government officials, members of the diplomatic corps, representatives of international organizations, and foreign military observers. The Tajik Defense Ministry was quoted as saying that it has more than 30,000 land mines in its stores that should be destroyed, but that the country lacks the funds to get rid of all of them.
Armenia To Sell Stake In Razdanmash Defense Plant
Interfax
Yerevan, July 30: The government of Armenia has decided to sell its 70.35 per cent stake in Razdanmash, a producer of aviation instrumentation for the defense industry, for 90 million dram, David Vardanian, the head of state property management, told Interfax. The stake is being sold to OOO Nepheline syenit complex production, he said. Under the terms of the privatization, the buyer will invest $12 million over two years to set up production of nephelenic syenite for the chemicals industry. Production on the new line is targeted at $7.3 million in the first year following the sale, and $32 million in the second year. All output will be exported, Vardanian said.
Kazakhstan To Have Navy In 10 Years
Radio Free Europe
Astana, July 29: Rear Admiral Ratmir Komratov, head of Kazakhstan`s West regional command, which encompasses the country`s share of the Caspian Sea, has said he expects Kazakhstan`s Navy to be functional in 10 years if adequate funding is available, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported on 29 July, quoting an interview with Komratov that appeared in the Kazakh supplement to `Izvestiya` the same day. The Kazakh Navy has been tasked with protecting the country`s Caspian oil fields and preventing terrorism and extremism on Kazakhstan`s sea frontier. Komratov was quoted as saying the navy will need at least 50 vessels to do its job, but he was critical of the quality of the ships being turned out by Kazakh firms.
US Military Medical Men Train Representatives Of Force Structures Of Kyrgyzstan
Kabar Agency
Bishkek, July 29: US military medical men train representatives of force structures of Kyrgyzstan on life-saving in military operations. The exercise holds at the Bishkek High Military College with participation of sanitary instructors of Defense Ministry, National Guards, Ministry of Ecology and Extreme Situations, Frontier Service of Kyrgyzstan. 60 representatives of force structures of Kyrgyzstan are training. The exercise conducts in the frame of military contact plans between the Kyrgyz Defense Ministry and US Central Command. The exercises will last till August 1, 2003. It is expected that such training will be held annually. The Americans will hand over brochures to the Kyrgyz armed Forces on rendering first-aid in the battle.
Mine Action Centre Launched
Central Asia Daily
Dushanbe, July 29: A centre for mine action opened in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, last week with the ultimate goal of clearing the estimated 16,000 mines thought to remain scattered throughout the republic. `Some parts of the republic still need to be cleared from mines left as a legacy of the civil war,` Jonmahmad Rajabov, the head of the new Tajik Mine Action Centre (TMAC), told IRIN in Dushanbe. Tajik authorities simply did not have the resources for such a comprehensive mine-clearance operation, so the government had applied to the international community for assistance, he added. Several states had shown interest and were eager to assist Tajikistan, and the centre had been established with financial assistance from the British government, Rajabov said. The TMAC would deal with all mine-related issues in Tajikistan, acting as a coordination centre for state bodies, international organisations and NGOs working towards solving the problem.
Georgia, Abkhaz Sappers To Jointly Demine Upper Reaches Of Kodori Gorge
Interfax
Tbilisi, July 28: Georgian and Abkhaz sappers will launch joint efforts to clear the upper part of Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia of mines in August. `Operations to remove mines will begin jointly with the Abkhaz side in August in the upper part of the gorge - the only part of Abkhazia still under the control of the Georgian authorities since the 1992-1993 armed conflict,` Georgian presidential envoy in the gorge Emzar Kvitsiani told Interfax on Monday.
NATO Membership To Guarantee Georgia`s Independence
Interfax
Tbilisi, July 28: Georgia`s independence will be guaranteed once it joins NATO, President Eduard Shevardnadze said at the seventh graduation exercise for Combined Military Academy cadets in Tbilisi on Monday. `Georgia`s desire to enter NATO is backed not only by all government and non-governmental sectors but also by an overwhelming majority of the country`s population,` he noted. The president said Georgia is taking an active part in NATO`s Partnership for Peace program and has concluded a separate accord with the alliance. According to Shevardnadze, by acting together, `the goal that has been set will inevitably be attained. However, still more must be done to transfer the army to NATO standards.` Shevardnadze said that those helping to reform the Georgian armed forces include: the U.S., Germany, Turkey, Britain, Greece, Ukraine and other friendly countries.
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan And China To Conduct Antitettotist Exercises Between August 6 And 12
Central Asia Daily
Bishkek, July 28: An antiterrorist exercise for armed forces of member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is taking place in Kazakhstan and China between August 6 and 12. The first stage of the exercise, entitled Interaction-2003, will be taking place in Kazakhstan`s Semipalatinsk region, reported a source in the Kyrgyz Defence Ministry. The purpose of this stage is to drill joint actions to seal off and eliminate international terrorist groupings. The second stage will be held in China and will see the armed forces of China and Kyrgyzstan destroying an international terrorist camp and liberating hostages, RIA Novosti reports. The exercise involves an operations group of the Defence Ministry of Kyrgyzstan and the country`s landing reconnaissance platoon, as well as military aviation from Kazakhstan.
Crime Rate Drops In Uzbek Military, Says Uzbek Official
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, July 28: The number of crimes committed in the Uzbek military has fallen by 15.6 per cent year on year, Uzbek TV reported on 27 July. Actions taken by the Military Prosecutorīs Office in cooperation with military courts and commanders at military units have yielded positive results, the deputy prosecutor-general, Col Shuhrat Uzoqov, said. He was speaking at a meeting devoted to the performance of the Military Prosecutorīs Office over the past six months of this year. `The number of crimes committed in the military has decreased by 15.6 per cent year on year, the number of breaches of military regulations by 18.2 per cent and the cases of soldiers going absent without leave have gone down by 20 per cent on the last year,` the TV quoted Uzoqov as saying.
Religious Schools, Mosques Remain Closed In Northern Tajikistan
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, July 31: A madrassa in the Isfara Raion of northern Tajikistan`s Sughd Oblast remains shut a year after a speech by President Imomali Rakhmonov that led to its closure, an official of the Isfara branch of the Islamic Renaissance Party (IRPT) told the Forum 18 news service on 28 July. Forum 18, a Norway-based NGO that monitors religious developments in the former USSR and Eastern Europe, reported the statement of the IRPT official, Mukhamadali Abdumalakov, on 31 July. According to Abdumalakov, the madrassa was closed after Rakhmonov told the country in July 2002 that three Tajiks from Isfara were among the purported terrorists detained by the United States at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The official excuse for the later closure of 33 mosques was that there were too many mosques in Isfara, an area known for its Muslim piety. Twenty percent of the imams in Isfara Raion were removed for allegedly meddling in politics. The closed mosques are reportedly functioning again, but the madrassa remains closed.
Indictment Passed On Suspected Organizers Of Bombings In Bishkek
Interfax
Tashkent, July 29: Several criminal charges, including charges of terrorism, have been brought against five suspected organizers of bombings in Bishkek in December 2002 and in Osh in May, 2003, spokesperson for Kyrgyzstan`s National Security Service Chinara Asanova told the press on Tuesday. Seven people were killed as a result of a bomb explosion on the Oberon market in Bishkek on December 27, 2002 and one person died as a result of a bomb explosion at the Osh subsidiary of the Bakai bank on May 9, 2003. Three of the five suspects are citizens of Uzbekistan, one is a citizen of China and the other is a citizen of Kyrgyzstan. The Kyrgyz National Security Service believes that the bombings were financed by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Three of the five suspects are on the wanted list and the others are in custody, Asanova said. The suspects may be linked with the Al Qaeda international terrorist organization, she said.
Kyrgyz Authorities File Charges Against Bombing Suspects
Radio Free Europe
Bishkek, July 29: The spokesperson for the Kyrgyz National Security Service, Chinara Asanova, told journalists on 29 July that criminal charges including terrorism have been filed against five men suspected of organizing bombings in Bishkek and Osh, Interfax reported the same day. Seven people were killed in the attack on a Bishkek market in December 2002 and one died in the bombing of a currency-exchange office in Osh in May 2003 (see `RFE/RL Newsline,` 12 May 2003). Only two of the five suspects are in custody, the rest are still being sought by law enforcement officials. Three of the five are Uzbek citizens, one is Kyrgyz, and one is a citizen of China, according to Asanova, who said the five might have links to Al-Qaeda. The Kyrgyz security service is convinced that the bombings in Bishkek and Osh were financed by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which a number of countries including the United States have declared an international terrorist organization.
Hizb Ut Tahrir Members Reported Sentenced In Kyrgyzstan
Radio Free Europe
Bishkek, July 28: Four members of the banned Muslim extremist movement Hizb ut-Tahrir have been convicted of distributing movement leaflets and other literature, according to the Kyrgyz Human Rights Society on 28 July. The four are reported to be residents of the village of Kyzyljar in Djalal-Abad Oblast in southern Kyrgyzstan. Two of the accused received sentences of four years` imprisonment, and the other two were sentenced to three years. However, one of latter was released on probation after promising to have nothing further to do with the movement. According to the Human Rights Society, the four had no lawyers and were subjected to torture by law enforcement officials. According to a law enforcement official, as of early July eight people had been arrested in Bishkek alone so far this year for distributing Hizb ut-Tahrir literature (see `RFE/RL Newsline,` 11 July 2003). As of late June, 25 people in Kyrgyzstan as a whole were known by name to the World Organization Against Torture as having been arrested and sentenced for membership in Hizb ut-Tahrir.
Kazakh President Opens New Oil Refinery
Uzbek Daily
Almaty, August 1: Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev on Friday opened a new oil refinery at the country`s largest oil field, part of the country`s drive to become one of the world`s leading oil exporters. The new refinery in the western Kazakh oil field Karachaganak is funded by an international consortium that includes ChevronTexaco, BG Group, Eni and Lukoil. The refinery is capable of handling up to 7.72 million tons of oil a year. Nazarbayev said a gas refinery is also being built at the site and should be completed by this fall. In 2002, Kazakhstan produced 52 million U.S. tons of oil. It plans to triple its daily output in the next two decades to become one of the world`s top oil exporters. Kazakhstan has attracted by far the most foreign investment in former Soviet Central Asia mainly because of its vast energy reserves.
Kazakh-Ukrainian Workign Group To Study Possible Export Of Kazakh Crude Oil Via Ukrainian Pipeline
Kazakhstan News
Almaty, August 1: Kazakhstan and Ukraine will create a working group to study the possibility of transporting Kazakh oil exports through a pipeline between the Black Sea port of Odessa and the city of Brody, Kazakhstan`s Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry said Wednesday. Ukraine built the Odessa-Brody pipeline in 2001 as a project to transport Caspian oil to European markets. The pipeline has a capacity of 9 million metric tons a year, Dow Jones reports. However, the pipeline has yet to become operational due to a lack of users. `The Kazakh government considers the Odessa-Brody link to be a viable alternative for Kazakhstan`s oil,` a ministry spokesman said. It cost the Ukrainian government $450 million to build the Odessa-Brody pipeline, which was originally supposed to be extended first to the Polish city of Potsk and later to the Gdansk refinery. Kazakhstan is considering financing the second stage of the pipeline to Potsk, the spokesman said.
IMF Gives Tajikistan Additional $11 Million For Poverty Programme
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, July 31: The head of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation to Tajikistan, Robert Christiansen, told journalists on 31 July that the IMF is providing Tajikistan with an additional $11 million credit for the country`s antipoverty program, Asia Plus-Blitz, RIA-Novosti, and other news agencies reported. This amount is in addition to the $90 million assigned by the IMF to support the program over three years. The program was launched in December. Christiansen told journalists that the IMF mission was very impressed with the growth rate of the Tajik economy this year, estimated at 9.3 percent growth in GDP in the first half of this year.
Caspian Oil To Be Piped To Europe
The Moscow Times
Kiev, July 31: Kiev and Warsaw agreed Thursday to extend a Ukrainian pipeline into Poland to bring Caspian oil to Europe. Top officials from state companies Ukrtransnafta and Poland`s Przyjazn signed a memorandum to link the pipeline with the Polish town of Plotsk, Interfax reported. Ukraine built the 667-kilometer existing line linking the Black Sea port of Odessa with Brody in western Ukraine in 2001, but it has remained largely idle amid bickering over whether to accept Russian or Central Asian oil. The sides agreed to the deal while Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and his Polish counterpart Leszek Miller visited the eastern industrial city of Donetsk where they attended a Ukrainian-Polish business forum.
Forecast For GDP Growth Adjusted From 5.2 per cent To 5.8-6 per cent In Kyrgyzstan
Interfax
Bishkek, July 31: Kyrgyzstan`s GDP may grow by 5.8-6 per cent to 82.3 billion soms in 2003, Finance Minister Bolot Abildayev announced at a Cabinet meeting on Thursday. Earlier, the Finance Ministry projected GDP growth at 5.2 per cent. Industrial growth, including gold-mining companies at the Kumtor field, is projected at 10 per cent. Growth not including these companies is expected to reach 3.7 per cent. The production volume at Kumtor is expected to increase by 23 per cent. Last year, an accident caused this index to drop by 33 per cent. Growth in the hydro-energy and electric energy sector is targeted at 5.5 per cent, while numbers are expected to reach 3.5 per cent in agriculture and 5.5 per cent in the services sector. In 2002, Kyrgyzstan`s GDP decreased by 0.5 per cent, or 75.24 billion soms.
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline Under Construction
Interfax
Baku, July 30: The laying and filling of pipes got underway at the Sangachal terminal outside Baku last week, BP reports, adding that the effort is part of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan export pipeline construction project. According to BP, 288 kilometers of pipes (68 per cent of the Azerbaijani section`s stretch) have been shipped to Azerbaijan, and 12 km have been welded together and are prepared for laying. Pump stations are also under construction.
Uzbekistan To Launch First Small Hydroelectric Plant In 2003
Interfax
Tashkent, July 30: The specialized association Uzvodenergo (part of the Ministry for Agriculture and Water) will launch the Urgut small hydroelectric plant in August 2003 at a total cost of $5.6 million, Uzvodenergo Deputy General Director Shukhrat Shaismailov told Interfax. The capacity of the small hydroelectric plant, which is being built on an existing irrigation canal in Samarkand region, will amount to 3 megawatts. The plant will produce 12 million kWh of electricity per annum. The Urgut hydroelectric plant is the first plant to be built as part of a program to develop small hydroelectric plants, passed in 1995. Shaismailov noted that according to the program, by 2010 it is planned to build 15 hydroelectric plants in the republic with a total capacity of 423 megawatts, producing 1.36 billion kWh per annum. It is planned that the launch of these plants will make it possible to annually save 511 million tonnes of fuel equivalent, costing $18 million per annum, at thermal power plants.
Georgia Expands Economy 8.6 per cent In H1
Interfax
Tbilisi, July 30: Georgia increased its GDP 8.6 per cent year- on-year in the first half of 2003 to 3.94 billion lari, chairman of the state statistics department Temur Beridze said at a press conference. Industrial production grew 7.9 per cent and agricultural output rose 7.2 per cent. Beridze noted that this significant economic growth was largely due to the start of construction of the Baku- Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline on Georgian territory. In connection wit this, the largest growth in the reporting period was noted in construction (46 per cent) and high growth rates were also noted in communications (29.2 per cent) and financial intermediary services (29.8 per cent). GDP increased 5.4 per cent year-on-year in 2002. The 2003 budget envisages 4.5 per cent GDP growth.
Kyrgyzstan, The World`s Newest Player In Aviation
MSNBC
Selo Mramornoe, July 30: Remote, dirt poor, mountainous, rural -- and now a player in the world aviation industry. Kyrgyzstan has just become an improbable member of the club of aircraft producers. This Central Asian country, tucked up against the Chinese border, is one of the poorest corners of the former Soviet Union. Nomadic farmers still live in felt tents, or yurts, and industry is so undeveloped that a single gold mine accounts for 45 percent of its export earnings. But now it`s building planes -- and Prime Minister Nikolai Tanayev is delighted. `We`ll buy them,` he told Reuters late on Tuesday at an airstrip where they were being test-flown. `Every district should have a couple, and so must the border guards and the emergencies ministry.` The pride of Kyrgyz industry is relatively modest. The aircraft is a single-engined two-seater, capable of flying at up to 180 km per hour (around 112 mph). It can carry 80 kg of cargo at an altitude of 4,000 metres (13,000 feet) and has a range of 800 km (500 miles). The company behind it, a Russian-Kyrgyz joint venture called Air-AviaT, was founded in 1996 and is 51 percent owned by Kyrgyz private citizens, with Moscow firm Intechavia owning the rest. And the plane, called Ak-Kepter (`White Dove` in Kyrgyz) really does fly. `The initial phase of test flights is over,` said Mikhail Shchvartser, deputy general director of Air-AviaT, as the Dove came in to land. `In the next phase, starting after August 10, we will be testing the finished article.` The aircraft is assembled from parts made in Russia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan, and the engine comes from Austria.
Armenia To Transfer Razdan Plant To Russia In September
Interfax
Yerevan, July 29: Armenia plans to transfer the property complex of Razdan Thermal Power Plant to Russia in September this year as payment for state debt, Albert Bagdasaryan told Interfax. He said that at the first stage the station will be transferred to the Russian Property Ministry and then to a management company. Minster for Industry, Science and Technology Ilya Klebanov announced in Yerevan earlier that it is planned to transfer Razdan Thermal Power Plant to Unified Energy Systems of Russia. Due to current high gas prices, the thermal plant - which is the largest consumer of natural gas in the republic, produces the most expensive electricity. Bagdasaryan noted that Armenian Nuclear Power Plant sells Armenergo electricity at 11 drams per 1 kWh, while Razdan Thermal Power Plant sells electricity at 15.5 drams per kWh.
Russia The Only Gas Supplier For Georgia, The Georgian President Said
Central Asia Daily
Tbilisi, July 29: Georgia has no other sources of gas supply but Russia. Neither Turkey, nor Armenia have gas reserves. Azerbaijan itself imports five to six billion cubic meters of gas. Kazakhstan is far away. This is why one should not dramatize the signing of the agreement between Russian Gazprom and the Georgian government on cooperation in the gas sphere, Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze said at a briefing on Monday, IRNA reports. Shevardnadze said that the agreement with Gazprom did not include trunk gas pipelines. When the Shah-Deniz-Tbilisi-Erzerum gas pipeline starts working, then competition will emerge in the sphere of gas deliveries to Georgia. The Shah-Deniz gas pipeline will be profitable for Georgia, because it will bring non-expensive and high-quality gas to the republic. Under the agreement signed in Moscow last week, Gazprom will implement several major investment projects in Georgia.
Poverty Level In Kyrgyzstan Reportedly Down 10 Per Cent In Three Years
Radio Free Europe
Bishkek, July 28: The poverty level in Kyrgyzstan has declined 10 percent in the last three years, Interfax reported on 28 July, quoting the Kyrgyz president`s office. But 44.3 percent of the country`s population remains below the poverty line, according to the same source. Worst affected is Batken Oblast in southern Kyrgyzstan, which was created in response to incursions into the region by Muslim militants in 1999 and 2000.
Azerbaijan Forecasts 21 per cent Rise In Foreign Investment In 2004
Interfax
Baku, July 28: Azerbaijan`s economy ministry forecasts a 21.2 per cent year-on-year rise in foreign investment in 2004 to 12.44 trillion manat. Investment from domestic sources are expected to total 3.2 trillion manat in 2004, up 6.7 per cent from this year`s forecast, the ministry reported. Earlier it was reported that foreign investment was forecast at 10.26 trillion manat in 2003 ($2.05 billion), up 20.9 per cent on 2002. Azerbaijan expects direct investment of $1.84 billion in 2003, and loans of $213 million. Investment in the oil sector is predicted at $1.72 billion. Investment is expected to total $8 billion in 2003-2005, including $6.2 billion in foreign investment. The oil sector is forecast to receive 83.3 per cent, or $5.2 billion.
Turkmenistan Population To Increase By 55 Per Cent In 50 Years
Turkmenistan.Ru
Ashgabat, July 28: It was stated by the researchers of `Population Reference Bureau` Company. According to their estimates by 2050 India will become the world`s most populated state with 1.628 bln people, China will come second with 1.394 bln people. The USA will be third with 422 mln people. As for Russia the company forecast says that its population will decrease by 18 per cent by 2050 to 199 mln people from 145.5 mln people in 2003. It is expected that of other CIS member-states Georgia will face a catastrophic population decrease by 43 per cent from 4.7 mln to 2.6 mln people by 2050. The Ukraine will depopulate by 20 per cent, Belorussia - by 14 per cent, Kazakhstan - by 10 per cent. At the same time the best population growth is expected in Turkmenistan (by 55 per cent) and Tajikistan (53 per cent). It is worth reminding that the population of Turkmenistan, according to information of the National Institute of Statistics and Information, is over 6 mln people at present time.
Uzbek GDP Up 3.8 per cent In First Half
Interfax
Tashkent, July 27: Uzbekistan reported 3.8 per cent GDP growth in the first half of the year, President Islam Karimov said. Industrial output increased 5.5 per cent and agricultural production increased 3.8 per cent, he said. Production of consumer goods increased 4 per cent and paid services increased 4.4 per cent. `Capital investment grew by 2.6 per cent in the first half of the year from the same period last year,` he said. More than 60 per cent of investment was used to develop industry. Capital investment included more than $200 million in foreign investment, with $65 million in direct investment. Inflation slowed to 4.2 per cent in the first half of the year from 14.4 per cent in the same period last year, Karimov said. Foreign trade increased 23 per cent, including a 41 per cent increase in exports, and the trade surplus totalled $530 million. Uzbekistan privatised 698 enterprises in the first half of the year and privatisation revenue totalled 22.5 billion sum, he said. GDP growth is projected at 5.3 per cent for the year. GDP is planned at 9.3 trillion sum and inflation at 10 per cent. Industrial output is expected to grow 7.5 per cent, agricultural output will increase 4.5 per cent, and capital investment is expected to increase 4 per cent.
Analytic Review `Economy Of Uzbekistan 2002` Published
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, July 26: Presentation of an annual edition of statistical and analytical review, devoted to economic development of Uzbekistan, was held at the Centre for effective economic policy at the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Uzbekistan. This edition entitled `Economy of Uzbekistan 2002` includes tables, diagrams, analytic information, which illustrates economic growth, changes, as well as the course of reforms in the country. The edition was published in Uzbek, Russian and English.
Developing Varied Riches Of Atyrau Region
Kazakhstanskaya Pravda
Astana, July 26: Last Saturday Prime Minister Akhmetov visited Atyrau. He was attended by the Minister of transport and communication Nagmanov, minister of ecology Samakova, president of NNC KazMunaiGas Karabalin and other officials. Atyrau region is rich with oil and gas. The taxes paid from this region form one forth of the republican budget. Today there is accumulated up to 40 per cent of all the investments in Kazakhstan. First point if the visit was an artificial island Aktoty. Ajip KKO is conducting here exploration drilling; it plans to get first oil in late 2005.
President Putin To Visit Uzbekistan On 6 August
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, August 1: President of Russia Vladimir Putin will pay a working visit to Uzbekistan on 6 August. The state and perspectives of bilateral relations between Uzbekistan and Russia, as well as international problems of mutual interest will be considered during the visit. The Russian leader was initially scheduled to visit Uzbekistan on 6 July but the visit was canceled due to terrorist acts in Tushino in Moscow.
Russian - Turkmen House To Be Established In Moscow
Turkmenistan.RU
Ashgabat, August 1: As the Moscow correspondent of Turkmenistan.Ru reports, a non-commercial organization, the Russian-Turkmen House, will be registered in the Russian capital soon. Vasiliy Krivorotenko, the head of `Courage and Humanism` Public Charity Organization which had initiated the establishment of the Russian-Turkmen House, said about it to journalists. `The main goal of the Russian-Turkmen House will be promotion of the main provisions of the Friendship and Cooperation Treaty between Turkmenistan and the Russian Federation signed in Ashgabat, April 23, 2002, Vasiliy Krivorotenko said. The present equivocal state of bilateral relations has prompted us the idea to set up such a society.
Kazakh Energy Minister In US To Discuss Energy Cooperation
Radio Free Europe
Astana, July 31: At the end of a two-day visit to Washington that included meetings with senior U.S. administration officials, Kazakh Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Vladimir Shkolnik announced that the United States and Kazakhstan will cooperate more extensively in the areas of energy-resource development and nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, Kazinform reported on 31 July, quoting the press service of the Kazakh Embassy in Washington. During a meeting with U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, who heads a Kazakh-American Commission on Energy Partnership, Shkolnik discussed specific cooperation to expand oil-and-gas extraction and transportation and the physical protection of the oil-and-gas industries. According to the report, nuclear power was also discussed. The Kazakh government wants to build a nuclear-power plant on Lake Balkhash, but local environmental activists are strongly opposed, as are many citizens, according to the environmentalists.
Uzbek Government Ratifies Tehran Documents
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, July 31: The government of Uzbekistan has ratified documents, signed during the visit of Uzbek President Islam Karimov to Iran in June 2003. In particular, documents such as intergovernmental agreements `On trade-economic cooperation`, `On cooperation in the field of plants quarantine`, a memorandum `On mutual understanding between the two governments on mutual commercial preferences`, as well as agreement between the Interim Afghan government, Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Uzbekistan `On international transport routes` were ratified.
Memorial Appeals For Broad Support In Khamroev Affair
Radio Free Europe
Tashkent, July 31: The Moscow human rights group Memorial has appealed for all human rights and journalism organizations to join in pressuring the Russian government to release exiled Uzbek political and human rights activist Bakhrom Khamroev, who was arrested in Moscow on 20 July (see `RFE/RL Newsline,` 21 July 2003), centrasia.ru reported on 31 July.
Talks Between Azerbaijan And Turkmenistan On Delimitation Of The Caspian Sea To Resume Soon
Central Asia Daily
Ashgabat, July 31: Talks between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan on delimitation of the Caspian Sea would resume soon, the Azeri Deputy Foreign Minister and National Representative in the special working group on defining the Caspian Sea legal status Khalaf Khalafov expressed hope. `The date of resumption of Turkmen-Azeri talks depends, first of all, on Kazakh-Turkmen talks being held these days.
Mongolia Appoints New Envoy To Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, July 31: Mongolian president recalled ambassador to Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan B.Altangerel. Ambassador to Turkey P. Halyun has been concurrently appointed as the Mongolian ambassador to Turkmen and Uzbekistan, E-mail Daily News reported.
Czech Envoys To Uzbekistan And Tajikistan Replaced
Central Asia Daily
Tashkent, July 31: President Vaclav Klaus today dismissed ambassador Jaroslav Ludva from his function, who had been the Czech Republicīs diplomatic representative for Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, the Prague Castle website announced, without further details. At the same time, he appointed Martin Klepetko and Milan Sedlacek the Czech ambassadors to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, respectively, Uzreport informs. According to deputy foreign minister Rudolf Jindrak, Ludva was dismissed because he had been serving abroad for many years.
Independent Intl. Publishing House To Open In Kyrgyzstan
Interfax
Bishkek, July 31: An independent publishing house for the whole of Central Asia is to open in Kyrgyzstan this fall, the future firm`s general director said on Thursday. Ramil Ziyangarayev told Interfax that setting up an independent publishing house for all of Central Asia had been the main task of the Media Support Center, a nongovernmental nonprofit foundation registered in Kyrgyzstan in December last year. He said the publishing house project was receiving financial support from the U.S. State Department and several international organizations.
Presidents Of Kazakhstan And Russia Had Phone Conversation
Kazakhstan News
Astana, July 31: The Presidents of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had a phone conversation and discussed issues on further development of bilateral economic and political relations. They touched upon the paces of works within the framework of Kazakhstan`s Year in Russia that became the important step in the development of fraternal relations between people of both countries. Activity of top level group on establishing common economic zone of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia and the Ukraine was as well discussed.
Economic Ties With Russia Will Not Change Georgia`s Political Course - Official
Interfax
Tbilisi, July 31: Georgian Foreign Minister Irakly Menagarishvili has dismissed the fears of the opposition leaders that the arrival of large Russian business in Georgia will change Georgia`s westward orientation. `All of Georgia`s foreign policy measures comply with this position,` Menagarishvili told Interfax on Thursday. Concerning broadening economic ties with Russia, he said that `if everything proceeds in accordance with the law and with due account taken of the two countries` interests, Tbilisi will welcome it.` He also said that economic relations with Russia do not at all go against Georgia`s orientation to the West and the Euro-Atlantic organizations.
Towards Global Security
Kazakhstanskaya Pravda
Astana, July 31: The 5th high-level meeting of UN and regional organizations with the participation of Mr. Kasymzhomart Tokayev, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan acting as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Shanghai Cooperation Organization was held in New-York. The agenda was peace and security new threats and the joint resistance and elimination measures. During the conference Mr. Kasymzhomart Tokayev met Mr. Kofi Annan UN General Secretary, where the issues on actual UN position, its promotion collaboration with the Republic of Kazakhstan, CICA development, preventive diplomacy center establishment were discussed. Mr. K. Annan supported the initiative of our Republic to hold a representative conference with the participation of religious leaders. Besides the Foreign Minister had meetings with Mr. Yan Kubish OSCE General Secretary, Mr. Anvarul Chodehari, UN Deputy General Secretary, General Secretary of the UN International Conference on transit transport and Mr. Ioshiuku Motomura, Chairman of UN International Ministry Conference Bureau on transit transport and Ambassador of Japan. 19 regional organizations including European Union, CIS, the British Commonwealth, International Frankofonian organization, NATO, OSCE, Organization of American states, League of Arab States and others participated at the meeting.
Russian Foreign Ministry Says Dual Citizenship In Turkmenistan Has Somewhat Stabilised
Radio Free Europe
Ashgabat, July 30: The Russian Foreign Ministry stated in a 30 July press release that the situation regarding dual citizenship has somewhat stabilized but that a number of issues remain unresolved. The press release reported on a meeting between Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksei Fedotov, head of the joint Russian-Turkmen commission on problems of dual citizenship, and Turkmen Ambassador to Russia Khalnazar Agakhanov, at which they discussed problems related to the revocation of dual citizenship. The text of the press release is available on the Russian Foreign Ministry`s website (http://www.mid.ru).
Shanghai Organization Proposes Drafting UN Strategy For Resisting New Threats
Interfax
Astana, July 30: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization has proposed drafting a global strategy for resisting new threats and challenges under the UN`s aegis, Kazakh Foreign Minister Kasymzhomart Tokayev said at UN headquarters in New York, where regional organizations met for a fifth time on July 29-30. `The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was represented by Tokayev, the chairman of this organization`s Council of Foreign Ministers,` the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said in a press release circulated on Wednesday.
Russia-Belarus-Ukraine-Kazakhstan Economic Space May Be Set Up In 5-7 Years - Khristenko
Interfax
Moscow, July 30: Russian Deputy Prime Minister Victor Khristenko forecasts that a single economic space containing Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan may be set up within the next five to seven years. The four countries held high-level meetings in Moscow on July 25. In response to questions from journalists ahead of the meeting, Khristenko noted that the different levels and speeds of economic integration between these four countries should not cause excessive concern, as the most developed union - the European Union has also demonstrated integration at different levels and speeds. Even today, when the European Union consists of 15 states, only 12 are in the euro zone, Khristenko noted, adding that the gradual nature of the unification is a practice of life. In turn, Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Sauat Mynbayev explained that the different speeds of joining the agreement on the single economic space can be explained by the need to harmonize legislation in the participating countries, at various levels of the economy.
Baku Convinced Turkey Will Not Change Position On Armenia
Interfax
Baku, July 30: Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Vilayat Guliyev has stated that Turkey will not change its position on relations with Armenia. `I am convinced that Turkey will stick to its position with regards to Armenia, as this meets the interests of Turkey even better than the interests of Azerbaijan,` Guliyev told the press on Tuesday while commenting on reports that the U.S. has asked Turkey to open the Turkish-Armenian border. `On the other hand, if the U.S. is really committed to peace and stability, it should put stronger pressure on Armenia as a regional state pursuing a destructive policy,` he said.
Czech Envoy To Uzbekistan Recalled, Not Dismissed
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, July 30: Czech Ambassador to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan was not dismissed as reported earlier. Czech Ambassador Jaroslav Ludva was recalled to headquarters in order to get senior position in Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Czech Republic.
IFC, EBRD To Begin Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Hearings In August
Interfax
Baku, July 29: The International Finance Corporation, the World Bank`s investment arm, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development are to hold public hearings on the Baku- Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline project in August-September. A source in the World Bank`s Baku office said that a total of six trial meetings would be held. Two of these will take place in Turkey - on August 26 in Erzurum and on August 28 in Adan. The meetings in Azerbaijan will be held on September 1 and 4 in the cities of Gyandja and Baku, and in Georgia - on September 8 and 11 in Borzhomi and Tbilisi. `In 120 days, after the discussions, these international institutions will reach decisions on granting credits of $150 million each for the construction of the pipeline and about another $100 million each to finance Phase-1 of the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli project,` the source said. As reported earlier, the IFC and the EBRD are holding the public hearings following demands by a number of non-government organizations.
Tajikistan Plans To Up Wheat, Cotton Harvests In 2003
Interfax
Dushanbe, July 29: Tajikistan plans to harvest 640,000 tonnes of wheat and 610,000 tonnes of raw cotton in 2003, up 14.1 per cent and 18.4 per cent, respectively, year-on- year, the deputy agriculture minister, Ikhtier Ashurov, told Interfax. `The grain harvest will total 800,000 tonnes this year, including 640,000 tonnes of wheat. The cotton harvest, despite replanting on 25 per cent of the crop area, is expected at the planned volume of 610,000 tonnes,` he said. Tajikistan requires about 1 million tonnes of grain for domestic consumption. The shortage is usually covered by flour and grain imports from fellow CIS countries, especially Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, and through humanitarian aid from the world community, the deputy minister said. Tajikistan bought $23.3 million worth of wheat in 2002 and $12.4 million worth of flour. In the first half of 2003, Tajikistan bought $6.1 million worth of wheat and $8.6 million worth of flour. Tajikistan harvested 515,400 tonnes of raw cotton in 2002, up 13.9 per cent from 452,700 tonnes in 2001. The country plans to increase the harvest to 700,000 tonnes by 2005. Cotton fiber exports accounted for 22.5 per cent of overall exports in the first half of 2003, the state statistics committee said. Tajikistan exported 70,800 tonnes of cotton fiber for $81.7 million, up 9.1 per cent year- on-year.
Armenian Laws Fall Short Of OSCE Standards - OSCE Official
Interfax
Yerevan, July 29: Despite positive changes, some of the laws applied in Armenia fall short of the standards set by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the founder and chief of the OSCE mission in Yerevan Roy Reeve told journalists on Monday. Reeve said that since the beginning of 2000, when the OSCE opened its office in Yerevan, Armenia has adopted a series of important laws and accomplished some major reforms. But many of these laws, for instance the election code, are not being applied. Therefore, the OSCE`s main task is to facilitate their application and enforcement, Reeve said.
Kyrgyzstan`s Uighurs Hold Congress
Radio Free Europe
Bishkek, July 28: The fifth congress of Kyrgyzstan`s Uighurs was held on 28 July, RFE/RL`s Kyrgyz Service reported the same day. A total of 350 delegates from around the country gathered in Bishkek to hear a report by the chairman of the Uighur Society, Ittipak Rozmukhambet Abdulbakiev, who was re-elected at the congress. Abdulbakiev noted that recent assertions in the Kyrgyz media that Uighurs have been involved in criminal activities connected with separatists who want to set up an independent Uighur state in China`s Xinjiang Province have harmed the Uighur community in Kyrgyzstan. He said he has sent a letter to the authorities about this problem. Officially, the Uighur population of Kyrgyzstan is 50,000, but unofficial sources say the number is twice that.
Azerbaijan Denies Need For Early Meeting On Nagorno-Karabakh Settlement
Interfax
Baku, July 28: Azerbaijan does not see any immediate need for a meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian special presidential envoys for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. `We think it is not necessary for the presidents` special envoys to meet [soon], since the OSCE Minsk Group`s co-chairmen will arrive in the region only after the presidential elections in Azerbaijan,` Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Vilayat Quliyev told journalists on Monday.
Upcoming Meeting In New York
Kazakhstanskaya Pravda
Astana, July 28: Fifth high-level meeting of UN and regional organizations is held in New York on 29-30th July. RK Minister of foreign affairs K. Tokayev will take part in the meeting as the chairman of SCO. The last two meetings in 1998 and 2001 focused on principles of cooperation between United Nations Organization and regional organizations in the sphere of conflict prevention. Mr. Kofi Annan suggested a subject - possible ways on coping with new challenges for consideration at this upcoming meeting.
Egyptian Ambassador Stresses Ties, Promotes
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, July 28: Egypt celebrates national holiday these days and Gamil Fayod, Egyptian Ambassador to Uzbekistan comments about development prospects of relations with Uzbekistan: Relations between the countries have ancient historical roots and are developing steadily nowadays. Egypt was the first Arabic country to be visited by Uzbek President Karimov in 1992. Initially, 12 treaties were signed between the two governments pertaining a wide range of issues such as information exchange, commerce, agriculture, irrigation, experts training, scientific and cultural exchange.
Uzbek Human Rights Activists Appeal To Russian President On Dissident`s Case
Radio Free Europe
Tashkent, July 27: A group of Uzbek human rights activists has appealed to Russian President Putin to intervene in the case of Bakhrom Khamroev, a leader of the banned Uzbek democratic movement Birlik, who was arrested in Moscow on 20 July (see `RFE/RL Newsline,` 21 July 2003), centrasia.ru reported on 27 July. The letter asserts that Khamroev`s arrest creates the impression that the Russian authorities are taking orders from the Uzbek security forces, which are trying to stop the publication and distribution in Uzbekistan of the opposition journal `Harakat.`
Documents On Common Economic Space To Be Available By September
Interfax
Moscow, July 27: Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko said that experts are expected to finish drafting all documents on the establishment of a common economic space in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine by the CIS summit in September. `There are still a lot of different opinions, approaches and disagreement. But everyone today has a similar vision of the structure of this single economic space,` Khristenko said at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin on Friday. The deputy prime minister noted that experts `have agreed that integration within the single economic space will proceed at various levels and its pace will differ [for the four countries]. This will make it possible to avoid any inconsistencies with certain elements in the four nations` internal policy,` he added.
President Talking Over The Phone
Kazakhstanskaya Pravda
Astana, July 26: On 26th July President Nazarbayev spoke on the telephone to the President Leonid Kuchma of Ukraine. The sides discussed prospects of bilateral economic cooperation, including some aspects of Kazakh grain export to Ukraine. Apart from these, the presidents discussed issues of the upcoming summit of the heads of CIS states in Ukraine.
Over 1.5 Tonnes Of Heroin Seized On Tajik-Afghan Border
Interfax
Dushanbe, July 31: More than 1.5 tonnes of heroin was confiscated by Russian border guards on the Tajik-Afghan border in January-June 2003. The press service of the Tajik-based unit of the Russian Border Guard Service told Interfax on Thursday that a total of 2.685 tonnes of drugs and 25 fire arms were seized as well. In addition, 77 violations of the border regime and 42 attempts to cross the border were prevented in the first half of the year.
Uzbek Scientists Develop Device To Sniff Drugs
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, July 30: A new device developed by Uzbek scientists promises to sniff out trace amounts of narcotics and other abused drugs on criminal suspects quickly and efficiently. The device, called a surface ionisation indicator, or SII, heats micro-amounts of extracted sample solutions -- such as urine, blood and even postmortem materials -- with an electric current. Then it ionises the evaporated molecules to determine their chemical composition. `When you ionise ... in a mass spectrometer you will receive one ion per 1,000 or 10,000 molecules,` Utkur Rasulev, director of the Institute of Electronics, told United Press International. With the SII, however, he said, `you can ionise almost each molecule.` The SII, which sits on a tabletop, is composed of a diode, a heated anode and a cathode. The sampleīs molecules `land` on the anodeīs surface and then `take off` as positive ions and pass through the electrical field of the cathode for analysis. The device can detect extremely small amounts of organic substances, Rasulev explained.
Russian Border Guards Seize 2,700 Kilos Of Drugs In First Seven Months Of 2003
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, July 28: The press service of Russian border troops stationed on the Tajik-Afghan frontier has announced the seizure of 2,700 kilograms of contraband drugs between January and July 2003, RIA-Novosti reported on 28 July. Heroin accounted for 1,600 kilos of that amount. In the same period in 2002, 1,780 kilos of drugs were seized, including 1,214 kilos of heroin.
Kazakh Security Service Says Country Is Target Of Foreign Spies
Radio Free Europe
Almaty, July 28: Kazakhstan`s National Security Committee has asserted on its website that the country is of `intense interest` to foreign intelligence services, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported on 28 July. The problems of military counterintelligence were raised at a meeting between the security agency and the Defense Ministry on protecting state secrets as contacts increase between the Kazakh and foreign militaries. According to the report, military counterintelligence staff have found a number of foreign intelligence agents operating in Kazakhstan. In the first half of 2003, a number of violations of the rules on protecting state secrets were discovered, including the loss of classified documents, but no incidents were reported involving the security of weapons or ammunition.
Iranian Diplomats Detained In Azerbaijan On Suspicion Of Espionage
Radio Free Europe
Baku, July 26: Five Iranian diplomats were detained at Baku`s Bina Airport on 22 July on suspicion of espionage, the Russian-language daily `Ekho` reported on 26 July, citing IRNA. On 23 July, Azerbaijan`s National Security Minister Namik Abbasov met with Iranian Ambassador Akhad Gazai to discuss the incident. The five Iranians are reportedly still in Azerbaijan.
Kazakhstan Attacks Human Trafficking
Radio Free Europe
Astana, July 30: In reaction to a U.S. State Department charge that Kazakhstan has done little to stop trafficking in human beings, the country`s law enforcement agencies have drawn up a series of measures for fighting this type of crime, khabar.kz reported on 30 July, quoting Sergei Dospolov, head of the foreign relations department of the Prosecutor-General`s Office. According to khabar.kz, human trafficking is the third most profitable crime in Kazakhstan, after drug and arms trafficking. Dospolov said that the State Department assertion was based partly on the fact that no sentences were handed down in 2002 for crimes related to human trafficking, but he argued that such crimes can be difficult to investigate because the victims are sent abroad.
Uzbek Police Break Up Human Rights Picket
Radio Free Europe
Tashkent, July 30: Law enforcement officers broke up a picket organized by the Uzbek Human Rights Society outside the Cabinet of Ministers building in Tashkent on 30 July, Deutsche Welle reported the next day. According to the report, about 20 people took part in the picketing. The report noted that this was the first time in almost two months that a picket in Tashkent has been broken up by the authorities, although protests have been a near-daily occurrence in the Uzbek capital during that time. Some of the demonstrators reportedly carried slogans protesting against poverty, while others complained of corruption in the court system.
UN Human Rights Commission Criticises Uzbekistan For Executions
Radio Free Europe
Tashkent, July 29: The UN Commission on Human Rights has sharply criticized Uzbekistan for executing six young men who had appealed to international organizations, saying their sentences for murder were the result of improperly conducted investigations and trials, vremyamn.ru reported on 29 July. One of the men had asserted that his confession was extracted under torture, the standard procedure by which Uzbek law enforcement produces high rates of crime solution.
Tajik Supreme Court Sentences Two For Involvement In Deaths Of Journalists
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, July 29: The Tajik Supreme Court has sentenced two men charged with involvement in the killing of two journalists during the 1992-97 Tajik civil war to long prison terms, ITAR-TASS reported on 29 July. The two, Ahtam Tohirov and Nazirbek Davlatov, were tried as accomplices in the murders of BBC Farsi Service journalist Muhiddin Olimpur in 1995 and Russian ORT journalist Viktor Nikulin in 1996. Tohirov received a sentence of 22 years in prison while Davlatov received 15 years.
Russian Skinheads On Trial For Murder Of Central Asians
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, July 28: Hearings began Monday in the case against 12 skinheads, five of them minors, who are accused of beating three Central Asian men to death last autumn in southern Russia. Prosecutors say the skinheads attacked the victims for no reason in the city of Volgograd in October, beating them with iron bars. The victims, two residents of Tajikistan and one resident Uzbekistan, died without regaining consciousness after the attack, AP reported. Russiaīs extremist and neo-Nazi groups have targeted dark-skinned immigrants from poverty-stricken former Soviet Central Asia and the Caucasus Mountains region, as well as Africa, East Asia and other distant regions.
Tajik Ex-interior Minister May Be Charged With Murder
Interfax
Dushanbe, July 26: Former Tajik Interior Minister Yakub Salimov may be charged with organizing several murders, an Interior Ministry source told Interfax on Saturday. Salimov is suspected of involvement in killing top officials and in an abduction in August 1997 in Uzbekistan. Russia`s Federal Security Service (FSB) detained Salimov on June 30. The Prosecutor General`s Office issued a pertinent instruction in line with a Tajik request made in 1997. The suspect is being held in the Lefortovo remand facility.
Russia, U.S. Will Help Kyrgyzstan Repair Uranium Storage Facility
Interfax
Bishkek, August 1: Russian and the U.S. are planning to contribute about $560,000 to help repair a uranium storage facility in southern Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyz Emergency Situations Minister Satybaldy Chyrmashev told Interfax on Friday that the country`s government and the U.S. Department of Energy will sign an intergovernmental agreement envisioning $400,000 for these purposes within the next few days. He noted that the Russian government has already pledged $160,000 to finance a feasibility study of the storage facility`s repairs. `Nothing has been done over the past 15 years to make the facility less vulnerable to natural disasters, thus creating an actual threat to citizens` security,` Chyrmashev noted. At the same time, the minister said that the promised funds are insufficient for the facility`s full repair. `More than 30 Kyrgyz storage facilities, which hold uranium and radioactive wastes, need to be repaired. This effort requires about $30 million,` he added.
Nuclear Dumps Pose Growing Health Threat
Central Asia Daily
Osh, July 30: Nuclear waste left on huge dumps throughout southern Kyrgyzstan could cause huge health and environmental problems if disturbed by floods or landslides The mountainous and isolated republic of Kyrgyzstan has suffered greatly from natural disasters this year. But now a new environmental and health threat is emerging in the south: uranium waste dumps located in areas prone to flooding and landslides. The dumps are posing huge problems in the densely populated Ferghana Valley, home to 10 million people. Sharipa Habibullaeva lives in the southern town of Mailuu-Suu. She has worked in the epidemiological department of the local authority for a long time and is familiar with the health problems associated with radioactivity. According to the chairman of the local council, almost one-third of residents had left, reducing the population to just 23,000 from 35,000 a decade ago. For years, many locals have complained of headaches, drowsiness and worse. According to staff at the Kyrgyz Ministry of Ecology and Emergency Situations, the edge of the one-sq-km dump has a radioactivity level of around 40-60 micro-roentgen an hour (MRH). But parts of the site register much higher levels.
Judicial Reforms Successful
Interfax
Tashkent, July 31: Judicial and legal reforms in Uzbekistan reduced the overall prison population by 13.8 per cent in 2002 from the year before, Supreme Court Chairwoman Farrukha Mukhitdinova told Interfax on Thursday. She also mentioned a dramatic shift in the judicial procedure of handing down sentences. Mukhitdinova said that people serving prison sentences accounted for 49.2 per cent of the total number of convicted in 1998, 48.4 per cent in 1999, 47.2 per cent in 2000 and 34.7 per cent in the first half of 2003. About 65.3 per cent of people received penalties other than prison terms. She said that the broader application of fines as a punishment for economic crimes has led to timely compensation payments. A total of 4.381.15 billion sums have already been paid in damages inflicted by economic crimes.
Kyrgyz Prime Minister Describes Concept For Anti Corruption Agency
Radio Free Europe
Bishkek, July 30: Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev has instructed Prime Minister Nikolai Tanaev, head of the National Council for Conscientious Government, which was formed earlier in the year, to devise a structure for an agency to fight corruption, centran.ru reported on 30 July. The establishment of the anti-corruption agency was announced with considerable fanfare after international donor organizations and domestic critics pointed out the immense damage being done to Kyrgyzstan`s economy and the country`s reform plans by widespread corruption. According to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank, as much as 30 percent of the funds that should go to the national budget are diverted by corrupt officials, and the extent of corruption in the country is discouraging foreign investment. Tanaev was quoted as saying that the anticorruption agency is intended to be a mobile organization that will work with authorities all over the country.
Uzbek Critic Urges Civic Stance To Fight Corruption
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, July 28: Uzbek commentator Sergey Yezhkov has criticised NGOs and public organisations for what he described as their failure to speak out against bribery and corruption, which he said had become more or less the norm. In an article published in an official Uzbek newspaper, he said they were failing to do what they should be doing, most importantly serving as a barrier to officials breaking the law. Yezhkov also said that President Islam Karimov expected an `active civic stance which should be free from hypocrisy` from the public, and noted that no president can make progress without public support.
Turkmen President To Get New Boeing
Interfax
Ashgabat, July 27: The Turkmen authorities are planning to purchase a new Boeing airplane for President Saparmurat Niyazov. A presidential administration source told Interfax on Friday that the details of the deal were on the agenda of a Thursday meeting between Niyazov and Boeing commercial director Aldo Basile.
Russia, Kazakhstan Expected To Prolong Baikonur Lease By 50 Years
Interfax
Moscow, July 30: The agreement between Russia and Kazakhstan on the extension of the lease of Baikonur space center to Russia for 50 more years will be signed this year, a senior official from the Russian Aviation and Space Agency told Interfax on Wednesday. `By the end of the year, we will be able to approach the actual terms of the agreement. The document has already been drafted. Russia has checked its own wording of the draft agreement, which prolongs the lease by 50 years, and sent it to Kazakhstan,` according to the official responsible for drafting documents for the agreement. Russia and Kazakh authorities are now working on coordinating their versions of the agreement. `There are no fundamental differences on the matter with Kazakhstan, and I think that the agreement will be signed by the end of the year,` the official said. He added that the acting lease agreement will remain in effect until 2013. In his opinion, the implementation of Russian-Kazakh projects has advanced significantly. At the end of 2002, the presidents of Kazakhstan and Russia instructed their governments to negotiate the prolongation of the lease. Russia has been leasing Baikonur since 1994 under a 20-year agreement. The annual rent amounts to USD115m. The Kazakh parliament sees no reason to obstruct an extension. Earlier, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said that Russia plans to continue using Baikonur for military purposes.
Special Focus
Tension Between Armenia, Azerbaijan Rising Over Nagorno Karabakh
Tension between Armenia and Azerbaijan is again flaring over Nagorno-Karabakh. Numerous ceasefire violations have been reported in July, with both sides accusing the other of stoking external conflict in order to divert attention from domestic political difficulties.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav072903.shtml
Farmers Express Discontent In Uzbekistan, Despite Projected Record Wheat Crop
Uzbekistan is preparing for a bumper wheat crop. Authorities have angered farmers, however, by taking steps to limit profits. Uzbek officials in the Ministry of Agriculture and Water are projecting that this year`s wheat harvest is likely to set a record.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/business/articles/eav072903.shtmlPossibility Of Political Confrontation In Azerbaijan Rises Amid Aliyev`s Prolonged Illness
President Heidar Aliyev`s prolonged illness is raising the possibility of political confrontation in Azerbaijan in the near future. Already, authorities have stepped up measures designed to intimidate opposition politicians and journalists. There are indications that top administration officials are willing to explore even more drastic measures - including the postponement of the upcoming presidential election - in order to retain power.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav073003.shtmlGeorgia: Reputation For Tolerance Slipping Amidst Attacks Against Religious Minorities
Tolerance genuinely has been a characteristic of the Georgian people, but the ability to be self-critical hasn`t. It`s easier to create monsters than to blame oneself -- and today foreigners are filling that role.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/rights/articles/eav073003.shtmlInternational Pressure For Democratisation In The South Caucasus Holds Both Promise And Threats
In 2003, the United States and the European organizations stepped up pressure on three South Caucasus countries to uphold democratic norms. Unprecedented and open diplomatic pressure, backed up by the conditionality of financial assistance will affect the actions of the governments and increases opposition influence on the eve of elections in Azerbaijan and, especially, Georgia.
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http://www.cacianalyst.org/view_article.php?articleid=1613China`s Water Policies: Implication For Xinjiang And KazakhstanChina`s plans to develop its arid northwestern region continue unabated, and entails the exploitation of water resources which could have a significant impact on Xinjiang and on relations with its Central Asian neighbors, especially Kazakhstan. The region`s high water demand stems in large part from increased cotton farming and development of energy resources. However, these development goals may not be environmentally sustainable and could well lead to unrest among the region`s ethnic population. Beijing has relied on the diversion of rivers that neighboring countries, especially Kazakhstan, depend on. Poor management of the region`s water resources could have a negative long term impact both on the stability of Xinjiang and relations between China and Central Asia.
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http://www.cacianalyst.org/view_article.php?articleid=1615
Armenia Experiences Record First Half Growth Amid Paradoxical Economic ConditionsGovernment statistics show that Armenia`s GDP rose at a 14.8 percent rate during the first half of 2003, giving the country one of the fastest growing economies in the world. At the same time, wealth is unevenly distributed, with at least half of Armenia`s population still living at or below the poverty line.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/business/articles/eav073103.shtml
Rough Road To Russian-Tajik Cooperation
Russia has repeatedly pledged to safeguard security in Central Asia. Yet increased Russian military deployment in the volatile region tends to take longer than expected.
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http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/EH01Ag01.htmlInvesting In Tunnel, Iran Nurtures Ambitions In Tajikistan
Iranian Road and Transportation Minister Ahmed Khorram recently promised over $31 million in loans and grants to Tajikistan to complete the five-kilometer Anzab Tunnel. The tunnel promises to connect Tajikistan`s capital with its second city, Khujand, while bypassing an existing route via Uzbekistan. The project is part of a broader Iranian regional transport blueprint, in which Tajikistan plays a central role in a transit route linking China to the Persian Gulf.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav080103a.shtml
Report Dated 1 August 2003