Picket Near Tbilisi Court Supports Shevardnadze Son-in-law
Itar-Tass
Tbilisi, February 27: More than 100 people are picketing the building of the Tbilisi District Court, which has hearings on the case of Giya Dzhokhtaberidze, son-in-law of Georgian former president Eduard Shevardnadze and head of the Magticom mobile phone operator. Magticom staff members, Eduard Shevardnadze`s daughter Manana and other members of the Dzhokhtaberidze family are taking part in the picket. The family is ready to pay a 1-million lari bail ($487,000). Manana Shevardnadze told the press that she would be fighting for freedom of her husband and the truth till the end. The Mtatsminda-Krtsanisi District Court authorized the three-month preliminary custody of Dzhokhtaberidze on February 22. He is charged with the evasion of 700,000 lari ($340,000) in taxes.
Nepotism Prohibition Added To Tajik Labour Code
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, February 26: Tajikistan`s lower house of parliament has approved a series of changes to the country`s Labor Code, including a prohibition on heads of agencies, their deputies, cashiers, and bookkeepers who are related to one another from working in the same firm, Deutsche Welle reported on 26 February. Tajik Labor Minister Makhmadsho Ilolov said the nepotism prohibition would also be applied to nongovernmental organizations in an effort to overcome the Central Asian tradition that family members who have obtained jobs are morally obliged to find or provide jobs to unemployed relatives.
Saakashvili Says He Is Ready To Grant Abkhazia Broad Autonomy
Itar-Tass
United Nations, February 26: Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said he was ready to grant Abkhazia broad autonomy within Georgia. Speaking at a session of the U.N. Security Council devoted to the Georgian-Abkhazian settlement on Thursday, Saakashvili said, `When we talk about an autonomy, we mean that we are ready to introduce federal elements in relations between the centre and the autonomy. At the same time, we should understand that we consider Abkhazia a unity for Russians, Abkhazs, Georgians, Estonians, Ukraianians and Jews - all those who live there.` The Georgian president stressed, `All these people have the right to return to Abkhazia with the strongest self-government system and the high level of independence.` But Abkhazia should recognise that it is part of a united state where it has the broadest powers, Saakashvili said. `This is our model. We are changing our positions and hope that Russia will do the same. Our conversations with Vladimir Putin are very positive. I hope that progress will be achieved because it is impossible to develop relations in such a way,` the Georgian president pointed out. Saakashvili called on the people of Abkhazia to `rise above confrontation and use the historic opportunity that has offered itself in the wake of the latest changes in Georgia.` The Georgian leader said he was prepared to guarantee the highest degree of autonomy for Abkhazia as an integral part of Georgia.
Georgian Parliament Of Previous Convocation Ends Work On Wednesday
Itar-Tass
Tbilisi, February 25: The Georgian parliament of the 1999 convocation ended its work on Wednesday. Under Georgia`s constitution the country`s highest legislative body was supposed to end its activities 40 days before regular parliamentary elections, i.e. on February 17 but President Mikhail Saakashvili decreed to convene an extraordinary session in view of the urgent need for constitutional and legislative changes. The session endorsed a new Georgian government and appointed the country`s prime minister. The deputies failed to gather a quorum required for the adoption of a bill on changes and amendments. The parliament didn`t ratify inter-governmental agreements on cooperation in air transportation with Turkey and Britain. Georgian parliament Speaker Nino Burdzhanadze expressed the hope that the deputies to be elected to parliament on March 28 would approve these documents as soon as they take up their new jobs.
Armenian Opposition Activists Arrested, Questioned
Radio Free Europe
Yerevan, February 24: Former Armenian Prime Minister Aram Sargsian told journalists in Yerevan on 24 February that dozens of members of his opposition Hanrapetutiun Party were questioned by police during the early hours of that morning, and at least three party members were arrested, RFE/RL`s Yerevan bureau reported. Plainclothes police officers searched the apartment of Hanrapetutiun activist Armen Rubinian and the garage of Romik Mkhitarian, head of a Yerevan district branch of Hanrapetutiun, reportedly looking for weapons. Police spokesman Sayad Shirinian said `large quantities` of arms and ammunition were confiscated during the search operations. Sargsian and another leading Hanrapetutiun member, Albert Bazeyan, accused the authorities of launching a new wave of repression comparable to the mass arrests that followed protests in February-March 2003 against the perceived rigging of the presidential-election outcome.
`Father Of All Turkmen` To Advise Youth
The Australian
Ashgabat, February 24: TURKMENISTAN`S hardline President Saparmurat Niyazov has announced he is penning a textbook on good behaviour to add to a school curriculum already dominated by his `philosophical` works. The volume, entitled `Upbringing,` is based on the `wisdom of the ancient traditions of the Turkmen people who through the ages developed clear-cut norms of behaviour and socialisation,` Niyazov told state-controlled television. `Upbringing` will supplement existing texts by Niyazov that have steadily surplanted much of the Soviet-inherited curriculum that had been credited with raising educational standards in this isolated desert republic in the Communist era. Niyazov has clung to power since the end of Soviet rule in the Central Asian republic and in 1999 was officially declared president-for-life and Turkmenbashi (father of all Turkmen) the Great. Special university departments have been set up to give all students an appreciation of Niyazov`s existing works such as the Rukhnama, or `Spiritual Guide,` and `The Three Evils Threatening our Society` -- a poetry volume on the alleged threat posed by indiscipline, arrogance and `wayward thinking.` Critics have charged that Niyazov`s educational reforms are ushering in a conservative blend of nationalism and nomadic tradition while he has crushed all dissent among Turkmenistan`s five-million-population. The president has cut the period of school education from 10 to nine years meaning that most young people leave school at 16 and are unable to get into Russian universities previously seen as offering the education of choice for Turkmenistan`s brightest. Although the once-dominant Russian language has been supplanted by Turkmen as the state language, Niyazov`s seminal text the Rukhnama appears to have originally been penned in Russian before being translated into Turkmen.
Shevardnadze`s Family Will Not Feel Political Pressure
Interfax
Tbilisi, February 24: The family of Georgia`s former president Eduard Shevardnadze will not be persecuted, Georgian Prosecutor General Irakly Okruashvili told journalists. `There is no question of any political pressure, or especially persecution,` he said. Okruashvili said: `The position of President Mikhail Saakashvili is definite - stereotypes should not be formed in the country about each former president having to be punished because of his previous activity.` The prosecutor general noted that the investigation into Shevardnadze`s family`s business activity is still in progress. Okruashvili said that the case of Magticom company, which is headed by Shevardnadze`s son-in-law Georgy Jokhtaberidze, will be concluded.
Georgian Election Registration Ends
Radio Free Europe
Tbilisi, February 23: As of the 21 February deadline, five blocs and 37 political parties had registered to participate in the 28 March elections for 150 parliament mandates to be distributed under the proportional-representation system, Caucasus Press reported on 23 February. Candidates from Zhvania`s United Democrats will run on the party list of President Mikheil Saakashvili`s National Movement. Saakashvili told journalists on 20 February following talks with visiting Council of Europe Secretary-General Walter Schwimmer that the latter`s proposal that the barrier for parliamentary representation under the proportional-representation system be reduced from 7 percent to 4 percent or 5 percent would serve to fuel corruption, because `small political parties seek to enter parliament in order to promote their business interests and to carry out illegal transactions,` Caucasus Press reported.
Uzbek Supreme Economic Court Holds Plenary Session
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, February 23: The plenary session of the Supreme Economic Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan was held in Tashkent to discuss the activity of the country´s economic courts in 2003. More than 55,000 suits, including 9,000 concerning protection of interests of entrepreneurs and farmers, were considered by the economic courts in 2003. 600 billion soums and US$16.3 million were levied in favour of plaintiffs. 282 documents of regulating and controlling bodies that interfered baselessly in the activity of economic entities were declared illegal, UzA reported. The necessity of further strengthening of contract discipline, elimination of red tape and blackmail in entrepreneurship, and improvement of the practice of protection of farmers interests was emphasised at the session.
NGO Switches To Kyrgyz
Radio Free Europe
Bishkek, February 23: The Kyrgyz NGO coalition For Democracy and Civil Society has issued a press release announcing that its correspondence with state authorities and agencies will be conducted in the state language -- Kyrgyz -- in the future, centrasia.ru reported on 23 February. The regular working language of the NGO will remain Russian. The recently adopted law on Kyrgyzstan`s state language does not apply directly to NGOs, in the view of coalition leader Edil Baisalov, but using the state language is a gesture of respect. Other NGOs and noncommercial organizations have expressed interest in the coalition`s initiative.
Editor Fired For Criticism Of Kazakh Sports
Radio Free Europe
Astana, February 23: Kazakh weekly `Sport & KS` Editor in Chief Nesip Zhunusbai-uly has been fired over an article critical of the state of sport in the country that appeared in the official Kazakh-language daily `Yegemen Qazaqstan` on 17 January, gazeta.kz reported on 23 February. The article, the content of which was not further described in the gazeta.kz report, was later republished in Zhunusbai-uly`s own publication. Zhunusbai-uly has announced that he intends to prove he was unlawfully dismissed and that he wants his job back.
Tajik Parliamentarians Seek Changes In Election Legislation
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, February 22: A group of parliamentarians from the Tajik Communist Party and the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan have proposed changes in the country`s election legislation, Deutsche Welle reported on 22 February. Among the proposed changes are strengthening penalties for violations of election laws and making it more difficult for the authorities to interfere in the election process. It was also proposed that 50 percent of the members of parliament be elected from party lists; at present one-third come from party lists.
Kazakh Opposition Movement Holds Founding Congress
Radio Free Europe
Astana, February 21: The opposition Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement held its founding congress in Almaty on 21 February, khabar.kz reported. Although only 180 delegates attended the congress, they reportedly represented an additional 1,267 people who submitted letters of proxy, making the total well over the 1,000 people required to validate a party`s founding congress. The congress adopted a party program and a charter, both of which will be submitted with other registration documents to the Justice Ministry. The DVK, which was established in late 2002, has made several attempts to register as a public organization, but the ministry has consistently rejected its applications. According to khabar.kz, the DVK is still short of the 50,000 signatures needed to register as a political party.
Clash Happens On Line Of Contact Of Nagorno Karabakh And Azerbaijan Armed Forces
RIA Novosti
Yerevan, February 27: A clash has taken place on the line of contact of the armed forces of the self-proclaimed Nagorny Karabakh republic and the republic of Azerbaijan. Victims are reported. The Yerevan news agency ARKA said on Friday with reference to sources in Stepanakert that on Thursday night an armed group from Azerbaijan tried to cross the first defense line of the Karabakh forces in the territory under control of Nagorny Karabakh - the eastern section of the line of contact near the populated place Bash Karvend. As a result of an intensive shootout, one member of the group was killed and several wounded. The group retreated, leaving the dead body in the separation zone near the Karabakh side. Units of the Karabakh army have not sustained losses. The incident has been reported to the OSCE and International Red Cross Committee offices accredited in Stepanakert. Negotiations are underway with the International Red Cross Committee on passing the dead body to the republic of Azerbaijan.
Armenian Government Withdraws Controversial Military Service Bill
Radio Free Europe
Yerevan, February 26: Yielding to widespread student protests, Prime Minister Andranik Markarian withdrew from parliament on 26 February a controversial draft bill that would have abolished the possibility of graduate students postponing their compulsory military service until after they completed their course of study, Noyan Tapan and RFE/RL`s Yerevan bureau reported. In an apparent sideswipe at Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian, Markarian said the authors of the bill should have explained the rationale for it `in a timely and appropriate manner.` S
Uzbekistan-NATO Cooperation Issues Discussed In Tashkent
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, February 26: The meeting of representatives of NATO member countries` embassies in Uzbekistan was held in Tashkent. Among the participants were Italian Ambassador Angelo Persiani, military attaches of German, Turkish and French embassies, representatives of embassies of the Great Britain, the Netherlands and Poland. First Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Norov participated in the meeting from the Uzbek side. The aim of the meeting was to discuss perspectives of cooperation between Uzbekistan and the NATO, as well as opening of the Partnership for Peace (PfP) training centre in Tashkent. The meeting participants were informed about priority directions of Uzbekistan?s cooperation with the Alliance, the country`s initiatives within the framework of cooperation with NATO and other issues. The foreign representatives welcomed information that Uzbekistan had prepared and sent to NATO Presentation document on individual plan of partnership action and noted the importance of this step in further deepening cooperation between the country and the organisation. The Turkish representative underlined the efficiency of the Uzbek side in preparation of the presentation and said that Uzbekistan was the first country to have prepared and submitted the document to NATO. Italian envoy also stressed the importance of this step. The participants agreed with the importance of creation of the PfP Training Centre. The British embassy representative noted that the UK leadership would be informed about the needs of Uzbekistan and expressed readiness to provide assistance to organise language courses at the future centre. Speaking about Uzbekistan`s participation in the Partnership for Peace Planning and Review Process (PARP), military attache of the French embassy noted that the main idea of the present partnership mechanism was to increase transparency between the Armed Forces of Uzbekistan and NATO member states. In this regard, he called on the Uzbek side to present all information requested by the Alliance, in particular, on the military budget. Italian ambassador noted that Italy supported creation of the PfP cell in Tashkent.
Bush Urges Russia To Withdraw Bases From Georgia
Radio Free Europe
Washington DC, February 25: With visiting Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili at his side, U.S. President George W. Bush today urged Russia to keep its promise to withdraw its forces from Georgia. Speaking with reporters after his meeting with Saakashvili at the White House, Bush said the United States will continue to work with Russia President Vladimir Putin to encourage him to honor the Istanbul commitment of 1999, in which Moscow agreed to the troop pull-out. `We expect the Russian government to honor the Istanbul commitment. The Istanbul commitment made it very clear that Russia would leave those bases. We will continue to work with the [Georgian] president and President Putin on that commitment,` Bush said.
South Korean Troops Leave Anti Terrorism Coalition Base In Kyrgyzstan
Radio Free Europe
Bishkek, February 25: The approximately 200-person South Korean medical contingent at the international antiterrorism coalition`s base at Bishkek`s Manas Airport is being withdrawn, the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry announced on 25 February. According to ITAR-TASS, the South Korean unit was set up soon after the coalition began operating at Manas, but there has been little need for its services since cases of serious injury are evacuated to Germany. After the departure of the South Koreans, only U.S. troops will remain at Manas. The base is now being used exclusively for logistical support to coalition troops in Afghanistan. The South Korean troops have announced plans to donate their medical equipment, worth some $5 million, to the Kyrgyz armed forces.
Defence Secretaries Of US, Kazakhstan Set Priorities For Military Cooperation
RIA Novosti
Astana, February 25: Military technological cooperation between Kazakhstan and the United States will be aimed primarily at combating drug trafficking and maintaining security of the Caspian area, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told a press conference in the capital of Astana after talks with his Kazakh opposite number, Mukhtar Altynbayev. At their meeting Wednesday, the defense ministers examined ways of consolidating military ties between the two countries and discussed Kazakhstan`s cooperation with NATO and the global community`s war on terrorism. Rumsfeld praised Kazakhstan for its contribution to the international crackdown on drug trafficking in the region. The Coalition forces are, in the meantime, doing all they can to halt drug traffic from Afghanistan, he reported.
USA To Continue Providing Military Assistance To Georgia
Pravda
Moscow, February 24: The USA will continue rendering military assistance to Georgia over the next five years, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili told journalists in Washington. According to him, a program of military assistance, which is to start this April, will include the training of 10,000 Georgian servicemen in accordance with NATO standards. The sum of money allocated to this assistance has not been revealed, the Georgian Defense Ministry reported. As reported earlier, the USA has allocated $64m to Georgia within the framework of a military program since 2003. Moreover, US military specialists have trained three battalions of Georgian commandos. On the whole, 2,750 Georgian servicemen have been trained by US instructors within this program of military assistance.
Exercises Planned At Russian Air Base In Kyrgyzstan
Itar-Tass
Moscow, February 24: The first exercises of personnel stationed at a Russian air base in Kyrgyzstan`s city of Kant are scheduled for the second half of this year, an official of the Russian Defence Ministry told Itar-Tass on Tuesday. The goal of the exercises is to check operational capabilities of the air base, which is part of Russia`s 5th Air Army. The Kant base is assigned to Collective Rapid Deployment Forces. It is expected that a decision on the enlargement of `both the air and ground component of the air base` will be made after the manoeuvres, the ministry`s officials said. The base that opened in Kant in the last year`s October has ten planes, including Su-27 fighter jets, Su-25 assault planes, military transport planes, as well as helicopters of Kyrgyzstan`s aviation. It is planned to increase the base`s personnel, which is 200 at present, to 800 in prospect.
US Has No Plans For Permanent Central Asia Bases: Rumsfeld
Kazakhstan News
Tashkent, February 24: The United States has no plans to establish permanent bases in Central Asia but will need access to `operating sites` as it repositions US forces worldwide, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Tuesday in the Uzbek capital. Rumsfeld said US military relations with Uzbekistan were `growing stronger every month` and said the government`s human rights record was only one side of a multifaceted relationship. He spoke after meetings here with President Islam Karimov and other top Uzbek leaders that coincided with the release of a woman who had been sentenced to six years in prison after denouncing her son`s death under torture in an Uzbek prison. The jailing of Fatima Mukhadirova drew an international spotlight to what the United Nations has charged is Uzbekistan`s systematic use of torture and the Karimov government`s harsh methods in suppressing suspected Islamic militants. As many as 6,500 people are thought to be imprisoned on political or religious grounds here. Professing little knowledge of the Mukhadirova case, Rumsfeld told reporters that the US ambassador had said the United States was `pleased` with a court ruling in her favor, after her conviction for religious extremism and plotting against the state.
Kyrgyzstan Celebrates The Fatherland Defenders Day
Kabar Agency
Bishkek, February 23: Solemn actions in honor of war veterans and the Armed Forces hold today on the whole territory of Kyrgyzstan at the initiative of command of the Kyrgyz Defense Ministry. The traditional lessons of courage hold in all schools and higher educational institutions. The solemn formation of subdivisions of the Defense Ministry and National Guards took place at the central square of Bishkek. Defense Minister Esen Topoev attended the formation. Later, a ceremony of hoisting the flag took place and soldiers song the national anthem. The formation ended with parade of military men of the Defense Ministry and National Guards. On February 21, 2004 a requiem meeting dedicated to the Fatherland Defenders Day took place at the Victory Square of Bishkek with participation of war veterans, society and staff of the Bishkek Garrison.
Number Of Service Personnel At Russian Air Base In Kyrgyzstan To Quadruple
Radio Free Europe
Bishkek, February 21: The commander of Russia`s Fifth Airborne Division, General Yevgenii Yurev, was quoted by Interfax on 21 February as saying that by the end of this year, the number of service personnel stationed at the Russian air base at Kant will rise from the current 200 to 800. The number of aircraft stationed at the base is scheduled to be doubled, and in the course of the year runways are to be upgraded to accommodate heavy aircraft.
Uzbek Official Welcomes U.S. Forces
Associated Press
Tashkent, February 21: Uzbekistan will allow the United States to keep military forces here as long as needed for operations in Afghanistan, and would consider a permanent U.S. outpost if Washington wanted one, the Uzbek foreign minister said in an interview Saturday. Speaking before Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld visits Tuesday, Sadyk Safayev also told The Associated Press that Uzbekistan is improving its much-criticized human rights record. He said two people convicted in recent high-profile cases likely would receive amnesty soon. Advertisement Rumsfeld`s visit will be his third here in two years, meeting with Uzbek President Islam Karimov before heading to neighboring Kazakhstan and Afghanistan, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry said Saturday.
Central Asia, Caucasus Vow To Take Harder Line On Terrorism
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, February 26: Nine countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus have agreed to use their mass media and civil society institutions to develop `a culture of intolerance` towards all forms of terrorism, the United Nations reported on 26 February. Concluding a three-day UN-backed workshop in Antalya, Turkey, government representatives from across the region pledged to improve their laws against terrorism and organised crime. They also said voiced interest in receiving support to ratify and implement 12 international conventions against terrorism. In addition, participating nations pledged to take international human rights and humanitarian laws into account as they continued their fight against the scourge. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which helped set up the workshop, urged the countries to foster closer ties with such bodies as the UN Security Council´s Counter-Terrorism Committee, the European Union (EU), the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Delegates from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan took part in the event.
Tajik Terrorist On The International Wanted List Detained In Moscow
RIA Novosti
Moscow, February 26: terrorist put by Tajikistan on the international wanted list has been detained in Moscow. According to the Main Department of Organised Crime of the Russian Interior Ministry, he is one Mahamad Ismatov, accused by the Tajik prosecutor`s office of organising a criminal group and making an attempt at the life of a state official. Ismatov lived in Moscow on a false passport. The question of his extradition to Tajikistan is being discussed now.
Hizb-ut-Tahrir Spreading In Southern Tajikistan
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, February 25: Some 20 suspected activists of the illegal Islamist extremist organization Hizb ut-Tahrir have been detained in the vicinity of the southern Tajik city of Kulob, Asia Plus-Blitz reported on 25 February, citing local law enforcement officers. Security Ministry officers reportedly uncovered a three-cell network of Hizb-ut Tahrir activists in the area. Previously, Hizb ut-Tahrir activity was concentrated in the northern part of the country, but in the last year there have been an increasing number of arrests in the south. In the northern and central parts of the country, most Hizb ut-Tahrir sympathizers are ethnic Uzbeks. Those in the south are mostly ethnic Tajiks.
Extradition Of Chechens In 2002 Complies With Law - Georgia
Itar-Tass
Tbilisi, February 24: The Georgian extradition of five Chechens to Russia in fall 2002 fully complied with the Georgian laws and international legal norms, head of the international relations department at the Georgian Prosecutor General`s Office Paata Mskhiladze told Itar-Tass on Tuesday. Mskhiladze, a representative of the prosecution in the extradition case, has given evidence to the European Court`s investigative mission. The mission is visiting Tbilisi in connection with the appeal from Chechens, who were detained in Georgia in August 2002. The Chechens said their rights were violated in the court hearings in Georgia. Nugzar Gabrichidze, who was the Prosecutor General of Georgia in fall 2002, would be questioned as a witness at closed-door hearings on Wednesday. The mission will question about 20 witnesses, including four Chechens who are serving their sentence in Georgia.
Kyrgyz Interior Minister Finds No Evidence Of Torture Of Extremists
Radio Free Europe
Bishkek, February 23: Deputy Interior Minister Bolotbek Nogoibaev told a news conference in Bishkek on 23 February that his ministry has been unable to confirm claims by several detained members of the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir that they were tortured by law enforcement officers in Djalal-Abad, akipress.org and kabar.kg reported. According to the Interior Ministry, six Hizb ut-Tahrir members were detained for allegedly distributing party leaflets, although the ministry did not say when this occurred. They were questioned for several hours and then sent home. The detainees later told human rights activists they had been beaten while in custody. Nogoibaev claimed that bruises such as the detainees showed to support their allegations could be easily faked.
Itera & Turkmenistan Discuss Caspian Sea Projects
Rigzone
Ashgabat, February 27: Turkmen President Saparmurad Niyazov and Itera head Igor Makarov discussed cooperation in 2004, joint plans for the short-term and areas for further partnerships in the oil and gas industry, Itera said in a press release. The talks in Ashgabat addressed cooperation in the shipment of Turkmen gas and Itera`s participation in developing fields in Turkmenistan`s Caspian Sea sector under Zarit joint venture production sharing agreements, according to the press release. Niyazov said Itera is a long-time partner of Turkmenistan and meets the terms of all agreements, which promote continued cooperation. Itera owns 37 per cent of the Zarit joint venture formed in late 2002 with Rosneft (37 per cent) and Zarubezhneft (26 per cent) to develop blocks 28, 29, 30, and 31 in Turkmenistan`s sector of the Caspian Sea. Itera buys 10 billion cubic meters of Turkmen gas under an agreement signed in 2003 through 2006 and supplies it to Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.
Kazakhstan May Postpone GSM License Auction From March 10
Dow Jones Newswires
Almaty, February 27: Kazakhstan is likely to postpone the auction for new GSM mobile phone network licenses scheduled for March 10 due to lack of demand, the chairman of the State Communications Agency said Friday. Birzhan Kaneshev said there have been no official offers from participants so far, although there has been interest expressed by foreign companies and companies from the former Soviet Union. He said, adding that Kazakhstan will keep postponing the auction until it receives requests `from good quality operators.` `Current operators don`t satisfy the needs of our mobile market. We want to have a good operator,` Kaneshev said on national radio. Kazakhstan will auction several licenses in the Global System for Mobile Communications-1800 standard for between $45 million and $50 million.
IMF To Discuss Armenia Loan In April
Interfax
Yerevan, February 26: The International Monetary Fund board of directors may in April discuss the allocation of a sixth IMF Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) tranche to Armenia, the IMF office in Yerevan told Interfax. If the board approves the disbursal, Armenia could receive 10 million SDR at the end of April - beginning of May, a source at the IMF office said. An IMF mission visited Armenia from February 6 to 20 and noted the country`s significant economic growth in 2003 of 13.9 per cent and an improved investment climate. The Fund`s experts said reforms were being carried out successfully overall.
Kazakhstan Will Not Invite Other Investors To Participate In Kurmangazy Fld
Rigzone
Astana, February 26: Kazakhstan does not plan to ask investors other than Total to participate in developing the North Caspian Kurmangazy field, Uzakbai Karabalin, president of national oil company KazMunaiGaz, told a news conference in Astana this week. `At the moment, we do not plan to include any investors other than Total in our alliance with [Russia`s] Rosneft for developing Kurmangazy,` he said. Total is a large company with the required finances and technological potential, he said. Kazakhstan plans to sell Total half of its share in the Kurmangazy project, Karabalin said. In effect, Total will own 25 per cent of the project, he said. `Talks are underway with the competent executive agency, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, on signing a production sharing agreement on the Kurmangazy project,` Karabalin said. Calculations are being made in line with new production sharing agreement legislation and discussions are underway on various approaches to the development of Kurmangazy, he said. Attracting other investors may be discussed once the Kazakh government signs a production sharing agreement with KazMunaiGaz and Rosneft, Karabalin said. Karabalin said earlier that important talks have been underway with Rosneft since last year, which should result in their reaching a common position on most important items of the production sharing agreement in the first half of 2004.
Kazakh Population May Grow 10 per cent In Five Years
Interfax
Almaty, February 26: Kazakhstan may have a population of 16.5 million by 2009, said deputy director of the demographic department of the State Statistics Agency Yerbolat Musabek. `We expect the size of the population to reach 16.5 million by the next census in 2009,` he told a Wednesday news conference in Almaty. He expects immigration to exceed emigration this year. `In 2004, we can expect a positive balance in migration,` he said. Musabek said many people who left Kazakhstan in the 1990s are returning. On January 1, 2004, Kazakhstan had a population of 14.95 million. The average life expectancy was 65.9 years in 2003, compared to 65.7 years in 1999.
Uzbekistan To Restrict Import, Export Of National Currency
Radio Free Europe
Tashkent, February 26: As of 1 March, the amount of Uzbek national currency -- the som -- that may be imported into or exported from the country will be restricted to the equivalent of $274, tribune-uz.info reported on 26 February, quoting a Reuter report. The restriction applies to residents and non-residents alike, and anyone wanting to move larger amounts will have to obtain the permission of the Uzbek National Bank. Reportedly, the unification of exchange rates last fall has reduced the volume of sums in circulation, with the result that state salaries and pensions could not be paid on time due to lack of cash.
Shell Fined For Kashagan Delay
The Independent
Astana, February 25: An international consortium of oil companies led by Shell is to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation to the Kazakhstan government after agreeing to delay the start of production from what is the world`s largest untapped oil discovery. Shell and its partners, who include ENI of Italy, Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips, have agreed to spend $29bn (£15bn) developing the giant Kashagan field in the Caspian Sea, which is estimated to contain 13 billion barrels of recoverable oil - more than the entire reserves of the Opec member Nigeria. However, production will not start until 2007 or 2008 - three years later than planned - meaning that Shell and its partners will have to pay compensation. The companies and the Kazakhstan government, whose energy minister is Vladimir Shkolnik, refused to say how big the compensation would be although one official said it would run into `hundreds of millions of dollars`. The final investment go-ahead for Kashagan will enable Shell to start rebooking its share of the field - one of the projects that featured in last month`s shock reserves downgrade by the company. Shell stunned the financial markets by cutting its estimate of proved reserves by 20 per cent or 3.9 billion barrels, including 380 million barrels of Kashagan oil. Shell has an interest of just under 17 per cent in the field, which will rise to just over 20 per cent after it has bought out part of British Gas`s shareholding. Shell said production was targeted to begin in 2008, rising from an initial 75,000 barrels a day to 1.2 million barrels by 2016. The $29bn investment, of which Shell`s share will be about $6bn, will be spread across 15 years.
Dragon Oil Suspends Drilling On Turkmenistan Well
Sharewatch
Ashgabat, February 25: Dragon announced that its first well 21/106 drilled on the LAM 21 platform in the Cheleken Block offshore Turkmenistan has been plugged and temporarily suspended due to technical reasons. Well 21/106 was spudded on 18th November 2003 and is the first of up to four wells to be drilled from the LAM 21 platform. Due to these technical reasons the well was sidetracked twice before being drilled to a total depth of 3,197 m. Notwithstanding, oil and/or gas bearing sands were logged in the upper reservoir zones 3, 4 and 5. Dragon will continue with its drilling programme on the LAM 21 platform and expects to spud well 21/107 at the endChairman Hussain M. Sultan commented: of February. It is intended to drill this well to a minimum total depth of 3,540 m, with an option to extend to 4,200 m. Following the results of future drilling from the LAM 21 platform and because of encouraging reservoir potential in well 21/106, Dragon will re-evaluate options to complete well 21/106 later this year.
Eni, Partners Approve $29 Billion Caspian Oil Field
Bloomberg
Astana, February 25: Eni SpA, Royal Dutch/Shell Group and their partners agreed to spend about $29 billion over 15 years to develop the Kashagan oil field in Kazakhstan, which may be the world`s largest untapped deposit, ending months of delays. The Caspian Sea deposit will help Kazakhstan triple oil output to 3.2 million barrels a day, or enough to supply Germany, by 2015. Oil production will start in 2007 or 2008, at least two years later than planned, and the partners will pay Kazakhstan`s government for the delay. `This is a huge project. It`s good news for all of the partners,` said Jason Kenney, an oil analyst at ING Financial Markets in Edinburgh, Scotland. `Eni will get a good boost because they have been doing a lot of complicated negotiations on behalf of the partners.` Oil companies face problems increasing oil reserves and output because of limited access to the Middle East and dwindling opportunities in other regions, such as the U.K. and U.S. The Kashagan field holds as much as 13 billion barrels of recoverable oil, or more than the proven reserves of OPEC member Algeria. Shares of Eni were up 1.1 percent to 15.67 euros in Milan at 5:30 p.m. Total rose 0.5 percent to 147.1 euros in Paris. Shell Transport & Trading Co. in London, which owns 40 percent of the Shell group, rose 0.5 percent to 360.25 pence. Schedule Dispute Eni, Europe`s fourth-largest oil company and leader of the project, along with Total SA of France, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil Corp., and Inpex Corp. reached the accord in Astana, Kazakhstan. The delays stemmed from disputes over the schedule of the development, where freezing waters in winter hamper drilling.
Salyan Oil To Pump $50 Mln Into Azerbaijani Project
Interfax
Baku, February 25: Salyan Oil, a 50:50 joint venture between the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR) and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), plans to invest $50 million this year in the Kursengi-Garabagli project, the operating company told Interfax. `We plan to invest as much this year as we did in 2003, although originally we intended to invest $80 million in 2003,` Salyan Oil said. `But for a variety of reasons, including only drilling eight of a planned 16 production wells, our expenditures were less than planned,` the company said. This year, Salyan Oil aims to drill 10 production wells which, when complete, will increase production from a current 1,100 tonnes to 1,250 tonnes of oil per day. The company currently has 230 production wells.
Agip KCO To Start Kashagan Development In 2007-2008
Interfax
Astana, February 25: The international consortium Agip KCO plans to start commercial development of the Kashagan field in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian in 2007-2008. The exact date for the start of commercial oil production at the Kashagan field will depend on conditions at the field, KazMunaiGaz Uzakbai Karabalin said at a press conference in Astana, following the signing of project documents, including a development plan and a budget for the project. The cost of the full-scale development of the field is estimated at $29 billion. `The subcontractor has been given sufficient flexibility to be able to move the start date depending on how major technological issues are resolved,` he said. Karabalin said that if conditions are good, commercial production at Kashagan could begin in 2007, but any additional difficulties could delay the start of the project until 2008. Kazakh Prime Minister Danial Akhmetov said at a press briefing on Wednesday that Agip KCO would pay Kazakhstan compensation for the delay in the start of the project. `Without a doubt we will include in an additional agreement some compensation in the event of one side or the other not meeting its obligations in full,` Akhemtov said.
Lukoil To Buy Second March Oil Consignment From Azerbaijan
Interfax
Baku, February 24: Lukoil International Trading & Supply Company has won a tender to buy the second March consignment of Azerbaijani Urals oil exported via the Baku-Novorossiisk pipeline, a source in the SOCAR marketing department told Interfax. This consignment will amount to 80,000 tonnes and will be shipped during the last 10 days of March, the source said. SOCAR plans to export a total of 210,000 tonnes of oil in March, the same amount as in January and February. France`s Total and Switzerland`s Glencore bought the January consignments, Sonol and Vitol Broking bought the February consignments and Vitol Broking bought the first March consignment. SOCAR plans to export 2.5 million tonnes of oil in 2004, the same as in 2003.
Turkish Section Of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipe To Be Finished By Year-end
Interfax
Baku, February 24: Construction work on the Baku-Tbilisi- Ceyhan pipeline from the Turkish-Georgian border to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan will be completed by the end of 2004, a source in the headquarters of Turkish pipeline company Botas told Interfax. `Construction work on laying the Turkish section of the Baku- Ceyhan pipeline, including testing, will be completed by the end of this year,` the source said. He said that at the moment construction is underway and is not encountering any obstacles on three parts of the Turkish section. `A total of 48 per cent of exploration work and material supplies were completed by the start of February 2004, in addition to 36 per cent of work on preparing the corridor, 26 per cent of pipe-laying work and 23 per cent of welding,` the source said. `At the moment installation of 30 per cent of the pile at the sea section of the terminal in Ceyhan has been completed and construction of a tank farm is continuing at the terminal,` he said.
Kashagan Compensation Deal Seen This Week-Kazakh Oilco
Reuters
Astana, February 23: The head of Kazakhstan`s main state oil firm said on Monday he expected the government to sign a deal with Western oil firms on compensation for a delay in production at the mammoth offshore Kashagan oilfield this week. The consortium, led by Italy`s ENI (ENI), has been in talks with the Kazakhs for months over the output delays at Kashagan in the Caspian. The government has been seeking cash compensation for production delays. `We expect these talks to finish literally within days,` said Uzakbai Karabalin, the head of state-owned KazMunaiGas. `We`ll probably be able to tell you the results together this week.` His words echoed a statement by French consortium partner Total (TOTF) last week. The government originally wanted Kashagan to come on stream in 2005, but ENI said the earliest possible date would be 2006-2007. Total Chief Executive Thierry Desmarest last week aired a new date, saying the project would launch in April 2008.
Kazakhstan, Italian Firm May End Talks On Oilfield This Week
BBC
Almaty, February 23: The president of KazMunaiGaz, Uzakbay Karabalin, expects that the talks with the Agip KCO international consortium on the terms for beginning oil extraction at Kashagan oilfield (on the Kazakh shelf of the Caspian Sea) will end this week. `It seems to me that we will not wait long. Probably, this week we will manage to reveal the results (of the talks) in detail,` Karabalin said at a news conference held in Astana on Monday [23 February]. At the same time, he thinks that `in the near future`, as soon as `the results of the talks are confirmed by the [Kazakh] government`, the sides will sign an appropriate agreement. As far as the amount of compensation [to be paid by Agip KCO] to Kazakhstan for delaying the beginning of oil extraction at Kashagan is concerned, the head of KazMunaiGaz said that it was assumed that `this will be both a single payment of a certain sum and subsequent (annual) payments` for each year of delay. The president of KazMunaiGaz, Uzakbay Karabalin, expects that the talks with the Agip KCO international consortium on the terms for beginning oil extraction at Kashagan oilfield (on the Kazakh shelf of the Caspian Sea) will end this week.
Total Sole Foreign Company Investing In Kazakh Caspian Oil
Interfax
Astana, February 23: Kazakhstan does not plan to ask investors other than France`s Total to participate in developing the North Caspian Kurmangazy field, Uzakbai Karabalin, president of national oil company KazMunaiGaz, told a news conference in Astana on Monday. `At the moment, we do not plan to include any investors other than Total in our alliance with [Russia`s] Rosneft for developing Kurmangazy,` he said. Total is a large company with the required finances and technological potential, he said. Kazakhstan plans to sell Total half of its share in the Kurmangazy project, Karabalin said. In effect, Total will own 25 per cent of the project, he said. `Talks are underway with the competent executive agency, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, on signing a production sharing agreement on the Kurmangazy project,` Karabalin said. Calculations are being made in line with new production sharing agreement legislation and discussions are underway on various approaches to the development of Kurmangazy, he said.
Kazakh Explores JV Opportunities
The Financial Express
New Delhi, February 27: A Kazakh business delegation visiting India discussed opportunities for joint ventures and collaborations with their Indian counterparts in a buyer-seller meet organised by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (Fieo) in New Delhi on Friday. Looking for a Bride Groom with photo of Age 18 - 25 26 - 30 31 - 35 36 - 45 46 - 50 Above 50 The 10-member business delegation represented diverse interests including tea, rice, construction materials and equipment, food processing equipment, flour, vegetable oil, spices, garments, hosiery products, chemicals, metallurgical and mining equipment. The buyer-seller meet is a spin-off of the MoU signed by Fieo and the Union Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Kaza-khstan, signed in Almaty.
Embassy Of Kuwait In Uzbekistan Celebrates National, Liberation Days
Kuwait News Agency
Moscow, February 27: Ambassador of Kuwait in Uzbekistan Waleed Al-Kanderi on Thursday held a reception ceremony on the occasion of the 43rd anniversary of the National Day and the 13th anniversary of the Liberation day of Kuwait. During the ceremony, Al-Kanderi said that Kuwaiti-Uzbekistani relations witnessed remarkable developments in the past two years, praising outcomes of the visit of the Uzbekistani President Islom Karimov to Kuwait earlier this year, a visit, he said, started a new phase of `fruitful bilateral relations`. In the meantime, the Uzbekistani television quoted Al-Kanderi as saying that `strengthening the Kuwaiti economy became part of the priority list of the Kuwaiti government`s work-schedule` after the fall of the former Iraqi regime. The ceremony was attended by several Uzbekistani, Arab and foreign diplomats, in addition to local representatives of the private sector in the country.
Azerbaijani President To Pay Official Visit To Kazakhstan
RIA Novosti
Astana, February 27: Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev will come to Astana on March 1st with a two-day official visit. Talks between Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev and Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev are scheduled to be held in the course of the visit, the Kazakh President`s press-service disclosed. The both sides will discuss a broad spectrum of issues, which are of the mutual interest. It is expected that Mr. Aliyev will also visit Gumilyov`s Eurasian University and the President`s culture center museum. In 2003 the trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan was estimated at $130 mln, out of which $100 mln cover Kazakh export of oil, oil products, grain and metals.
Russian Extradition Of Tajik Fuels `Quid Pro Quo` Speculation
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, February 27: Russia and Tajikistan are currently engaged in difficult negotiations over the future of military cooperation between the two countries. Against this backdrop, Moscow`s abrupt decision to extradite former Tajik Interior Minister Yakub Salimov after holding him since June 2003 has given rise to talk of quid pro quo. Before his fall from grace, Salimov was an imposing figure on the Tajik political scene. According to biographical information provided by Deutsche Welle and Interfax, Yakub Salimov was a paramilitary commander in 1992-93. As civil war engulfed Tajikistan, Salimov was one of the figures who helped to bring about current President Imomali Rakhmonov`s rise to prominence. Salimov went on to serve as Tajikistan`s interior minister from 1993 to 1995, wielding considerable power under chaotic conditions. In 1995, he became Tajikistan`s ambassador to Turkey, before returning to Dushanbe in 1996 to chair his country`s Customs Committee. In the spring of 1997, he saved President Rakhmonov from an assassination attempt in Khujand. By year`s end, however, Salimov had been forced to flee Tajikistan after a series of political missteps and unwise alliances amid the jockeying that accompanied the end of the civil war. After 1997, various sources place Salimov in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. He also traveled frequently to Moscow, where Russian security forces arrested him on 21 June 2003, acting on an international warrant Tajik authorities had issued several years earlier.
Georgian President To Pay Official Visit To Azerbaijan From March 4-5
RIA Novosti
Baku, February 27: Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili will pay an official visit to Azerbaijan on March 4-5, the Georgian Embassy in Azerbaijan reported. Mikhail Saakashvili is scheduled to meet with his Azeri counterpart Ilkham Aliyev and other officials. They are to discuss a wide range of bilateral, regional and international issues. The sides are specifying the issue of signing bilateral documents during the visit, the embassy said. According to unofficial information, at issue will be the implementation of energy projects, in particular, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline.
Five-nation Group Pushes Customs Union
Kazakhstan News
Almaty, February 27: The heads of the governments of five former Soviet countries led by Russia agreed on Friday to push ahead with plans to form a single customs union by 2006. Creation of the customs union between Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan would still `require hundreds of decisions ... but should be achieved in 2006 if preparations are energetic and fortunate,` Russia`s acting prime minister Viktor Khristenko said at the meeting in Kazakhstan. Harmonising tarrifs between the countries would be accompanied by joint efforts to prepare for membership of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Kazakh Prime Minister Danial Akhmetov told journalists. Mountainous Kyrgyzstan is alone among the five countries at Friday`s meeting to have already joined the WTO and has accordingly boasted modest success in building economic ties with neighbouring China. Tariff harmonisation among former Soviet countries has been dogged by national sensitivities since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, with Russia standing accused of taking unfair advantage of its heavily indebted former satellites. Simultaneously Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan have been working on plans for a more close-knit single economic space. Such efforts could however complicate the WTO membership ambitions of those involved, several of which have very different economic profiles, commentators have said.
USAID Issues Grants To Four Uzbek NGOs
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, February 27: Tashkent hosted presentation of the NGOs´ project, which were awarded grants by US Agency for International Development´s Civic Advocacy Support Programme (CASP). The event was attended by the chairman of Oliy Majlis (parliament) committee on democratic institutes, NGOs and self-governing bodies Akmal Saidov and US Ambassador to Uzbekistan Jon Robert Purnell. CASP assists to create conditions for formation of democratic culture, political, economic and cultural reforms. Through grants, the programme is assisting to solve problems concerning the population. 15 NGOs of Uzbekistan participated in the CASP contest, 4 of which received grants. These are Nukus Union of Aral and Amudarya protection, Samarkand-based Hayot, Association Businesswomen of Uzbekistan Tadbirkor Ayol and Federation of societies on protection of consumer rights of Uzbekistan.
Russia And Kazakhstan Agree On Oil Balance
Kabar Agency
Almaty, February 27: Russia and Kazakhstan have achieved an agreement on the oil balance through 2020, acting Russian Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko told journalists in Almaty, Kazakhstan, after his meeting with his Kazakhstani counterpart Danial Akhmetov. `Oil exports outside Kazakhstan will be increased to 160m tons by 2020,` Khristenko noted. Currently oil exports amount to about 40m to 45m tons. Moreover, the acting PM mentioned that the sides considered routes for exporting Kazakhstani oil through Russia. `This is the first time Russia and Kazakhstan have provided guarantees on volumes of oil transportation,` Khristenko concluded.
Turkmenistan To Survey Natural Gas Reserves As Preparation For Trans-Afghan Pipeline
Associated Press
Ashgabat, February 27: Turkmenistan will conduct a survey of its vast natural gas reserves as part of preparations for a planned trans-Afghan pipeline that has drawn strong international support since the fall of the Taliban, Turkmen officials said. President Saparmurat Niyazov signed a decree Thursday ordering the Oil and Gas Ministry to determine actual reserves in southeastern Turkmenistan, where the Dauletabad-Donmez field is set to be the starting point for the US$3.5 billion pipeline through Afghanistan to Pakistan. A US$1.1 million contract is to be signed with American and British firms for the survey. The move came after a request from the Asian Development Bank, which has strongly backed the pipeline project and conducted a feasibility study of the project.
EurAsEC Interstate Council Meeting Opens In Almaty
Kabar Agency
Almaty, February 27: Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Nikolai Tanaev has left for Almaty to attend the ninth meeting of the Interstate Council of Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) at the level of heads of governments. According to press service of the prime minister`s office, the meeting will take place today and discuss economic situation of state-members of the community. The heads of government will consider the implementation of decisions of the Interstate Council dated October 28, 2003, practical actions on development of cooperation in the field of energy, including use of hydroresources of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The meeting will discuss formation of base list of the common customs tariff of EurAsEC, draft treaty on the status of legislation basis of EurAsEC, draft protocol on conditions of transference of electrical energy between member states of the community. Besides, the participants will determine positions of the states at negotiations on joining the WTO, as well as other problems of socio-economic cooperation. The agreement on EurAsEC setting up was signed in Astana on October 10, 2000. The organisation is set up on the base of the Customs Union and keeps to its principles.
Georgia`s New President Says He`s Ready For `new Era` With Moscow
Associated Press
New York, February 27: Georgia`s new president said he was ready for a `new era in relations` with Russia, and he repeated that his ousted predecessor should not be arrested amid a crackdown on corruption in the Caucasus nation. Mikhail Saakashvili, a 36-year-old U.S.-educated lawyer who was inaugurated as president of the former Soviet Republic a month ago, also touted his country`s so-called `Rose Revolution` - an uprising last fall that toppled President Eduard Shevardnadze after rigged elections. `For anyone whoever thought or hoped that Georgia was a failed state, the revolution of our people proved them wrong,` Saakashvili said Thursday. Georgia and its powerful northern neighbor have had tense relations for many of the years since the Soviet Union`s breakup. Among the thorny issues are Russia`s control of two military bases in Georgia and Russia`s introducing simplified visa procedures for several breakaway provinces in Georgia. Tbilisi sees the visas as encouraging independence for the provinces. Saakashvili said Georgia was ready to cooperate with Russia and meet it `halfway` on regional issues. `I intend to continue down the path of new and improved relations with Russia,` he said in a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations. Speaking later at Columbia University`s Law School, where he received his law degree, Saakashvili made passing reference to developing closer ties with the United States. `There should always be a big friend,` he said. `You should always be prepared to bring a big friend to the table.`
Indian Bureau Times Magazine Covers Reforms In Uzbekistan
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, February 26: Indian Bureau Times magazine allocated two pages of its latest issue to relations of Uzbekistan and India. According to Jahon, the article entitled `India and Uzbekistan` tells about initiatives and practical steps of Uzbekistan on the international arena, as well as reforms in the country. The Jahon report also noted that Bureau Times had covered Uzbekistan in its earlier issues. In particular, the magazine`s April 2002 issue was fully devoted to Uzbekistan. Bureau Times is one of the leading magazines of India. President of India Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Vice-President Thiru Bhairon Singh Shekhawat write and give interviews to the magazine on important issues of internal and external policy.
U.S. To Help Georgia With Law-enforcement, Security Reform
Interfax
Tbilisi, February 26: A memorandum on US assistance to Georgia in reforming law enforcement and security agencies was signed by Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Zaza Kandelaki and acting US ambassador to Tbilisi Patricia Moller on Thursday. At the signing ceremony, Moller said assistance will be provided by the US State Department within the framework of the anti-terrorist program. Since 1994, 528 Georgian officials have received instruction under the program, with $4.5 million allocated for their training. The program includes courses on airport security management, investigation procedures after terrorist acts, securing oil pipelines, and negotiation in hostage situations. The courses are taught by officials from U.S. Customs, the FBI and the State Department`s diplomatic security service.
Uzbek, Iranian Officials Discuss Cooperation In Healthcare
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, February 26: Iran`s Ambassador to Uzbekistan Mohammad Fatkhali met Uzbek Health Minister Feruz Nazirov on Thursday. According to IRNA, the sides exchanged opinions on expansion of bilateral relations between in medical and pharmaceutical spheres, as well as medical education. The ambassador said Iranian medical equipment could compete with analogues produced in other countries. The Uzbek Health Minister, in his turn, hailed achievements of Iranian surgery, in particular cardio surgery. He noted that 50-60 per cent of equipment used in healthcare system of Uzbekistan had been produced during the Soviet times and needed to be modernised. Speaking about exchange of universities and educational delegations, Nazirov stated readiness to send Uzbek specialists to Tehran and invited Iranian colleagues to visit Uzbekistan.
Kazakh, French Presidents Discuss Bilateral Relations
Interfax
Astana, February 26: Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and his French counterpart Jacques Chirac discussed bilateral relations in a telephone conversation on Thursday. `The talk centered on the status of and the outlook for economic and political relations between Kazakhstan and France, ways to expand the involvement of France`s large and medium businesses in the Kazakh economy and cooperation in culture matters,` Nazarbayev`s press service reported on Friday. The two men also `exchanged views on the French president`s upcoming visit to Kazakhstan, the time of which will be agreed upon later,` it reported.
Uzbek FM Holds Negotiations With Latvian President
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, February 26: A delegation of Uzbekistan led by Foreign Minister Sadyk Safaev has started a three-day visit to Latvia on 26 February. On the first day of the visit, the Uzbek delegation met the President of Latvia Vaira Vike-Freiberga. The president said Latvia is open for cooperation with Uzbekistan and Central Asia as a whole. `Latvia has virtually reached all its foreign policy targets - full membership in the European Union and NATO - and now it intends to develop cooperation in the eastern direction,` Vaira Vike-Freiberga said. The Latvian president handed over to Uzbek Foreign Minister an official invitation to the president of Uzbekistan to visit Latvia. It is expected that the Uzbek leader will visit Latvia in April 2004.
Georgian President Says Russia Must End Support For Breakaway Regions
Voice of America
Washington DC, February 26: Georgia`s president says relations with neighboring Russia are improving, but asserts Moscow must reverse policies that contribute to lingering animosities. President Mikhail Saakashvili made the comments in an address to the U.N. Security Council. President Saakashvili said he had gone to Moscow earlier this month with his hand extended in friendship, and that hand had been met. Speaking to the Security Council Thursday, the 36-year-old Georgian leader said the visit convinced him that the door to better relations was open for the first time since Georgia regained independence in 1991. President Saakashvili said his talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin had managed to move past what he called the poisonous rhetoric of the past. But at the same time, he said he had no illusions that the troubled bilateral relationship would be transformed overnight. The Georgian leader called on the international community to intervene to resolve the dispute over the breakaway Abkhazia region.
Georgia Leader Plans Close Ties With U.S.
The Washington Times
Washington DC, February 26: The Republic of Georgia plans to be a close ally of the United States and its giant neighbor Russia will have to live with that fact, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said in an interview yesterday. The newly elected president, who engineered the ouster of former President Eduard Shevardnadze last fall, was in a buoyant mood after what aides described as a `very warm` meeting with President Bush yesterday in the Oval Office. `The relationship is based on shared values,` said the hulking U.S.-trained lawyer, who emphasized the `kinship` and `chemistry` between Georgia and the United States during a meeting at Blair House with editors and reporters from The Washington Times. Mr. Saakashvili said he had recently met for 4½ hours with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he found `nostalgic` over the demise of the former Soviet Union but desirous of better relations with his neighbors. `They are getting used to our cooperation with the Americans and learning to live with it,` Mr. Saakashvili said. Almost every member of the new Georgian government has been trained in the United States, making the new leadership a natural ally of the West and the United States.
Central Asia: Rumsfeld Wraps Up Visit To Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan
Radio Free Europe
Prague, February 26: Donald Rumsfeld U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld paid a visit to Central Asia this week aimed at strengthening military ties and assessing future security needs. RFE/RL looks at the visit and what it accomplished in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Following trips to Iraq and Kuwait, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld visited Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan this week as part of a three-day trip to Central Asia. Rumsfeld held talks with the countries` leaders on prospects for expansion of military relations. During his third visit to Uzbekistan in the past two years, Rumsfeld stressed that U.S.-Uzbek military relations are `growing stronger every month.` He thanked President Islam Karimov for supporting the U.S.-led military operations in Afghanistan. `We have benefited greatly in our efforts in the global war on terror and in Afghanistan from the wonderful cooperation we`ve received from the government of Uzbekistan,` he said. Uzbekistan became a key U.S. ally in the war against terrorism in 2001 when Tashkent allowed U.S. forces to use the Khanabad air base in southern Uzbekistan for military operations in Afghanistan. Alex Vatanka is editor in chief of `Jane`s Sentinel: Russia and the CIS,` a security-assessment publication based in London. He says Rumsfeld`s visit underlines the importance of the role of Central Asia -- particularly Uzbekistan -- on the way the Pentagon envisages the new allocation of its troops around the world. `Uzbekistan -- I`m sure, at this stage -- is being examined in this context. The U.S. is very likely to reconsider how its troops oversees are distributed. One of the logical deductions one can make is that there will be a shift away from Western Europe to areas where there are more risks for instability. And obviously Central Asia being close to the Middle East [and] to Afghanistan, and in itself being a fairly unstable place, would make a suitable place to act as a new base for American military personnel,` Vatanka told RFE/RL. In an interview with the Associated Press on 21 February, Uzbek Foreign Minister Sadyk Safaev left open the possibility of a long-term U.S. presence in the country. However, Rumsfeld said Washington does not intend to establish permanent bases in the region. `We have no plans to put permanent bases in this part of the world [Uzbekistan and the region]. We have been discussing with various friends and allies the issue of -- I guess you would call them operating sites that would not be permanent as a base would be permanent, but would be a place where the United States and coalition countries could periodically and intermittently have access and support,` Rumsfeld said. Uzbekistan was the second-largest recipient of U.S. aid among the Central Asian nations -- receiving $86 million in 2003. Kazakhstan received the most U.S. assistance last year -- $92 million. This spring, the U.S. administration will have to decide whether to certify Uzbekistan for broader assistance programs. All direct assistance will be suspended if Uzbekistan is decertified due to lack of political and economic reforms. From Uzbekistan, Rumsfeld moved on to the oil-rich nation of Kazakhstan. After talks with Prime Minister Danial Akhmetov, Rumsfeld praised the country as a model for successful disarmament. `Had Iraq followed the Kazakhstan model after 17 UN resolutions and disarmed the way Kazakhstan did, there would not have been a war,` he said. When Kazakhstan seceded from the Soviet Union in 1991, it had one of the largest nuclear arsenals in the world, which it unilaterally surrendered by 1995. Kazakhstan has responded more guardedly than Uzbekistan to Washington`s emergence as a major power broker in Central Asia. Astana has nonetheless offered the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan the use of a Kazakh airport for emergency landings and refueling. Kazakhstan also deployed about 30 peacekeeping troops to Iraq in August to help with demining and restoring water supplies. `Kazakhstan is an important country in the global war on terror and has been wonderfully helpful in Iraq, and I came here to personally say `thank you` and express our appreciation,` Rumsfeld said. Rumsfeld asked Kazakh officials to become more actively involved in NATO`s Partnership for Peace program. He said Washington is committed to ensuring the security of Kazakhstan`s portion of the oil-rich Caspian Sea, an area of interest for Washington as it seeks to diversify its crude-oil supply away from the Middle East. `We talked about the U.S. support for Kazakhstan`s sovereignty and independence, and our important military-to-military relationship,` Rumsfeld said. U.S. security efforts will focus on helping Kazakhstan`s military ensure the security of pipelines and installations around its Caspian coastline. The U.S. is to spend $5 million this year on weapons, armor, and training to help the country build up its navy. Kazakhstan decided last year to set up its own navy and will take delivery of its first battleships in coming months. The Associated Press quoted the Kazakh Defense Ministry as saying the two countries signed a five-year cooperation plan last September that envisages the delivery of helicopters, military cargo aircraft, and ships for Kazakhstan`s Caspian Sea forces. Under the plan, the United States will also reportedly supply equipment for Kazakh troops and provide antiterrorism training. Interfax quoted James Kenney of the U.S. Embassy in Kazakhstan as stressing that Washington is not planning to create a military base on the Caspian.
World Azeri Congress In Preparation In Cologne
RIA Novosti
Baku, February 26: The seventh world Azeri congress will be held in Cologne on February 27 through 29, RIA Novosti learnt on Thursday from the press service of the Azerbaijan State Committee for Work with Compatriots Abroad. The congress will discuss the results of the parliamentary elections in Iran, Armenian-Azeri conflict, methods of boosting the efficiency of work of the Azeri diaspora and handling the goals it is facing. The congress is going to adopt an appeal to international organizations and the parliaments of some countries for recognizing the fact of genocide of the Azeris in Hodzhaly.
Students From Former Soviet Union Countries Visit Washington
Kabar Agency
Washington DC, February 26: High school students from 12 countries of the former Soviet Union are in Washington to help celebrate the 10th anniversary of the State Department`s Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) program. The 126 students will attend a Civic Education workshop and will also attend a reception hosted by Senator Richard Lugar, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Assistant Secretary of State Patricia Harrison on February 26. These students are part of a group of nearly 1,400 FLEX students who are currently living with host families throughout the United States and attending American high schools this year.
Turkmenistan-Iran Dam Nears Completion
Agence France-Presse
Ashgabat, February 26: A major dam being constructed by Iran and Turkmenistan on their common border should be ready for commissioning in October, a Turkmen official said after a visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi. Work `is practically finished` on the Friendship dam on the Tejen river, which flows northwards from Afghanistan along the Turkmenistan-Iran border, the official at Turkmenistan`s water resources ministry said. In Iran the Tejen is known as the Hari Rud. The dam will create a reservoir stretching over 48 square kilometressquare miles) and irrigating 50,000 hectares (125,000 acres) of under-developed territory either side of the Turkmenistan-Iran border, the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. The project was among the topics discussed during a brief visit that Kharazi made to this isolated former Soviet republic on Wednesday, official Turkmen media said. The construction is going ahead with hardly any public debate in Turkmenistan as President Saparmurat Niyazov`s leadership has stamped out all dissent.
Central Asia Law Enforcement Bodies Gather In Tashkent
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, February 25: A three-day seminar entitled `Ways to improve cooperation of law enforcement bodies of Central Asian state on national and regional levels` started in Tashkent on 25 February. The forum has been organised by French Embassy in Uzbekistan, National Police of France of UN Office for Drugs and Crime. The seminar is attended by representatives of all law enforcement bodies of Central Asian states, which includes representatives of internal affairs ministries, national security services, committees on border and customs control, the agencies for drug control, as well as prosecutor´s offices. The forum will discuss a wide range of issues, in particular, cooperation between law enforcement bodies of Central Asia in control of drug trafficking, legal issues, organisational and other aspects. The participants will also receive knowledge on similar activities in European states, in particular, in France and Germany. Among the issues of discussion will be creation of Central Asian Regional Information-Coordination Centre (CARIC), formation of which was offered by the Uzbek President at his meeting with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan during the latter´s visit to Uzbekistan in October 2002. The centre´s main aim is cooperation and coordination of law enforcement bodies in fighting illegal drug trafficking and drug-related crimes.
Georgian, US President Meet
Radio Free Europe
Tbilisi, February 25: During a 45-minute meeting at the White House on 25 February with his Georgian counterpart Mikheil Saakashvili, U.S. President George W. Bush praised the so-called Rose Revolution that led to the November ouster of former President Eduard Shevardnadze, and Saakashvili`s subsequent efforts to ease tensions between Georgia and Russia, Western media reported. Saakashvili expressed gratitude for Washington`s support and affirmed his hope that his country will become not only a close ally, but a strong ally of the United States.
Japan To Issue Grants For US$98,000 To Uzbek Universities
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, February 25: The Japanese government will issue grants for US$98,000 to Tashkent Stat Economic University and Second Tashkent Medical Institute. Institute of economy, business and staff training under the Tashkent State Economic University will receive US$24,350 to improvement institutes´ condition. US$73,999 will be allocated to first clinic of Second Tashkent Medical Institute for purchase of medical equipment for emergency cardiology. The grants will be issued within the framework of the no-string aid of the Japanese government to grass-root projects. The contracts on the abovementioned projects will be signed on 3 March.
Armenia Ready For War With Azerbaijan
Pravda
Moscow, February 25: The anti-Armenian hysteria taking hold in Baku does not mean that Azerbaijan is readying for war, said Armenian Joint Chiefs of Staff head Mikhail Arutyunyan. He said that his impression from speeches by Baku officialdom and the condition of the Azerbaijani army lead him to the conclusion that Baku was not preparing itself for war. `If we see that they are readying for war, then we will take corresponding measures. The Armenian army is ready for war. If a war begins, then it will be a brutal one. But we are not preparing to start a war,` he said. Several Armenian politicians have made statements over the last few days pointing to Baku`s readiness to start a war with Armenia.
China & Kazakhstan To Build A Free Border Trade Zone
People`s Daily
People`s Daily, February 25: As sources disclosed from the port administration of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region China`s free trade zone, the first of its kind since the introduction of reform and opening-up, is going to be built along its border with Kazakhstan. The China-Kazakhstan free border trade zone is located between the Yili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang, and Alma-ata, Kazakhstan. During Chinese President Hu Jintao`s visit to Kazakhstan in 2003, Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan president, proposed for the fourth time to his Chinese counterpart the plan to build a free trade zone along the borderline of the two countries. As learned the scheme of Sino-Kazakhstan free trade zone put forward by China has received positive response from Kazakhstan. Jia Yisheng, secretary of the CPC committee in Horgos, said in an interview: ` The Kazakhstan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, General Administration of Frontier and General Administration of Customs Supervision have all agreed to build a Sino-Kazakhstan world trade center in the 200 hectares between China`s Horgos and Kazakhstan.` As Jia briefed, enclosed management, zero tariff and free flow of people and goods would all be introduced in the free trade zone. It is learned that China has offered 130 hectares while Kazakhstan contributed 70 hectares for the free trade zone. The Chinese side is mapping out a plan for the free trade zone. Jia also disclosed that 8 to 9 IT enterprises would like to move into Horgos. The world`s biggest sofa manufacturer, Kasen from Zhejiang province has already settled down in Horgos and pumped more than 200m yuan into the area for the initial investment. It is also learned that Kazakhstan has pinned high hope on Horgos, Dulata, and Muzhate and decision has been made to build a railway to get it connected with Horgos in 2006.
US President Urges Georgia To Establish Good Relations With Russia
Itar-Tass
Washington DC, February 25: U.S. President George W. Bush said after meeting his Georgian counterpart Mikhail Saakashvili on Wednesday that Georgia should establish good and constructive ties with Moscow. President Bush described Saakashvili`s decision to pay his first official foreign visit to Russia as reasonable. The U.S. president promised that the U.S. government would continue working with Russian President Vladimir Putin towards strengthening Russian-Georgian relations. He is convinced that it is important for the Georgian people to have good, strong and peaceful relations with Russia. Asked to comment on the presence of Russian military bases in Georgia, President George W. Bush expressed the hope that Moscow would live up to its previous commitment to close down those military facilities in compliance with the Istanbul agreements and promised to continue consultations on this subject with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Kazakhstan Is Key State In Fight Against Terrorism - Rumsfeld
Itar-Tass
Astana, February 25: Kazakhstan is one of the key countries in the fight against international terrorism, U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said. Rumsfeld, who arrived in Kazakhstan on a one-day visit, told journalists on Wednesday that he met Prime Minister Danial Akhmetov and Defence Minister Mukhtar Altynbayev. The talks focused on the development of political, economic and military-technical cooperation between Kazakhstan and the United States. Altynbayev said Kazakhstan and the U.S. signed a plan of military cooperation for five years. Under the plan, the U.S. will supply weapons to Kazakhstan. Kazakh military specialists will be trained in the U.S. Kazakhstan and the U.S. are also conducting joint military exercises that were joined by British military last year.
U.S. To Help Kazakhstan Police Caspian
Kabar Agency
Astana, February 25: U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld pledged on Wednesday to help Kazakhstan ensure security in the oil-rich Caspian Sea, an area of acute interest for Washington as it seeks to diversify its crude oil supplies. Rumsfeld flew into Kazakhstan, which is likely to become a major oil player in the next decade, as part of a trip to the region aimed at bolstering military ties and efforts to cut drugs trafficking. `We have been cooperating with exercises and different types of equipment [in the Caspian],` Rumsfeld told a news conference after talks with Kazakh officials in the capital Astana. A senior U.S. defense official told reporters travelling with Rumsfeld that Washington was anxious to help Caspian security, possibly by supplying boats and radars. `They [Kazakhs] are extremely interested in developing security within Kazakhstan and the Caspian, especially for oil,` said the official, who asked not to be identified. Kazakhstan decided last year to set up its own navy and is to take delivery of its first battleships in coming months.
Acting Russian PM To Visit Kazakhstan
Kabar Agency
Moscow, February 25: Acting Russian Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko will arrive in Almaty (Kazakhstan) on a working visit on February 26, 2004, the Government Information Department reported to journalists. On February 27 he will take part in a meeting of the state council of the Eurasian Economic Community with other PMs of the member states. Khristenko will return to Moscow in the evening on February 27.
Uzbek President Receives US Defence Secretary
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, February 24: Uzbek President Islam Karimov received the US Secretary for Defence Donald Rumsfeld at his presidential residence Oq Saroy on 24 February. Welcoming the guest, the Uzbek leader underlined that the visit of the US senior official was another evidence of developing relations between Uzbekistan and the USA and was a good opportunity to exchange ideas on many issues. The President hailed the contribution of Mr Rumsfeld in strengthening and expansion of relations between two countries. In his turn, the US Defence Secretary expressed hope that US-Uzbek relations would develop further step-by-step. He drew attention to important initiatives of Uzbekistan in strengthening regional security and situation in Afghanistan. During negotiations, the sides also exchanged opinions on military and military-technical cooperation, as well as other issues of mutual interest.
Kazakh Opposition Party Calls For Closer Relations With Russia
Radio Free Europe
Astana, February 24: The opposition Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK), which held its founding congress on 21 February in Almaty, has called for Kazakhstan to establish much closer ties with Russia to counterbalance President Nursultan Nazarbaev`s multi-lateral foreign policy, `Kommersant-Daily` reported on 24 February. The DVK also called for wider use of the Russian language in Kazakhstan. The imprisoned Ghalymzhan Zhaqiyanov, a DVK founder who is serving a seven-year sentence for abuse of office when he was governor of Pavlodar Oblast, was elected chairman of the party at the 21 February congress
Russia Agrees To Extradite Former Tajik Interior Minister
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, February 24: The Russian Prosecutor-General`s Office on 24 February authorized the extradition of former Tajik Interior Minister Yakub Salimov to Dushanbe, ITAR-TASS reported. The Tajik authorities have been seeking Salimov`s extradition for several years. He was detained by Moscow law enforcement officers in June, and has been held in Lefortovo Prison while details of the extradition were worked out. The former close associate of President Imomali Rakhmonov has been accused of treason, organizing an unsuccessful coup attempt in 1997, and other crimes against the state. Moscow insisted that the Tajik authorities promise that Salimov will not be sentenced to death. Some Tajik opposition political figures have insisted that Rakhmonov`s apparent animosity against Salimov is personal rather than political.
Rumsfeld Visits Uzbekistan
Haddon Herald
Tashkent, February 24: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Tuesday said the United States may set up a military staging point in Uzbekistan, adding it had no plans for permanent bases. A staging point would allow U.S. forces to gain access to areas of conflict where the United States has a role. `We have no plans to equip permanent bases in this part of the world,` he said. The United States is seeking `flexibility in using those facilities,` he said. Rumsfeld`s comments came after a meeting with Uzbek President Islam Karimov.
Israel To Help Turkmenistan With Security Control
Ria Novosti
Ashgabat, February 24: Turkmenistan will arrange video monitoring of crucial industrial facilities having national importance, President Saparmurad Niyazov said in a televised address on Tuesday. Among these facilities is the Turkmenbashi oil refining complex of 2.5 billion dollars total cost, Mari hydropower station, television, radio, banks and some others. An Israeli firm will unfold an electronic security system. Outdoor video observation is in operation somewhere in Ashkhabad, Niyazov also said. Very soon it will be greatly expanded. Round-the-clock video cameras will also be installed in public places, marketplaces, railway stations and at the roads leading into Ashkhabad. The system already bears fruit cutting down the crime rate, said the Turkmen head of state.
Georgia Wants To Improve Even More Relations With Russia
Itar-Tass
Washington DC, February 24: The new Georgian government is ready to move further towards improving relations with Russia and to establish active cooperation between the two countries in many spheres. This idea was confirmed by Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili who spoke on Tuesday evening at the Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies in Washington. The Georgian leader is in the U.S on a working visit and will be received on Wednesday by President George Bush at the White House. Georgia gives special importance to relations with `Russia not only due to long-standing historic relations, but also taking into account the role Russia can play in stabilizing the situation in the entire Caucasian region,` Saakashvili noted. He appraised his recent trip to Moscow and a meeting with the Russian president as the start of a new stage in developing bilateral contacts, `based on pragmatism and mutual recognition of common interests`.
Iran`s Kharrazi Discusses Caspian Issues With Turkmen President
IRNA
Ashgabat, February 24: Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi met here on Tuesday with Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov to discuss issues of interest between the two neighbors, including the Caspian Sea. The two officials highlighted the identical stances of Iran and Turkmenistan with regard to the Caspian Sea, where the issue of how to divide the land-locked waters is a bone of contention among its littoral states. Niyazov and Kharrazi stressed the need for further coordination and cooperation between delegations of the two countries in regional forums to sort out issues related to the sea. They also examined economic cooperation of the two countries, expressing satisfaction with its level, and called for further expansion of their trade ties. Other topics for discussions were reviewing the transfer of Turkmen energy via Iran and reiterating the implementation of the two countries` agreements in this regard as well as completing a `friendship dam` according to the schedule. Accompanying Kharrazi in the lightening visit, was Iran`s special representative for the Caspian affairs, Mehdi Safari. The Iranian foreign minister, who arrived in Ashkhabad earlier in the day, was seen off by his Turkmen counterpart Rashid Meredov on his way back home. Kharrazi also visited Ashkhabad on January 14, in which he stressed Iran`s demand for the `just distribution` of the Caspian Sea resources. The sea, traditionally known for its caviar crop, straddles Kazakhstan, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iran, with Kharrazi hailing it as `the sea of peace and friendship`.
Kharrazi Arrives In Turkmenistan
IRIB News
Ashgabat, February 24: Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi arrived in Turkmenistan on Tuesday to discuss issues of mutual interest and key regional and international issues. Kharrazi, heading a delegation, was welcomed by his Turkmen counterpart Rashid Meredov. The Minister is accompanying by Iran`s special envoy for Caspian Sea affairs Mehdi Safari and a number of Foreign Ministry`s officials. During his one day stay here, Kharrazi is scheduled to hold meetings with Turkmenistan`s President Saparmurat Niyazov and Meredov.
GUUAM Member States Interact In Emergency Situations
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, February 23: A meeting of representatives of GUUAM member states (Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Moldova) was held in Tbilisi on 23 February. Participants of the conference discussed issues of preparation of trainings on liquidation of consequences of emergency situations, planned in Georgia in September. The scenario of the trainings is liquidation of consequences of a large-scale crash emerged as a result of a terrorist act at Jinvali dam and elaboration of a mutual assistance plan by GUUAM members in such situations. Experts from the USA and Turkey, and UN specialists participated in the meeting as observers, Regnum news agency reported.
Study For Kazakh-Chinese Pipeline Submitted To Kazakh Government
Radio Free Europe
Astana, February 23: Uzakbai Karabalin, president of Kazakhstan`s state oil-and-gas firm KazMunaiGaz, told a news conference in Astana on 23 February that the firm has submitted to the Kazakh government a feasibility study for the Atasu-Alashankou oil pipeline, which will link western Kazakh oil fields with China, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported. If the study is speedily approved, construction of the 3,000-kilometer, $3 billion pipeline could begin this summer. Karabalin said KazMunaiGaz is actively seeking to buy oil refineries abroad, because it does not intend to limit itself to selling crude oil. He mentioned specifically the Czech firm Unipetrol as a promising investment. Karabalin also confirmed that Kazakhstan intends to sign onto the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, which will be able to transport more than 10 million tons of Kazakh oil annually.
UNHCR Updates Information On Refugees In Tajikistan
IRIN News
Dushanbe, February 23: Authorities have begun updating their information on all refugees and asylum seekers in Tajikistan under an agreement on revalidating registration signed by the government of Tajikistan and the UN refugee agency. The exercise, which began on Monday, will provide proper documentation, accurate statistics and in-depth information on issues such as health, education and employment for refugees and asylum seekers. The information will help UNHCR ensure effective protection and find solutions for their situation. The activity is being conducted by the State Migration Service under the Ministry of Labour in its premises, with support from UNHCR under a Memorandum of Understanding on the Registration Revalidation and Updating Activity. The agreement was signed last week by Mamadsho Ilolov, Minister of Labour and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Tajikistan, and Nicholas Coussidis, UNHCR Representative in Tajikistan. The exercise will last two weeks in Dushanbe and an additional week in Khujand and other locations where persons of concern to UNHCR live. The initial analysis of the data should be available in late March. The information will be entered into a UNHCR-sponsored database, to which the agency has full access.
Rumsfeld To Visit Uzbekistan To Discuss CentAsia Situation
Itar-Tass
Tashkent, February 23: US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld arrives here on Tuesday for a three-day working visit to Uzbekistan to discuss the state of and prospects for Uzbek-US relations, the situation in Central Asia and Afghanistan, and regional security problems. Mr. Rumsfeld visited the republic twice over the past two years. An official in the Uzbek Foreign Ministry has told Itar-Tass that the US defence chief is to meet with President Islam Karimov. They will discuss a broad spectrum of matters concerning US-Uzbek relations, including military and military-technical cooperation.
Kazakhs Plan China Oil Pipeline
BBC
Almaty, February 23: Kazakhstan is expecting to start building an oil pipeline to China later this year, the head of the country`s national oil company has said. Uzakbay Karabalin said work on the longest section of the planned pipeline is likely to begin in July or August. The pipeline will enable Kazakhstan to export its substantial reserves of oil to the east, where China is seeking new energy sources for its growing economy. Kazakh officials have long talked of building a pipeline. But these plans were initially considered to be unrealistic. Forging ties Oil from the Caspian has traditionally been exported to Russia, or more recently to Western markets via the Black Sea. But the vast and growing market in China is hungry for new energy sources and Beijing has been cultivating economic ties with Central Asia.
Karimov Sends Condolences To Khatami
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, February 22: Uzbek President Islam Karimov sent a condolence message to his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Khatami on 22 February over a train accident in which at least 315 people died, Iranian media reported. `The news about strong explosion on the Neishabour railway, in which hundreds died, caused my deep grief and sorrow. `On the part of myself and the Uzbek government and nation, I offer condolences to your excellency and the Iranian nation, especially the bereaved families of victims, and ask God for fortitude and forbearance,` he said in his message.
Georgian President Flies To U.S. On Official Visit
The Moscow Times
Islamabad, February 22: Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili flew to the U.S. on a five-day official visit on Sunday. Saakashvili is to meet with U.S. President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, congressmen and representatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Georgian president plans to hold talks with officials of the International Monetary Fund. At the end of 2003, the U.S. leadership promised to extend over $160 million in aid to Georgia. Saakashvili`s flight to the U.S. on board the presidential plane will cost Georgia $100,000.
Uzbekistan Reaffirms Intention To Delimitate Border
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, February 22: `Uzbekistan would want to reaffirm its definite intention to complete the process of delimitation of the Uzbek-Kyrgyz state border as soon as possible, taking into account the interests of both sides, and move on to border demarcation in order to put an end to all misunderstandings`, press service of the Uzbek Foreign Ministry said. The Uzbek side has with perplexity accepted some of Kyrgyz media reports saying that `during the Uzbek-Kyrgyz meetings last week in Bishkek, Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Nikolay Tanaev expressed his discontent with Uzbekistan`s attitude towards the issue of the Uzbek-Kyrgyz state border`, the ministry said. `Neither of the sides gave their assessment on the process of delimitation,` the statement read. The Foreign Ministry said that in August 2003 Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan had agreed to start preparation of the Agreement on delimitation of the agreed part of the border (1039 km) by last November. The remaining 256 km were to be discussed during further work of Uzbek-Kyrgyz intergovernmental commission on delimitation. `However, in November 2003, the Kyrgyz side declared that from that moment on it would consider all sections of the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border only on a complex basis,` the press service informed. On the initiative of Kyrgyzstan, preparation of the final delimitation documents for the agreed part of the border was postponed and the schedule for delimitation works for 2003 was not fulfilled.
Russia Joining WTO Advantageous For Georgia - Saakashvili
Itar-Tass
Tbilisi, February 21: Georgia does not intend to prevent Russia admittance to the World Trade Organisation, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said. Russia joining the WTO is advantageous for Georgia since Russia would switch to free trade and Georgia would supply its goods to the Russian market, the main for Georgia, Saakashvili told reporters on Saturday. The president criticized the former leaders` position not to support Russia admittance to the WTO until the Abkhazian conflict is settled.
Kazakhstan Announces Contest To Solve Syrdarya Problem
Uzbek Report
Astana, February 21: Central committee of Country Party of Kazakhstan has adopted a resolution on conduction of an international contest Syrdarya. According to AKIpress quoting Kazakh parliamentary deputy Nurbah Rustemov, the contest is aimed at finding the best projects on effective solution of the problem over transborder river Syrdarya. Citizens of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan can participate in the contest. Individuals and collectives can apply with their projects. The prize fund is 1 million tenge (about US$7,200). Three technically original and ecologically proven projects will be awarded. The first place winner will receive 500,000 tenge (US$3600), second - 300,000 tenge and third - 200,000 tenge. A special commission consisting of politicians, officials and scientists will appraise the projects.
Uzbek, Polish Presidents Discuss Terrorism, Drug Trafficking
ITAR-TASS
Tehran, February 21: Uzbek President Islam Karimov and his Polish opposite number, Aleksander Kwasniewski, discussed prospects for bilateral cooperation, the fight against drug trafficking and terrorism, and regional and international problems of mutual concern at the talks held today [21 February] in the Uzbek capital Tashkent. The Polish president paid a short visit to Uzbekistan en route to Southeast Asian countries (Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand), where he will be on an official visit. The two president held one-to-one talks at the VIP hall of Tashkent-2 airport. An official source in the Uzbek presidential administration said both leaders noted open relations between the two countries, and exchanged views on important issues related to bilateral cooperation. In particular, trade and economic relations were discussed at the talks. Speaking about this cooperation, the two president said that `a total of 14 Uzbek-Polish joint-ventures and two businesses with 100-per-cent Polish capital are successfully operating in Uzbekistan`.
US Registers Human Rights Violations In Azerbaijan, Armenia
Radio Free Europe
Yerevan, February 26: In its annual report on human rights worldwide, which was released on 25 February, the U.S. State Department characterized Armenia`s human rights record as `poor,` RFE/RL`s Yerevan bureau reported. The report, which is posted on the department`s website (http://www.state.gov), specifically condemned widespread irregularities during the presidential and parliamentary elections last year, and also minor limitations on media freedom, including the inability of the independent television station A1+ to resume broadcasting. The report also described Azerbaijan`s human rights record in 2003 as `poor,` similarly pointing to `serious abuses,` including the police crackdown on opposition activists who protested the perceived falsification of the outcome of the 15 October presidential election, some 700 of whom were arrested. The report further criticized police brutality, the use of torture against detainees, the holding of some 180 political prisoners, financial pressure on independent media, and the use of state-controlled media to propagandize government policy and demonize the opposition, Turan reported on 26 February.
Fallout Continues From Televised Beating Of Kazakh Convicts
Radio Free Europe
Astana, February 26: Kazakh Justice Ministry Criminal Corrections Committee Chairman Nurlan Smagulov and two of his deputies have resigned in the wake of the airing on national television of footage purporting to show the beating of convicts at a strict-regime camp in the town of Arkalyk, Deutsche Welle reported on 26 February. The Justice Ministry earlier fired the head of the Kostanai Oblast criminal-corrections system, Vasilii Klimentiev; his deputy; the head of the Arkalyk prison where the film was made, Marat Zhetmekov, and his deputy. Inmates have accused the last two of exceeding their authority and using force against prisoners. The secretly made film was broadcast on 4 February, unleashing a national scandal that caused some parliamentarians to demand the resignation of Justice Minister Onalsyn Zhumabekov.
Uzbekistan Arrests Rights Activist
Aljazeera
Tashkent, February 26: Uzbek authorities have arrested a human rights defender on politically motivated charges, a rights group has said. Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday that the arrest of Muidinjon Kurbanov, of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan (HRSU), is another example of the country`s crackdown on civil society. Police arrested Kurbanov, who is also chairman of a province branch of the opposition political party Birlik (Unity), on 16 February in the central Uzbek city of Jizzakh. He was arrested on weapons and narcotics charges after police conducted an illegal search of his property, said HRW. In a chicken coop 50m away from Kurbanov`s house, police reportedly found a 28mm hunting gun, four 19mm bullets and 19.82gm of kukpora, a narcotic plant used in traditional medicine. Planted evidence? Kurbanov`s wife recounted that an unknown man had entered the courtyard at 11pm on 6 February and ran away when she went to investigate. `Muidinjon Kurbanov is the latest victim in Uzbekistan`s relentless campaign to silence the voices of human rights defenders and the political opposition` Rachel Denber, Human Rights Watch The next morning she found the lock on the chicken coop had been opened, raising suspicions that the evidence was planted. HRW said after his arrest Kurbanov was held incommunicado for three days, during which he was interrogated, threatened and forced to sign a confession dictated by the police. He was only allowed to see his lawyer, Rukhaddin Komilov, on 20 February, after Komilov filed a complaint with the procuracy. Kurbanov remains in custody at the Jizzakh City Department of Internal Affairs, where he is at risk of ill-treatment, said HRW.
International Humanitarian Aid Groups See New Uzbek Rules As Danger To Work
Radio Free Europe
Tashkent, February 25: A resolution issued by Uzbekistan`s government on 4 February that allows the Uzbek authorities to tax foreign humanitarian assistance at a rate of 40 percent of its value could endanger the work of such organizations in Uzbekistan, RIA-Novosti reported on 25 February. The report cited remarks made at a press conference at the German Embassy in Tashkent that day by Wolfgang Schreiber, who was the representative of the Adenauer Foundation in Uzbekistan for many years and who is now the coordinator of a foundation providing information to entrepreneurs. In Schreiber`s view, the German taxpayer is unlikely to tolerate 40 percent of the country`s humanitarian aid going directly to the Uzbek government. Schreiber said that the Uzbek government`s argument that the new system will prevent money laundering is insulting to foreign donors.
TAJIKISTAN: Re-registration Of Refugees And Asylum Seekers Proceeding Well
IRIN News
Dushanbe, February 25: In a joint exercise by the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Tajik government, efforts to re-register some 3,000 refugees and asylum seekers in the Central Asian state - the vast majority of whom are Afghan - are proceeding well. `Tajikistan`s protection climate has improved considerably in the past years,` Nicholas Coussidis, UNHCR representative in Tajikistan told IRIN in the capital, Dushanbe, on Wednesday. `This re-registration undertaking is a further manifestation of joint efforts with the aim of protecting and assisting refugees and seeking durable solutions for their future.` His comments came two days after the UN refugee agency and Tajikistan`s State Migration Service (SMS) began a wholesale registration and re-validation of all refugees and asylum seekers in the mountainous former Soviet republic. The exercise aims to collect and verify available information of these individuals, as well as provide them with identification documents. Although the SMS had previously registered many refugees and asylum seekers, many of its recordings had not followed a standardised electronic format, making data updating and processing a cumbersome process and leading to possible problems due to incomplete or expired refugee documentation. But it was the improved protection climate in the country that UNHCR prefers to emphasise the most now.
Tbilisi Preparing Armed Invasion Of Ajaria - Abashidze
Interfax
Tbilisi, February 25: `Tbilisi is preparing an armed invasion of Ajaria,` Ajarian leader Aslan Abashidze said in Batumi on Wednesday. Meeting with members of ethnic communities residing in that autonomous republic within Georgia, which was broadcast on Ajarian television, Abashidze said he had received reliable information that `about 500 servicemen trained by American instructors, 14 armored personnel carriers, 10 tracked armored fighting vehicles, and 9 tanks have been prepared for entrainment` at the Vaziani military base near Tbilisi. `A military operation has been planned to punish Ajaria like Abkhazia and Ossetia were punished,` Abashidze said. `There will be new bloodshed and terror,` he said. Interfax has so far been unable to obtain a response to the accusations from Georgian authorities.
Young Turkmen Face Beard Ban
BBC
Ashgabat, February 25: Turkmenistan President Saparmurat Niyazov has passed a decree forbidding young men in the country to wear long hair or beards. The president said the Education Ministry should be in charge of checking people`s hair as the issue was most pressing among the young. Mr Niyazov`s rule in the central Asian state has always been authoritarian. But his latest decree takes to a new level the degree of state intervention in people`s private lives. President Niyazov appeared on television saying that men can no longer grow their hair and that beards are not allowed, at least among the young. He gave no reason - but that is not unusual in Turkmenistan. In this part of the world, rulings on hair are generally connected to Islam in some way, but it seems likely that Mr Niyazov`s decree is more broadly directed against individualism of any kind. Isolated The goatee beard is currently in vogue in the capital, Ashgabat, and these will probably be the first to be shaved off. Mr Niyazov`s laws are becoming more and more personal. It is forbidden now to listen to car radios or to smoke in the street; opera and ballet performances have been banned on the grounds that they are unnecessary. The rules invite comparison between Turkmenistan and Albania in the 1970s under Enver Hoxha, who also made great lists of things illegal, including beards. President Niyazov has moreover just brought in a ruling that public places and government ministries should have video monitors for, he said, the protection of the people.
Uzbek Mother Hopes For Prison Reforms
Associated Press
Tashkent, February 25: An Uzbek woman detained after publicizing her son`s alleged torture by prison authorities said Wednesday she hoped that conditions in Uzbekistan`s jails would improve under international scrutiny. Fatima Mukadirova, 62, was released from prison late Tuesday. She was freed after strong international criticism that her conviction earlier this month for anti-constitutional activity was motivated by her speaking out about the 2002 death of her son, Muzafar Avazov. Advertisement Avazov and another prisoner were allegedly beaten and tortured to death by prison officers for refusing to abandon their religious convictions and attempting to practice religious rites in a prison housing extremists. `I wish the death of my son would be the last death of young Muslims in this country. I wish it would be a lesson for the authorities,` Mukadirova told The Associated Press at her home in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent.
Uzbek `torture` Mother Freed
BBC
Tashkent, February 24: An Uzbek court has freed a woman involved in a key human rights case, just hours before US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld began a visit. Fatima Mukhadirova, 62, is the mother of a man who died in prison, allegedly after he was immersed in boiling water and otherwise tortured. She was jailed for six years earlier this month for `undermining the constitution`. But the court has now reduced the penalty to a fine of about $250. The court said Mrs Mukhadirova`s age and gender lay behind the decision. But the release seemed timed to coincide with Mr Rumsfeld`s visit. He arrived in the capital Tashkent for talks with President Islam Karimov about the continued US military presence in the country. Taking into account the fact that she is a woman, as well as her old age, the court decided to mitigate the punishment and free her with a fine.
Turkmenis Faces CCTV Scrutiny
BBC
Ashgabat, February 24: Turkmenistan`s President for life, Saparmurat Niyazov, has ordered the government to intensify video surveillance in the Central Asian state. Closed circuit TV cameras will be installed in industrial facilities, like oil refineries, as well as banks and stations. `We should know if a fly quietly buzzes past,` President Niyazov said. `This is not due to a lack of trust, but to avoid disorder,` he told a government meeting, which was shown on television. `As is practised in all developed countries, we must take measures aimed at maintaining order on Turkmen soil and ensuring our citizens` peace,` President Niyazov said. President Niyazov has ruled Turkmenistan since 1985 when it was still a Soviet republic. He has built up a personality cult around himself and crushed opposition. Video cameras were installed on main streets in the capital Ashgabat after a failed coup in November 2002 and soldiers are often posted on street corners.
Kyrgyzstan: Drugs Rising Menace To Nation
Associated Press
Washington DC, February 25: Drugs from Afghanistan and a fervent Islamic fundamentalism that has attracted more than 3,000 adherents are growing menaces to Kyrgyzstan, the foreign minister of the former Soviet republic said Wednesday. Appealing for help to combat drug traffic, Askar Aitmatov said a strong international effort is needed to help his country`s security services stem the flow. Advertisement The State Department, responding sympathetically, said the Bush administration is working very closely with the Kyrgyz government against terrorism, narcotics trafficking and human trafficking. A U.S. passport security project helps guard the border against imports of narcotics, and the United States has contributed $6.3 million to help set up a drug control program, spokesman Richard Boucher said. The United States is working with the United Nations to set up a new drug control agency in Bishkek, Boucher said, and a senior law enforcement adviser will go to the capital within a few months `to work more directly with them and to help target assistance in law enforcement, counterterrorism and legal reform.`
Drug Situation In Uzbekistan And Central Asia
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, February 23: Illegal drug circulation remains one of the most topical issues in the world. Afghanistan is still the main centre of distribution of drug threat in the countries of Central Asian region. The measures taken by the new Afghan government have not yet yielded expected results in terms of reduction of drug circulation in this country. Based on data provided by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, 3,600 tonnes of opium were produced in Afghanistan in 2003, which is 6 per cent more compared to 2002. Besides, abundant supplies of opium and heroin of the previous years harvests have remained there, according to the Uzbek Foreign Ministry`s statement. The analysis of information on illegal circulation of drugs shows that drug situation in Uzbekistan and Central Asia on the whole is characterised by increased activity of international drug dealers in using the regions countries as a transit corridor for transportation of Afghan drugs to Russia and European countries. The presence of rather developed trans-boundary and transcontinental rail and motor roads, as well as air communication of Central Asia with CIS countries is also favourable for this. At that, part of drugs remains in the region, which, in turn, leads to involvement of the population in criminal activities and worsening of general criminal and drug situation. Taking these conditions into account and in order to establish a proper control to combat illegal drug circulation, the state policy of Uzbekistan is targeted at prevention of use of the countrys territory by organised international criminal groups for drug smuggling; liquidation of the source of raw materials for drug business within the country; strict implementation of international engagements in drug control; secured medical assistance to drug users; prevention and prophylaxis of drug use; as well as promoting healthy life. The State Commission and the National Centre for Drug Control, which are responsible for development and implementation of the state policy and strategy in the field of drug control, fight against illegal drug circulation and drug use prevention, have been created in Uzbekistan to ensure a complex adequate response and eliminate the drug threat. Special divisions for fighting illegal drug circulation have been created in the structure of all law-enforcement bodies. The number of their employees exceeds 1,500. Uzbek government constantly allocates funds to equip, maintain and supply these divisions with human, material and technical resources. As a result of measures taken in the country, last year law-enforcement bodies discovered 8,893 crimes related to illegal drug circulation (8,716 in 2002, 2 per cent growth). 1,080.5 kg of drugs were seized from illegal circulation, which is 240.9 kg more than in 2002. Judicial bodies of Uzbekistan considered 5,460 (5,742) criminal cases on facts of illegal drug circulation in relation to 6,485 (7,221) people. The analysis shows that drug smugglers use virtually all types of transport to deliver drugs. The methods of their hiding when smuggling to Uzbek territory are becoming more complex. It is necessary to note that attempts to smuggle large amounts of drugs have become more frequent. In particular, on 7 September 2003 officers of Oybek frontier customs post detained an Ikarus bus driven by Kyrgyz citizen N.Iskandarov. After the bus was disassembled and its petrol tank cut, the officers revealed a hiding-place in the form of a metallic container with 261 densely packed polyethylene parcels with heroin weighting around 116.44 kg. Similar facts of seizure of large consignments of drugs took place in Russia and Kazakhstan as well, which confirms forecasts on accumulation of a vast stock of drugs on the northern border of Afghanistan, which is being smuggled through the Northern route to European drug market. In all, 177 citizens (197 in 2002) from CIS and other countries, including Tajikistan 80 (100), Kyrgyzstan 31 (34), Russia 14 (11), Turkmenistan 20 (34), Kazakhstan 15 (10), Afghanistan 7 (2), Georgia 3, Iran 1 (2), Ukraine 2, Korea 2, Belarus 1 and Turkey 1, were detained in Uzbekistan in 2003 for crimes related to illegal drug circulation. In order to strengthen the fight against illegal cultivation, storage, distribution and sale of drugs, regional commissions for drug control in conjunction with law-enforcement bodies conduct annually The black poppy action, a two-stage complex operation lasting from 1 May to 31 June (Stage 1) and from 1 September to 31 October (Stage 2). In 2002 the country approved the State programme on counteracting circulation of illegal drugs and psychotropic substances, and their abuse for 2002-2005 Measures implemented in the country have allowed to achieve certain positive results in combatting illegal drug circulation. In particular, the raw base of drug business has been virtually liquidated: if during 1999-2000 over 450 hectares of areas under drug containing crops were discovered and destroyed, during 2001-2003 the figure made up 1.6-2.1 hectares annually. More than 41 tonnes of drugs, including over 3.5 tonnes of heroin and some 12.5 tonnes of opium, were seized from illegal circulation during 1992-2003. 72 tonnes of acetic anhydride, which is the main component of heroin production, were seized during attempts of their illegal transportation to Afghanistan. The topicality of the problem of drug abuse in the regions countries has not decreased. As of 1 January 2004, 21,809 people consuming psychotropic substances for non-medical purpose were registered by healthcare establishments of Uzbekistan (21,765 in 2002 and 20,807 in 2001). The work on prevention of drug addiction and fight against illegal drug distribution carried out in Uzbekistan has led to a certain reduction of the growth of drug abuse rate to 1 per cent in 2003, against 26 per cent in 2001 and 5 per cent in 2002. The level of primary morbidity with drug addiction in the country has also fell to 9.5 per 100,000 people, while in 2001 and 2002 it was 25.3 and 12 accordingly. Uzbekistan has signed bilateral and multilateral agreements on cooperation in the field of drug control with all Central Asian states, as well as Russia, Iran, USA, Pakistan, Ukraine, Georgia, Germany, Turkey, Poland, Bulgaria and others. In 2001 Uzbekistan joined TOPAZ, an international operation for systematic tracing of deliveries of acetic anhydride, with the purpose of prevention of its leakage to illegal heroin production. Presently there is a number of regional and national projects of UN and EU in Uzbekistan, which are on the research stage, including `Control over precursors in Central Asia` and `Law-enforcement systems for collection, analysis and exchange of information in fighting drugs`. A project document Creation of Central Asian regional information and coordination centre on fighting trans-boundary criminality concerned with illegal drug circulation has been worked out and proposed for implementation on the initiative of the Uzbek President, backed up by the UN Secretary-General, as well as UN Office on Drugs and Crime. The projects main goal is development of collaboration among law-enforcement bodies of Central Asia, Azerbaijan and Russia through creation of a regional contact organ for analysis and exchange of operative information, as well as realisation of joint operative and investigating measures in the field of illegal drug circulation.
Iranian Intelligence Head Meets With Armenian Officials
Radio Free Europe
Yerevan, February 25: Visiting Yerevan on 23-25 February, Iranian Intelligence and Security Minister Ali Yunesi met with Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, Prime Minister Andranik Markarian, and President Robert Kocharian, RFE/RL`s Yerevan bureau and Armenian media reported. Topics discussed included bilateral relations; regional conflicts, including the Karabakh conflict; and expanding economic cooperation. Armenian statements issued following Yunesi`s talks with Oskanian and Markarian stressed the need to move ahead on construction of the planned pipeline to export Iranian natural gas to Armenia. On 5 February, Interfax quoted Energy Minister Armen Movsisian as saying a formal agreement on that project will be signed during a visit to Yerevan in late February or March by Iran`s oil and gas minister. Official communiques failed to say whether a date was discussed for Iranian President Mohammad Khatami`s planned visit to Armenia, which was originally scheduled for late 2003.
New Heads Of Georgian Intelligence, State Border Protection Force Named
Radio Free Europe
Tbilisi, February 24: Lieutenant General Valeri Chkheidze, the outgoing director of the State Border Protection Service, was named on 20 February to succeed Lieutenant General Avtandil Ioseliani as head of Georgia`s Intelligence Service, Georgian media reported. Chkheidze`s successor as head of the border-protection service will be former Deputy Prosecutor-General Badri Bitsadze, Prime Minister Zhvania told journalists on 24 February. Bitsadze is married to parliament speaker Nino Burdjanadze.
Kyrgyz Government Plans To Bar Foreign Uranium Waste
Interfax
Bishkek, February 26: The Kyrgyz government objects to bringing uranium waste from abroad into the country, Prime Minister Nikolai Tanayev said at a government meeting on Thursday. Public protests are mounting in Kyrgyzstan against the proposed processing of uranium waste from Germany at the Kara-Balta uranium refinery. `The government disapproves of the project. It will not allow the country to be turned into a uranium waste dump,` Tanayev said. `First and foremost, Kyrgyzstan must solve the problem of uranium tailing storage facilities.` A number of non-governmental organizations made a joint statement on Wednesday declaring that the deal with Germany`s Nukem Gmbh camouflaged imports of uranium waste and ran counter to the policy of ecological tourism and the state program of reclamation and conservation of uranium tailing storage facilities. Meanwhile, Adviser to the Kara-Balta Plant General Director Zhalgap Kazakbayev told the press on Wednesday that the deal was profitable for Kyrgyzstan. The Kyrgyz plant `uses only natural uranium in this deal. No country would allow spent uranium to be brought in, because it`s ecologically dangerous and unlawful,` he said.
Uzbek Uranium Producer Extends Contract With U.S. Distributor
Interfax
Tashkent, February 26: The Navoi Integrated Mining and Metals Combine, a major uranium producer from Uzbekistan, extended until 2006 a contract with Nukem Inc. of the United States, its exclusive distributor on the world market, a management source at Navoi told Interfax. The previous contract was valid until 2004, the source said. Nukem has been the Navoi plant`s exclusive uranium exporter since 1992. The Navoi source said the parties were discussing a long-term deal to 2013. Navoi borrowed $6 million from Nukem to finance upgrades towards the end of last year. The combine will spend $1 million of these funds on the modernization of capacity to produce sulfuric acid, which is used to mine uranium by the in-situ leach method. Navoi will spend $1.7 million on submersible pumps from Denmark`s Grundfos and $1.9 million on 12 drilling rigs from Russia`s Rusburmash. The Navoi combine produced about 1,600 tonnes of uranium in 2003, nearly 23 per cent less than in 2002.
Kyrgyzstan Against Becoming Radioactive Dumpsite
RIA Novosti
Bishkek, February 25: A contract between the Kara-Baltinski ore-mining combine and the German firm RWE Nukem GmbH for the processing of uranium ore in Kyrgyzstan is a disguise for stockpiling radioactive waste in that Central Asian republic, says the declaration of the Association of Non-Governmental and Non-Commercial Organizations of Kyrgyzstan, circulated in Bishkek on Wednesday. The government should take resolute steps to suspend the implementation of the contract and `adopt relative laws for cutting short in the future whatever attempts to convert Kyrgyzstan into a country for storing all sort of waste,` the declaration reads. Experts of the Association say that the net profit of Kyrgyzstan, according to the contract signed with Germany, will be a little over 10 percent per kilogram of the processed ore. The German company will spend about 1,103,000 dollars for the transportation and processing of radioactive waste, which is also economically unprofitable. Under the contract, Kyrgyzstan is to process 2,000 tons of uranium-containing ore brought in from Germany. As a result, approximately 50 tons of pure uranium will be produced. The waste is planned to be buried in Kyrgyzstan.
Kazakhstan Denies Links To N-black Market
Kazakhstan News
Astana, February 25: Kazakhstan`s intelligence agency on Wednesday denied that a Dubai firm linked to nuclear technology smuggling ran a business in this former Soviet republic and ruled out any possibility that nuclear material could have been secreted out of the country. The National Security Committee (NSC) said that SMB Computers, a company that US President George W Bush said was a front for black-market deals for nuclear technology, was not registered in Kazakhstan and did not have a license to deal with any nuclear materials. Bush named SMB Computers` owner, Sri Lankan businessman Bukhary Syed Abu Tahir, as a key link in a clandestine network run by Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan. The company has said that it had an office in Almaty, triggering speculation that it sought to smuggle nuclear materials from this country, which housed the world`s fourth-largest nuclear arsenal when it was part of the Soviet Union. `Such reports are based on unconfirmed information and it cannot be ruled out that there is a targeted campaign aimed at undermining Kazakhstan`s political image,` the NSC said in a statement. The NSC said that Kazakhstan strictly controlled all radioactive materials on its territory and was committed to its obligations under international non-proliferation treaties.
Rumsfeld Praises Kazakhstan For Abandoning Nuclear Weapons
Associated Press
Astana, February 24: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is praising the leaders of Kazakhstan for their decision to abandon their nuclear weapons. Rumsfeld is visiting the Central Asian country and pledging U-S support to help protect Kazakhstan`s portion of the oil-rich Caspian Sea. Major U-S companies have oil projects there. He says if Iraq had followed Kazakhstan`s example in disarming, then there wouldn`t have been a U-S-led war. The example he`s referring to is when the former republic broke away from the Soviet Union, and took a chunk of its nuclear arsenal. But when Kazakhstan gained its independence, it gave up those weapons.
Kyrgyz NGO Condemns Kyrgyz - German Uranium Processing Venture
Radio Free Europe
Bishkek, February 24: Toktaim Umetalieva, head of the Association of Kyrgyz Nongovernmental and Noncommercial Organizations, told a news conference in Bishkek on 24 February that a contract signed by Kyrgyzstan`s Kara Balta Mines and the German firm RWE NUKEM nuclear-engineering firm to process raw uranium will not benefit Kyrgyzstan, akipress.org reported. Umetalieva said the contract would set a precedent for storing radioactive waste in Kyrgyzstan and could endanger financial aid from international donors. At present, processed uranium is selling for $20-$30 a kilogram on world markets. The joint project is intended to produce a total of 40 to 60 tons of processed uranium. Some of the proceeds from the operation are to be used to clean up Kyrgyz nuclear-waste dumps.
New HIV/AIDS Project Presented In Tashkent
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, February 26: Presentation of a new project on preventing HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), World Vision, was held in Tashkent. The project was launched in January 2004 by the World Vision International and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). It stipulates creation of 10 trust points across Uzbekistan with narcology experts, psychologists, gynaecologists, venereologists and other specialists. Interested person can obtain free anonymous information regarding the spread and prevention of HIV/AIDS and other STIs. The points will be equipped with all the necessary equipment. Besides, the volunteers of the points will deliver information on HIV/AIDS to the population.
Roof Falling In On Turkish Contractors In Central Asia
Turkish Daily News
Ankara, February 24: The recent collapse of the roof of a waterpark in Russia built by a Turkish firm has unleashed a flood of criticism in the Kazakh media against Turkish contractors operating in Kazakhstan. A statement released by the Turkish Embassy in the Kazakh capital of Astana characterized as highly `prejudiced` news reports that appeared before the main cause of the collapse had been ascertained. The builder of the waterpark roof that collapsed killing 38 people was determined to have been erected by a Turkish firm operating in Russia. `News reports claiming that buildings in Kazakhstan constructed by Turkish firms were inspected after the roof collapse in Russia has caused uneasiness within our embassy and in Turkish society,` said the statement. The statement also noted buildings in Kazakhstan erected by Turkish firms have all been constructed according to plans approved by Kazakh authorities and under their supervision. The embassy added that it was a contradiction that such reports are appearing in the Kazakh media at a time when Kazakhstan is calling on Turkey to invest even further in the area of construction.
Europe And Central Asia Join Forces Against HIV/AIDS
Associated Press
Dublin, February 23: Fifty-five European and Central Asian nations -- some home to the world`s fastest HIV/AIDS growth rates -- are joining forces to raise awareness and money to fight a disease that has gone global in 20 years and now affects 40 million people. Ahead of the two-day conference that Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern was to open on Monday, officials released data showing Europe and Central Asia gripped by diverse HIV/AIDS epidemics reflecting large differences in development in an area stretching from Ireland to the Caucasus. AIDS, discovered only two decades ago, is set to become the leading cause of death from infectious disease in the 21st century. Sub-Saharan Africa is worst hit, but UN data show that Eastern Europe and Central Asia now boast the world`s fastest-growing epidemic: 2 million people there have HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, up from 30,000 in 1995. The Dublin event is the first international forum to discuss the impact of the disease on Europe and its eastern neighbors. It brings together health ministers from 55 nations, as well as Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, the Irish musician and rights activist Bob Geldof, and Peter Piot, head of UNAIDS. Overall AIDS fatalities have fallen sharply in Western Europe since the mid-1990s due to antiretroviral drugs that slow the progression of HIV infection into full-blown AIDS. But in 2002 and last year, infection among heterosexuals rose again due to immigration, `treatment complacency` and waning prevention efforts, said the conference report.
Uzbek Cabinet Changes Foreign Aid Accounting To Alarm International Funds
RIA Novosti
Tashkent, February 25: An Uzbek government decree of February 4 changes overseas financial inflow accounting to make it more efficient. International charities are badly alarmed with the decree, said Wolfgang Schreiber, international coordinator of the Zakovat (Wise), an Uzbek-based foundation for information support of private enterprise. He was addressing a news conference at the German Embassy in Tashkent. It is perfectly understandable to take stock of donations - but then, the decree envisages donations taxed, and that is bad. 40 per cent of German money donations will now get into the government purse instead of doing good to the Uzbek people, warned Mr. Schreiber. In Uzbekistan, almost half the sums aimed to promote the emergent civil society and free enterprise will never reach the public - an arrangement that baffles German taxpayers, he pointed out. Budgetary rules are extremely severe on the Konrad Adenauer and Friedrich Ebert foundations, and other German-based organizations. The federal Audit Chamber keeps an eye on all revenues and expenditures down to the last cent. Whatever money reaches the federal government is open to the utmost. The organizations will land in the dock if they are caught in money laundering.
16 Criminal Cases On Facts Of Infringements And Abuse In Power Branch
Kabar Agency
Bishkek, February 25: By the National Security Service of Kyrgyzstan (NSS) on the various facts of infringements and abuse in power branch, 16 criminal cases are investigated. The preliminary damage on them has made more than 263 million soms. In the Office of Public Prosecutor there are 81materials are directed, 94 to law-enforcement bodies. The preliminary damage is estimated in the sum of 162 million soms. Also on various infringements in power supply system 162 cases have been directed. As the press-service of NSS informs, the requirement of Security Council of the country to lower unfairly big technical and commercial losses in power complex was executed by power station nominally, by postscripts for not consumed electricity on account of non-suspecting subscribers. Presently, NSS checks the fact of distribution of debt in the sum 1 million soms of relay power station of Kyzyl-Kya town on 154 nonexistent subscribers. Also criminal case is started concerning the chief of sales department and bookkeeper of Batken power station. Over 90 thousand soms from the means paid by subscribers for the consumed electric power, they have directed for the salary.
Preparations Start To Launch Next Crew To ISS
Interfax
Baikonur, February 26: Preparations began at the Baikonur cosmodrome on Wednesday for the April 19 launch of a spacecraft that will bring the ninth expedition to the International Space Station (ISS), a Baikonur spokesman told Interfax. The expedition will include European Space Agency astronaut Andre Kuypers, who will spend 10 days aboard the ISS. The rest of the expedition will stay on the station for six months. A Soyuz TMA-4, which will take the expedition to the ISS, will be carried into space atop a Soyuz FG rocket.
Special Focus
Central Asia: Report Calls On US To Rethink Its Regional ApproachWashington has intensified its relations with a number of Central Asian states in the wake of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 to support the U.S.-led campaign in Afghanistan. The U.S.-led war in Afghanistan began in October 2001 and succeeded in ousting the Taliban and dealing significant blow to the infrastructure of the Al-Qaeda terrorist network.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav022204.shtmlLanguage Legislation Could Heighten Inter Ethnic Tension In Kyrgyzstan
Controversial language legislation in Kyrgyzstan threatens to stir inter-ethnic tension in the Central Asian nation. Leaders of the country`s Uzbek and Russian communities say the law denies them adequate political representation and a role in Kyrgyz society. Supporters counter that the law is needed to preserve Kyrgyz culture.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/rights/articles/eav022304a.shtmlSaakashvili Visits Washington Amid Heightening Geopolitical Tension In The Caucasus
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is in Washington for talks with top-level Bush administration officials on expanding strategic and economic cooperation. The Georgian leader`s US visit is coming at a time of geopolitical uncertainty in the Caucasus, with Moscow and Washington potentially on a collision course.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav022404.shtmlBorder Issues Ruffle Relations Among Central Asian States
Border issues continue to ruffle relations among Central Asian states, with Uzbekistan playing a central role in many of the disputes. In particular, Tashkent`s practice of mining its borders has faced growing criticism in recent weeks.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav022504.shtmlSaakashvili Seeks To Secure Long Term US Commitment For Georgia`s Democratisation Process
It is abundantly clear that Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who is in the midst of a crucial visit to Washington, has fast developed into a darling of the Bush administration. The question that some prominent US political scientists are already raising, however, is: How long can Saakashvili sustain his star status?
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav022504a.shtmlAnti Drug Efforts Of Kazakhstan: Old Methods In New Garbs
In socialist Kazakhstan, the population was so ignorant of drug abuse cases that when the existence of the problem became apparent in the early 1990s, linguists found it hard to find the right Kazakh word for narcotics. Today, daily media reports about drug-related crimes surprise no one. Kazakhstan is a major transit route for drugs from Afghanistan being smuggled through Central Asian states to Russia and Europe.
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http://www.cacianalyst.org/view_article.php?articleid=2151American Bases In The Former Soviet Union?
Since the United States acquired bases in Central Asia after the attacks of September 11 Russia, China, and Iran have all frequently attacked the idea that these bases might remain after the war on terrorism. Chinese President Jiang Zemin denounced these bases on a state visit to Iran in 2002. Since then, the drumbeat of warnings have continued.
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http://www.cacianalyst.org/view_article.php?articleid=2148Is Ilham Aliyev Fulfilling Expectations?
Ilham Aliyev has been president of Azerbaijan for little over 100 days, and evaluations of his performance and predictions about his future policies have begun to emerge. Many expect new reforms from Ilham Aliyev, and he has so far committed to intensify the economic and social development of the country. At the same time, he has been slow in cadre change and political liberalization.
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http://www.cacianalyst.org/view_article.php?articleid=2149Facing The Russian Rhetoric In Eurasia
Vladimir Putin sent shivers down the spine of CIS leaders on February 12 when he declared the demise of the Soviet Union a `national tragedy on an enormous scale.` The nostalgia for the collapse of the Soviet empire was genuine and not pre-election rhetoric: `The breakup of the Soviet Union is a national tragedy on an enormous scale,` from which `only the elites and nationalists of the republics gained,` Putin said in a nationally televised speech. Is Russia going to operationalize this nostalgia?
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http://www.cacianalyst.org/view_article.php?articleid=2150 Oil-rich US Ally Kazakhstan Looks To China
While Kazakhstan is keen to maintain its `important military-to-military relationship` with the United States, when it comes to business, Astana is not afraid to look to its eastern neighbor and US rival, China. Especially when it comes to a major new oil pipeline from western Kazakhstan to China.
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http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/FB27Ag01.htmlRussia Acts Aggressively To Enhance Energy Position In Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan`s Saparmurat Niyazov already is notorious for being Central Asia`s most repressive ruler. Now he appears intent putting the final touches on his Big Brother image. Despite Niyazov`s evident megalomania, Russia is eager to deal with Turkmenistan.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav022604.shtmlRumsfeld Defends Status Quo On Central Asian Tour
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is wrapping up a tour of Central Asia, during which he offered a vigorous defense of the status quo. In particular, Rumsfeld glossed over international criticism of Uzbekistan`s repressive behavior, instead reiterating the Bush administration`s `appreciation` for Tashkent`s `stalwart support` in the ongoing War on Terrorism.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/business/articles/eav022604.shtmlHopes Fading In Yerevan For Rapid Progress On Karabakh Settlement
Hopes in Yerevan for rapid progress on a Nagorno-Karabakh settlement are fading. Armenia has flatly rejected Baku`s recent suggestion to restart the process `from scratch.` In addition, Armenian leaders have threatened to freeze direct contacts with Azerbaijan if Baku refuses to revive agreements reportedly reached by the two countries three years ago.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav022704.shtmlAzerbaijan Says It Is In No Hurry To Settle Nagorno - Karabakh Conflict
International mediators and political analysts expected the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process to accelerate once Azerbaijan completed a transfer of power from former leader Heidar Aliyev to his son Ilham. The dynastic transition of authority occurred as expected, but Karabakh developments have not gone as many envisioned.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav022704a.shtml
Report Dated 27 February 2004