Armenian Opposition Plans New Rally
Interfax
Yerevan, April 16: Opposition groups in Armenia plan to stage a new rally in the center of the capital city, Yerevan, on Friday to press to have the government replaced. The rally will be held even if City Hall does not authorize it, Stepan Demirchian, the leader of the opposition Justice bloc, has told Interfax. `The opposition has not been broken and intends to continue fighting to have the government in Armenia replaced,` he said. Confrontation between the opposition, which is demanding the resignation of President Robert Kocharian, and the authorities has come to a head over the past few days. The opposition is boycotting parliament sessions and pressing for a referendum on confidence in the authorities. It has staged several large rallies. The police dispersed a rally outside the presidential residence early on April 13. The authorities have banned all unauthorized mass rallies in Yerevan.
Armenian Opposition Defies Government Ban On Rallies
Agence France-Presse
Yerevan, April 16: Thousands of opposition activists are gathering in central Yerevan to demand the departure of President Robert Kocharian despite a government ban on unsanctioned rallies. Armenian media report protesters initially sought to stage their rally on Freedom Square but were prevented from doing so by hundreds of policemen blocking access to the area ahead of official ceremonies due to be held nearby. Demonstrators then moved to the Matenadaran Library area. A similar protest turned violent earlier this week when police forcibly dispersed up to 3,000 demonstrators in front of the parliament`s building.
Azerbaijan`s Political Opposition Struggles To Regroup
Voice of America
Moscow, April 15: Azerbaijan`s political opposition is struggling to regroup following the government crackdown on street protests last October against what was widely perceived as fraudulent presidential elections. The opposition says the campaign of political repression is continuing. Isa Gambar is the chairman of the opposition bloc known as Our Azerbaijan, which reportedly won more than 50 percent of the vote in last October`s elections, but instead of taking power, Mr. Gambar says the bloc ended up on the government`s black list and its activities have been curtailed. Mr. Gambar said that Our Azerbaijan, along with all other opposition parties, has been prevented from organizing pickets or protest meetings against the new government of President Ilham Aliyev. In addition, he added that, the opposition`s appeals for dialogue with the government have been ignored, and freedom of the press has been suppressed. Mr. Gambar said the government even took back his party`s designated office space in Baku in an attempt to silence him and his supporters. He admits the opposition is fragmented and until it unites, is unlikely to play any role in Azerbaijan`s politics.
Kazakh President Signs Election Bill
Radio Free Europe
Astana, April 15: President Nazarbaev signed a bill on elections into law on 15 April, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported the same day. The law will revamp procedures for forming local electoral commissions, broadens the powers of election observers, and introduces transparent ballot boxes. The bill was the subject of contentious debate, with opponents charging that it does not do enough to prevent administrative interference in elections.
New Georgia Parliament To Meet On April 21 Or 22 - Speaker
Itar-Tass
Tbilisi, April 15: Georgian speaker Nino Burdzhanadze said the parliament will gather for its first session on April 21 or on April 22. After her meeting with President Mikhail Saakashvili on Thursday, Burdzhanadze told reporters, `The president believes that the first meeting of new parliament should be held on April 21 or April 22. The parliament will consider a wide range of issues related to the development of the country and will become a step forward in our history.` Under the Georgian Constitution, it is the president who makes a decision on the convocation of a new parliament.
Talk Of Parole For Kyrgyz Opposition Leader Rebuffed By Justice Ministry
Radio Free Europe
Bishkek, April 15: A spokesman for Kyrgyzstan`s Justice Ministry denied on 15 April recent statements by representatives of the Ar-Namys Party that imprisoned party leader Feliks Kulov will be paroled in June, Kabar reported the same day. Sidorov termed talk of a letter about Kulov`s release `a pure falsification.` The same day, Kyrgyz police broke up a march in support of Kulov, Interfax reported. An Ar-Namys spokesman told the news agency that `Interior Ministry agents detained 20 protesters as they were leaving the capital city` on the morning of 15 April. The protestors planned to march on foot to the high-security prison near Manas International Airport where Kulov is being held.
Kyrgyz Penal Body Denies Release Of Held Opposition Party Leader
Kabar Agency
Bishkek, April 15: The Penal Department under the Justice Ministry of Kyrgyzstan has not sent any letter requesting to release prisoners who are held in jails. Information circulated by the various media on the leader of the Ar-Namys [opposition] party`s [Felix Kulov] release on parole in June this year, with reference to an alleged letter by the head of the Penal Department under the Kyrgyz Justice Ministry, is baseless, Sergey Sidorov, spokesman for the department said. He also said that there had not been any contact with the Ar-Namys party`s political council of late. `Everything which is currently being said about a letter by the leadership of the Penal Department is a pure falsification, and these facts are groundless,` Sidorov told the Kabar news agency. `There is no letter,` the spokesman said in regard to these announcements. He said that any citizen of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan who was being held in jail for committing illegal actions, may be released on parole in accordance with the country`s penal code.
Armenian Protesters Marching On President`s Residence
Interfax
Yerevan, April 15: Protests in the Armenian capital of Yerevan organized by the opposition parties Justice and National Unity are heading for the residence of President Robert Kocharian and demanding his resignation. The organizers claim that nearly 50,000 people are taking part in the march, while the police estimate the crowd at between 6,000 and 8,000. Interior unit troops have cordoned off the president`s residence. The opposition rally underway at Liberty Square in the city center has called on the coalition of Armenia`s three pro-governmental parties to join the march, an Interfax correspondent reports. The opposition has also decided to send a delegation of opposition members to parliament to call on other parliament members to join the protest, Artashez Gegamian, an opposition leader, told the rally. Another opposition leader, Viktor Dallakian, read a list of opposition demands. In particular, he called on the parliament chairman to address the rally and join the march.
Kazakh First Deputy Prime Minister Resigns
Radio Free Europe
Astana, April 14: President Nursultan Nazarbaev accepted the resignation of First Deputy Prime Minister Grigorii Marchenko on 14 April and promptly appointed Marchenko a presidential aide, Kazinform reported the same day. According to Interfax-Kazakhstan, Marchenko resigned because of disagreements over economic reforms, and specifically over housing policy. The news agency noted that Marchenko did not attend a 14 April cabinet session that endorsed a draft program for housing construction in 2005-07.
Kyrgyz Deputy Ministers Sacked
Radio Free Europe
Bishkek, April 14: President Askar Akaev issued a decree on 14 April dismissing Deputy Interior Ministers Kengeshbek Duyshobaev and Bolotbek Nogobaev, akipress.org reported the same day. (Duyshobaev retained his position as head of Bishkek`s police department, however.) The stated reason for the removal of the two officials was a ministerial reorganization. The move came a day after Akaev upbraided law enforcement authorities for their failure to contain rising crime rates (see `RFE/RL Newsline,` 13 April).
Kyrgyzstan: Kulov`s Supporters Attempting To Keep His Name In International Spotlight
Radio Free Europe
Prague, April 14: It`s been four years since Feliks Kulov was initially arrested on charges of abuse of power. It marked the beginning of the Kyrgyz opposition leader`s travails, troubles that would see him tried twice and put in jail, where he remains today. Now, the Justice Ministry is denying reports Kulov is soon to be freed. The announcement comes as supporters are planning another march to draw attention to Kulov`s plight and demand his release. He`s been described as Kyrgyzstan`s only political prisoner. So, much interest was sparked this week when an aide to Feliks Kulov said the leading opposition figure is likely to be released from jail on 1 June. But it appears it`s still too soon for Kulov and his supporters to celebrate. The report was soon squelched by the Justice Ministry. A spokesman for the Justice Ministry`s prisons department, Sergei Sidorov, told RFE/RL`s Kyrgyz Service that the aide, Emil Aliev, `expressed the thought that Kulov will be released on 1 June. Where did he get that from? It was a product of his own imagination. The [prison department] leadership categorically denies this and says the following: No one from the leadership of the department ever said anything like this, never pronounced these words.` It`s the latest twist in a roller-coaster saga that has taken Kulov from senior positions of power, to leading opposition figure, to political prisoner. President Askar Akaev has denied that the charges against Kulov were politically motivated.
Georgian Businessmen To Mediate In Tbilisi-Batumi Talks
Interfax
Tbilisi, April 13: A number of the most prominent Georgian businessmen, including Badri Patarkatsishvili, Gogi Topadze, Niko Lekishvili, Temur Chkonia, and Vano Chkhartishvili, will travel to Batumi on Thursday to hold talks with Ajarian leader Aslan Abashidze to help normalize relations between the central authorities and the autonomous republic. These businessmen met with President Mikheil Saakashvili late on Wednesday. `The president is willing to work constructively and enter into dialogue with the Ajarian authorities,` Patarkatsishvili told the press following the meeting with Saakashvili. The businessmen`s mission `could have a positive effect, because neither Tbilisi nor Batumi want confrontation,` he said.
Armenian Police Break Up Rally Calling For Kocharyan To Resign
Reuters
Yerevan, April 13: Armenian police broke up an opposition rally early Tuesday in the center of Yerevan called to demand the resignation of President Robert Kocharyan. `Overnight, police were forced to dissolve the protest action. Arrests were made and several people were injured,` police spokesman Sayat Shirimyan said, without giving details. Police accused protesters of throwing stones and gasoline bombs. The opposition, which accuses Kocharyan of rigging his re-election last year, denied the allegation. `It`s an absolute lie,` opposition leader Stepan Demirchyan, who placed second to Kocharyan in last year`s election, told reporters Tuesday. `People were peaceful, singing, dancing and waiting for Kocharyan`s resignation.` Opposition newspaper Aravot said police used tear gas and water cannons to break up the demonstration, the latest in a series of protests since last week. The rallies are the biggest in Armenia since the presidential election.
Party Spokesman Says Kyrgyz Opposition Leader To Be Freed
Radio Free Europe
Bishkek, April 12: Emil Aliev, deputy chairman of Kyrgyzstan`s Ar-Namys Party, told akipress.org on 12 April that imprisoned party leader Feliks Kulov will be released on 1 June, the news agency reported the same day. According to Aliev, 1 June is the last day when Kulov can file a petition for early release. Aliev added, `And that`s without taking into account the time he served before trial.` Kulov was sentenced to seven years` imprisonment on 22 January 2001 for exceeding his authority as minister of national security. In May 2002, a Bishkek district court sentenced him to 10 years` imprisonment on three separate charges of embezzlement, and barred him from holding any government office for a further three years after completion of his prison term.
Legislative Assembly Of Kyrgyzstan Marks 4th Anniversary
Kabar Agency
Bishkek, April 12: The second convocation of the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament (Jogorku Kenesh) of Kyrgyzstan crosses the threshold of final year of its five-year term. The first plenary meeting of the chamber took place on April 14, 2000 with participation of 60 deputies. The chamber has 22 committees, 6 deputy fractions. Speaker Abdygany Erkebaev heads the chamber. In concordance with the constitutional reform of 2003 in Kyrgyzstan, the bicameral parliament of the republic transformed into unicameral. The upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for spring 2005 and will take place in 75 constituencies instead of 105. The quantity of committees at the Jogorku Kenesh has been reduced up to 7 within the framework of constitutional reforms.
Constitutional Council Approves Kazakh Election Law
Radio Free Europe
Astana, April 12: Kazakhstan`s Constitutional Council has approved a draft law that amends the country`s basic law on elections, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported on 9 April. President Nursultan Nazarbaev sent the draft law, which has already garnered parliament`s approval, to the council on 2 April to check its compliance with the Kazakh Constitution. Council member Anatolii Kotov commented on the ruling, saying, `[The draft law] expands openness in all stages of the election process and ensures its financial transparency.` He concluded that the draft law`s provisions `do not run counter to the constitution either in content or in the procedure in which it was adopted.`
Armenian Opposition To Organize Protest March
Itar-Tass
Yerevan, April 11: Armenia`s radical opposition on Monday will hold a rally and a march to the presidential palace demanding the resignation of incumbent Armenian President Robert Kocharyan. Having failed to gather huge crowds at the unauthorized meetings on Friday and Saturday, the opposition is pinning high hopes on today`s action. `This is a decisive day,` Viktor Dallakyan, the secretary of `Spravedlivost` opposition parliamentary faction, told Itar-Tass. Columns of opposition demonstrators would move towards Armenia`s regions to break through police cordons preventing opposition members from the provinces to arrive in Yerevan and join the march. The opposition is seeking Robert Kocharyan`s resignation because it considers him to be illegitimate because he seized power as a result of rigged elections in 2003.
Kazakhstan`s President Congratulates Republic`s Christians On Easter Day
RIA Novosti
Astana, April 11: Kazakhstan`s President Nursultan Nazarbayev, in the Konstantin-Yeleninsky cathedral of the republic`s capital, Astana, congratulated all Christians of Kazakhstan on Easter-Day. `Kazakhstan is a multifaith state. Today this feast is being marked throughout the country, just as is the Muslim festival Kurban-ait (in the Turkic transcription adopted in Kazakhstan - among the Arabs it is spelled as Id-al-Adkha - a festival of sacrifice which arrives on the 70th day after the feast (oraz), or ramazan among the Arabs, and after an annual pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca. It is marked in Kazakhstan in the course of three days from February 11 to 13). We mark this day as a day of love between people of all nationalities,` said Nazarbayev.
Rally Demands Kazakh Opposition Leader`s Release
Radio Free Europe
Astana, April 10: Approximately 5,000 people demonstrated in Almaty on 10 April to demand the release of imprisoned opposition leader Ghalymzhan Zhaqiyanov, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported the same day. Serikbolsyn Abdildin, leader of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, spearheaded the initiative to hold the demonstration, which was also attended by leading figures in Aq Zhol and the Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan. A Deutsche Welle correspondent estimated the number of participants as `more than 5,000` in a 10 April report. Speakers also used the opportunity to criticize President Nazarbaev. Deutsche Welle quoted Abdildin as saying, `If Nazarbaev continues this policy of thievery, corruption, and disdain for the people, he should not remain in the post of president.` Zamanbek Nurqadilov, the former chairman of the Emergency Situations Agency who was fired after calling for Nazarbaev`s resignation, also spoke at the rally.
Queen Noor Urges Nations To End `scourge` Of Landmines
Middle East Online
Dushanbe, April 16: The wife of Jordan`s late King Hussein, Queen Noor, brought her campaign against landmines to Tajikistan on Friday, urging military officials from China, Afghanistan and other regional powers to end the `scourge` of indiscriminate weapons. `We congratulate those who are working very hard to support the Ottawa Convention,` the queen told a two-day convention in the capital of Tajikistan, a country littered with mines left from a brutal five-year civil war in the 1990s. Of the nations assembled in Dushanbe, only central Asia`s Tajikistan and Turkmenistan have ratified the Ottawa Convention banning the use of mines in warfare. The UN treaty has been signed by 150 countries - although not the United States or Russia - and has been ratified by 141 of those. Queen Noor has been prominently campaigning against the use of landmines over the past six years. During her visit to Tajikistan, which ends on April 19, she is due to visit a military field where soldiers are trained in de-mining techniques and meet Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov. Queen Noor told the meeting in Dushanbe she was `encouraged` that nations who had not signed the convention had still gathered in the Tajik capital.
US Air Force Secretary Visits Uzbekistan
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, April 15: US Air Force Secretary James Roche is visiting Uzbekistan. On 15 April, Roche met the Uzbek Defence Minister Qadir Gulyamov. According to UzA quoting press service of Defence Ministry, the sides discussed issues bilateral military cooperation, maintain regional security, fight against terrorism and drug trafficking, as well as stabilisation situation in Afghanistan.
Tajik Border Transfer Moves Along
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, April 15: Aleksandr Baranov, the commander of Russian border troops on the Tajik-Afghan border, said on 15 April that Tajik guards will take over control of the border by May 2005, `Vesti` reported. Baranov said the start dates and end dates for the transfer have been set at May 2004 and May 2005, but will still require a bilateral agreement between the two governments to iron out the details. Under current working-group protocols, the Pamir section of the border will shift to Tajik control in May-August 2004, with remaining Russian detachments to be moved out by May 2005, ITAR-TASS reported.
International Confernce On Anti Personnel Mines Gets Underway In Tajikistan
RIA Novosti
Dushanbe, April 15: An international two-day conference on antipersonnel mines in Central Asia has got underway in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe Wednesday. The forum has brought together officials from 22 countries, including Afghanistan, China, India, Pakistan, Turkey, Austria, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, France, and the United States. Queen Noor of Jordan is attending as a United Nations good-will ambassador. `We must identify challenges remaining in Central Asia and actions necessary for the Ottawa Convention to be able to deliver on its promise to stop suffering brought by antipersonnel mines, as well as urge non-member countries to join in,` Tajik Vice Premier Saidamir Zukhurov said as he addressed the gathering Thursday. According to Zukhurov, the forum`s goal is to emphasize the danger of antipersonnel mines in Central Asia and to encourage Central Asian countries to join the Convention. The Tajik government has adopted a five-year mine clearance plan, whose implementation will cost an estimated $13 million, Zukhurov reported. The UK, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Japan, the OSCE, and NATO have so far donated $2 million for the plan. According to the Tajik Center for Mine Issues, some 2,500 square kilometers of farmlands and 700 kilometers of roads have not yet been cleared of mines in Tajikistan. In addition, Uzbekistan planted mines along the border with Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in August 2000, so as to prevent drug smugglers and Islamic militants from crossing over. Parviz Mavlonov, Director of the Center for Mine Issues, said that over the past decade, two hundred people had been killed and a hundred others wounded in mine explosions in Tajikistan, including on the Tajik-Uzbek border.
Israel, Turkey Join To Supply Arms To Central Asia
Middle East Newsline
Ankara, April 15: Israel and Turkey are planning joint weapons projects in Central Asia. Turkish diplomatic and industry sources said Ankara and Jerusalem are discussing the prospect of a weapons sale to Azerbaijan. They said Israel would supply components and technology for the assembly of weapons platforms in Turkey. Turkey would then deliver the weapons to Azerbaijan. Israel and Turkey have discussed the prospect of joint ventures in Central Asian states. But few deals were reached and governments in the region have preferred to deal directly with Israeli suppliers. Azerbaijan could be the first major market for a joint Israeli-Turkish arms effort. On Jan. 9, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul discussed a range of cooperation during his two-day visit to Baku.
Debate Over Kazakh Peacekeepers Continues
Radio Free Europe
Astana, April 14: President Nazarbaev reaffirmed the continuing participation of Kazakh peacekeepers in the reconstruction of Iraq on 14 April even as parliamentarians hoped to put questions about the matter to the ministers of foreign affairs and defense, news agencies reported. Speaking to journalists at a military training ground, Nazarbaev stressed that Kazakhstan was part of the antiterror coalition `when there was war against the Taliban, and we will remain in this coalition now,` ITAR-TASS reported. Meanwhile, parliamentarians are planning to quiz the ministers of foreign affairs and defense on 19 April about the security situation in Iraq and its significance for Kazakh peacekeepers there, Kazinform reported on 14 April. Kazakhstan maintains a contingent of 27 peacekeepers in Iraq that is primarily engaged in mine-clearing operations. The contingent`s contracted time in Iraq expires at the end of May. Secretary of State Colin Powell sent a message of thanks to Kazakh Foreign Minister Qasymzhomart Toqaev for Kazakhstan`s support in the reconstruction of Iraq, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry reported in a 14 April press release.
Dushanbe To Host Regional Mine Action Conference
IRIN News
Ankara, April 14: Dushanbe will host a regional anti-land mine conference on Thursday for representatives of Afghanistan, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Sponsored by the Tajik government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the two-day event is a concerted effort to advance dialogue on the problems of landmines in Central Asia. `This effort is to promote an understanding that unless the Ottawa Convention is universally adopted, there will never be an end to the menace that has blighted the lives of millions of people in so many countries,` Peter Isaacs, chief technical advisor for Tajikistan`s Mine Action Cell, a UNDP sponsored project, told IRIN from the Tajik capital Dushanbe. As of December 2003, a total of 141 states have formally accepted the Convention on the Prohibition on the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personal Mines and on their Destruction - otherwise known as the Ottawa Convention and first signed in December 1997.
US Lieutenant General David Barno Visits Uzbekistan
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, April 13: The US Commanding General of the Combined Forces Command for Afghanistan, Lieutenant General Barno, met with senior Uzbek Government officials on his first official visit to Uzbekistan. During his visit to Tashkent, Lieutenant General Barno met with Minister of Defense Qodir Gulomov, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sodyk Safaev, and National Security Council Secretary Ruslan Mirzaev. The purpose of the visit was to discuss Uzbek support for the war on terror. Lieutenant General Barno has served in a variety of command and staff positions in the continental United States and the Pacific. Following selection to Brigadier General, he was assigned in June of 1999 as the Assistant Division Commander (Operations) of the 25th Infantry Division (Light) at Schoefield Barracks, Hawaii, and in June 2000 as the Deputy Director of Operations, United States Pacific Command. Following his selection for Major General, he served as the Commanding General for the United States Army Training Center at Fort Jackson. During this time he deployed to Hungary as the Commanding General of Task Force Warrior with the mission to train the Free Iraqi Forces in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Lieutenant General Barno assumed his duties as Commanding General of the Combined Forces Command - Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in October 2003.
Georgian Government Prepared To Buy-up Weapons From Adjarian Population
Pravda
Moscow, April 13: The government of Georgia is prepared to buy-up weapons from the population of Adjaria, according to Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania. As reported by a Rosbalt correspondent, Zhvania made the announcement prior to his flight to Batumi for talks with the Adjarian leader, Aslan Abashidze. According to Zhvania, for every automatic weapon handed in, Georgian authorities would be prepared to pay up to 500 Lari (USD 250). Preliminary estimates put the cost of disarming the Adjari population at 1 million Lari. `This money will not be transferred from the budget. There are many private parties, businessmen, who would be prepared to pay that amount in exchange for peace on the Georgian Black Sea coast,` said Zhvania.
Ajaria Refuses To Disarm Armed Groups
Interfax
Batumi, April 13: Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania, during talks in Ajaria on Tuesday, failed to persuade the local leadership to disarm armed groups that Georgia has declared illegal, while a senior Ajarian official accused Georgia of a lack of will for dialogue. `We haven`t been able to come to any agreement. Aslan Abashidze is refusing to disarm,` Zhvania told reporters in Batumi after meeting with Abashidze. He said the Georgian leadership would discuss `further moves in regard to the Ajarian authorities.` The secretary of the Georgian National Security Council, Vano Merabishvili, who took part in the talks, said the Georgian government will take measures to make `non-law-abiding Georgian citizens respect the law.` `Aslan Abashidze thinks he needs the armed groups, and so he`s in effect refusing to hold a dialogue, but everyone will see soon that there is no alternative to disarmament in Ajaria,` Merabishvili told reporters.
CIS Forces To Carry Out Anti-terrorist Exercises
Itar-Tass
Moscow, April 12: The command and staff anti-terrorist exercises Frontier-2004 will be held in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in August and September. `These will be the first anti-terrorist exercises conducted under the auspices of three regional structures - the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO),` said Lieutenant-General Alexander Sinaisky, chief of the CIS Council of Defence Ministers. `The conduction of such manoeuvres is quit natural, as many of the states participating in them, in particular Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, simultaneously are members of the CIS, CSTO and SCO. Besides, the struggle against terrorism is a most important task of these three organizations and a platform on which the pooling of their efforts is real,` he told Itar-Tass on Monday. Military structures of the member states will drill joint operations to locate and destroy well trained and equipped bands that `have intruded` Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan from Afghanistan, Sinaisky said. The first deputy chief of the CSTO Joint Staff, Lieutenant-General Vasily Zavgorodny, told Itar-Tass on Monday that the manoeuvres would engage ground and aerial groups of the CIS Collective Rapid Deployment Forces, including nine battalions, a Dushanbe-based air group and an air force base stationed in Kyrgyzstan`s city of Kant. The total force involved in the exercises will comprise more than 1,000 troops, about 30 planes and helicopters, artillery, tanks and air defence means. The CSTO Joint Staff, which will coordinate the manoeuvres, has begun developing their plan, Zavgorodny said.
Disarmament Not Begun In Georgia Autonomy
Itar-Tass
Tbilisi, April 11: Georgian Interior Minister Georgy Baramidze has expressed concern that disarmament of armed groups has not begun in the Adzharia autonomy so far. `If the accords on disarmament of the armed units that were reached in Batumi on March 18 during the meeting of Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili and Adzharia`s leader Aslan Abashidze are not fulfilled, authorities of the autonomous republic will bear responsibility for this,` he told reporters on Monday. Baramidze said the `leadership of the autonomy is trying to pass off some differences between the centre and the region as a standoff between residents of Adzharia and other regions of Georgia, but this absolutely does not correspond to reality.
Azerbaijan Not To Withdraw Peacekeepers From Iraq
Itar-Tass
Baku, April 11: Azerbaijan`s Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov told Itar-Tass that Azerbaijan didn`t intend to withdraw its peacekeepers from Iraq or cut their strength. Azerbaijan has 150 servicemen stationed in Iraq as part of the international coalition force. They carry out missions in southern Iraq. Mamedyarov stressed that Azerbaijan had joined the anti-terror coalition because it understood what threat terrorism posed to the whole world. `Thirty-two terrorist acts have been staged in the territory of Azerbaijan since the country gained independence. They claimed many human lives, including those of children, women and old people. We know what terrorism is like from the inside and understand the need to fight it. Our decision to send the peacekeepers to Iraq was a conscientious move in this context,` the Azerbaijani foreign minister stressed. Mamedyarov also said that Azerbaijan would continue a balanced foreign policy course that was laid down by late Azeri President Geidar Aliev. `This policy has no alternative, it fully meets the interests of Azerbaijan,` Mamedyarov told Itar-Tass. He noted that Azerbaijan would continue building its relations with NATO.
CSTO Chief: Armenia - Active CSTO Member
Pravda
Moscow, April 10: Nikolai Bordyuzha, Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO, includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan), does not dramatize the internal political situation in Armenia. (The Armenian opposition is demanding that the official results of last year`s presidential elections won by Robert Kocharyan be invalidated). The CSTO chief bluntly denied some media reports that his arrival in Yerevan had been prompted by the internal political situation in the country. According to Mr. Bordyuzha, the CSTO can interfere with the Yerevan developments under no circumstances. `We have calmly discussed the internal political situation in Armenia with the country`s leadership. There is no need for dramatizing the situation,` said Mr. Bordyuzha.
Uzbek Terrorists Said To Have 350 Members
Associated Press
Tashkent, April 16: The new extremist organization allegedly behind a wave of suicide bombings and attacks in Uzbekistan has 350 to 400 followers, about a quarter of whom have undergone militant training, the head of a regional anti-terrorism center said Friday. Vyacheslav Kasymov, director of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization`s anti-terrorism center, also stressed in an interview with The Associated Press that the fight against terrorism must include economic and democratic reforms. Advertisement Four days of explosions, bombings and assaults on police that began March 28 killed at least 47 people, mostly alleged militants. Some opposition parties blamed the attacks on domestic discontent over poor living standards and a harsh crackdown on Muslims who worship outside state-affiliated mosques. `You can`t solve the problem only by using force,` Kasymov said of the attacks, which included Central Asia`s first-ever suicide bombings. The center started working this year in Tashkent, serving as an information clearing house and think tank on threats facing countries in the Shanghai organization, which includes China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The anti-terror office is part of the organization`s increased activity in response to the bolstered U.S. presence in Central Asia after the Sept. 11 attacks. Kasymov, a former deputy head of the Uzbek intelligence agency, used the term `Jamoat` to describe the new extremist group, an Uzbek word that means `society.` He said the group aims to create a system of Islamic states, or caliphates, ruled by emirs. `This is the first time when we have faced this formation and name, sharing the aims of jihad,` Kasymov said. Uzbekistan`s top prosecutor has also referred to the group behind the attacks as a Jamoat, claiming it had ties to international terror groups and that some members had been trained by Arab al-Qaida instructors. Prosecutor-General Rashid Kadyrov said last week that 45 alleged militants were under arrest and another nine suspects detained for questioning.
Russia Supports Uzbekistan`s Fight Against Terrorism
Interfax
Novo-Ogaryevo, April 16: President Vladimir Putin has confirmed his country`s support of Uzbekistan`s fight against terrorism. `Uzbekistan can count on Russia`s comprehensive and unconditional support in its fight against any manifestations of terrorism,` Putin said before talks with his Uzbek counterpart Islam Karimov on Thursday. `Today it is difficult to single out a continent or a state which has not witnessed any tragic events. Terrorist forces are regrouping today. They are acting faster than the anti-terrorism coalition. They are finding weak points, changing their tactics and launching strikes,` Karimov said. Karimov said that not enough is being done today to counter terrorism. `We need to move quicker to establish contacts and find compromises with those who are against terrorism and who realize that it poses a threat to all of mankind. We should accelerate our joint efforts in countering this evil. The world is becoming more vulnerable now,` the Uzbek president said. Karimov underscored the importance of Russia`s stance on the fight against terrorism and said that he `understands the leaders who go to Russia to measure their countries` progress in this issue and compare their positions.`
Uzbek Police Official Says Arrests Continue
Associated Press
Tashkent, April 16: A spate of suicide bombings and terror attacks that killed 47 people two weeks ago would have been much worse had Uzbek authorities not rounded up many of the plotters beforehand, a top police official said Tuesday, adding that more arrests were expected. Meanwhile, an international human rights group said Muslim women who worship outside state-affiliated mosques are being targeted for harassment and arrest in a broadening crackdown after the attacks. At least one woman was beaten and threatened with rape, Human Rights Watch said. Oleg Bichenov, Tashkent police deputy anti-terrorism chief, told The Associated Press that authorities knew of the approximate timing of the attacks and had arrested most of the plotters and confiscated their weapons before violence broke out March 28. The previously unknown Jihad Islamic Group claimed responsibility for the four days of explosions, suicide attacks and assaults on police that killed at least 33 alleged militants, but Bichenov dismissed that claim. Authorities continue to detain suspects, he said. `The number of arrests are changing every day,` Bichenov said. `More and more people are being detained and are giving confessions, and from those confessions we are arresting more people.` Bichenov declined to give any specific figures of arrests, but denied they were in the many hundreds as human rights activists claim.
Russia Supports Uzbekistan`s Fight Against Terrorism
Interfax
Novo-Ogarevo, April 15: President Vladimir Putin has confirmed his country`s support of Uzbekistan`s fight against terrorism. `Uzbekistan can count on Russia`s comprehensive and unconditional support in its fight against any manifestations of terrorism,` Putin said before talks with his Uzbek counterpart Islam Karimov on Thursday. `Today it is difficult to single out a continent or a state which has not witnessed any tragic events. Terrorist forces are regrouping today. They are acting faster than the anti-terrorism coalition. They are finding weak points, changing their tactics and launching strikes,` Karimov said. Karimov said that not enough is being done today to counter terrorism. `We need to move quicker to establish contacts and find compromises with those who are against terrorism and who realize that it poses a threat to all of mankind. We should accelerate our joint efforts in countering this evil. The world is becoming more vulnerable now,` the Uzbek president said.
Tajiks Released From Guantanamo
BBC
Dushanbe, April 13: Four Tajik citizens have been released from the US base in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, the American ambassador to Tajikistan has announced. The men, all of them from the northern part of Tajikistan, were no longer dangerous, Richard Hoagland said. The United States had no wish to interfere in their further personal life, he added. It is thought that eight more Tajiks remain at Guantanamo Bay and will also be released soon. The men have returned to Tajikistan, but no further details were available. All the Tajik citizens in Guantanamo Bay were detained in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taleban in late 2001. Most of the detainees left for Afghanistan during the short but bloody civil war in Tajikistan in the 1990s. Many Tajiks became fighters almost by chance as they could not return to their own country. Some 591 prisoners are still being held at the US naval base. Human rights group have challenged the legal basis for their detention without charge.
Uzbek Arrests
Associated Press
Tashkent, April 13: A spate of suicide bombings and terror attacks that killed 47 people two weeks ago would have been much worse had Uzbek authorities not rounded up many of the plotters beforehand, a senior police official said Tuesday. Oleg Bichenov, Tashkent police deputy anti-terrorism chief, also said more arrests were expected. Meanwhile, an international human rights group said Muslim women who worship outside state-affiliated mosques are being targeted for harassment and arrest in a broadening crackdown after the attacks. At least one woman was beaten and threatened with rape, Human Rights Watch said.
Tajik Arrests Reveal New Religious Group
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, April 10: More than 20 members of an unregistered religious party have been arrested in Tajikistan`s Soghd Oblast on suspicion of committing murders, attempted murder, and arson, Asia Plus-Blitz reported on 10 April. The party is called Bay`at, Arabic for `oath of allegiance.` The arrested include eight members of the Islamic Renaissance Party (IRP). RFE/RL`s Tajik Service quoted an unnamed official as saying that party members are suspected of committing 60 murders, including the killing of Sergei Bessarab, a Baptist evangelist in the region. Abdusattor Boboev, a local IRP leader, told RFE/RL, `At present, eight members of the party...are being interrogated. We`re confident that they`ll prove their innocence.` The source also noted that the Bay`at party was formed seven years ago.
AIOC Plans To Withdraw From Baku-Novorossiisk Pipeline
Interfax
Baku, April 16: The Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC), the operator of the Azeri- Chirag-Guneshli oil deposit, does not plan to use the Baku-Novorossiisk oil pipeline any more after the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline is put into operation. AIOC sometimes delivers oil along the northern route as part of an intergovernmental contract between Russia and Azerbaijan, AIOC President David Woodward told journalists. AIOC shareholders have decided to stop using the Baku-Novorossiisk oil pipeline after the Baku- Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline starts operating, he said, adding that this pipeline will remain as a backup route. Woodward said that the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline`s operations will not effect the functioning of the Baku-Supsa project. The 830-kilometer Baku-Supsa oil pipeline links the Sangachal terminal and the Georgian port of Supsa. It currently delivers some 130,000 barrels of oil a day.
BTC Co. Gets $1.6 Bln Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Project Loan Tranche
Interfax
Moscow, April 15: Operator for the building and use of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline BTC Co. has received from international financial organizations the first tranche of a construction credit in the amount of $1.6 billion. President of the company BP-Azerbaijan David Woodward said at a Wednesday press conference in Baku that the funds were received in late March, and that $1 billion of it was returned to the BTC shareholders for financing the construction work until the credit monies were received. The remaining $600 million will be used on work done until September 2004, he said. The second tranche is expected that month in the amount of $400-$600 million, the next in the first quarter of 2004 in an amount that will round out the overall credit size of $2.6 billion. The initial loan funds were supposed to have been received in mid- 2003, the project participants using their own money to finance the building work until that time. However, talks with financial institutions were drawn out and the BTC shareholder-companies continued to put money into the project, spending an additional $1 billion in the period from mid-2003 to March of 2004.
Kazakhstan To Launch Karachaganak Gas Project In 2005
Interfax
Astana, April 15: Kazakhstan plans to launch the Karachaganak gas project in 2005. The government discussed the project on Thursday and Prime Minister Danial Akhmetov instructed the pertinent ministries and structures to speed up talks with likely partners in order to get the project going in 2005, the government`s press service reported. Akhmetov said the project was important not only for Kazakhstan but for the entire Central Asia region. `The prime minister pointed out that the project would be efficient only if gas from Karachaganak went to markets in Europe and the Commonwealth [of Independent States], where prices are expected to go up in the coming years,` the press service said. The project envisages the construction of a gas refinery with initial capacity of 10 billion cubic meters a year and an export pipeline. The project will cost at least $1-1.2 billion depending on the gas refinery technology.
Turkmenistan Renews Oil Service Contract
Radio Free Europe
Ashgabat, April 14: State oil company Turkmenneft has concluded a new five-year contract with oil-services company Schlumberger, turkmenistan.ru reported on 14 April. The contract is for a total of $36 million. Schlumberger inked its first five-year contract with Turkmenneft in 1998; that contract expired in November.
Uzbek - Russian Gas Accord
Radio Free Europe
Moscow, April 14: Uzbekistan`s Uzbekneftegaz and Russia`s Gazprom signed a 15-year production-sharing agreement on gas extraction at Uzbekistan`s Shakhpakhty gas field, uza.uz reported the same day. Although the development of the Shakhpakhty field began in the 1970s, production came to a halt in February 2002 because of equipment problems. Valeriy Gulev, head of Gazprom subsidiary Zarubezhneftegaz, said that $15 million in investment is planned for 2004-07 under the current agreement. Uzbekistan signed an agreement with Gazprom two years ago to increase gas exports from Uzbekistan to Russia from 3 billion cubic meters in 2003 to 10 billion cubic meters in 2006, polit.ru reported on 14 April.
Kazakhstan To Increase Its GDP By 250-280 per centBy 2015
RBC News
Moscow, April 14: Kazakhstan plans to ensure an increase in its GDP by 250-280 percent by 2015 compared to 2000, this target is announced in Kazakhstani industrial development strategy. Astana aims to ensure 8 to 8.4 percent yearly growth of its manufacturing industry, increase its labor capacity threefold compared to 2000. Kazakhstani industrial development strategy suggests increasing the share of goods manufacturing in the GDP to 50-52 percent from 46.5 percent.
Bureaucracy Hampers World Bank Program In Tajikistan
Interfax
Dushanbe, April 14: World Bank regional representative Dennis DeTray has said he is dissatisfied with the pace of the implementation of the bank`s program in Tajikistan. He told journalists in Dushanbe after a meeting with Tajik President Emomali Rahmonov that a World Bank review of the borrowers portfolio has shown that the program is not being implemented as quickly and effectively as we would like. An agreement has been reached with the Tajik government to conduct a detailed review of the World Bank program to determine the obstacles impeding the effective implementation of this program, DeTray said. DeTray said that these projects are not being implemented quickly or effectively enough not because they are not priorities, but due to bureaucratic barriers both on the part of the World Bank and on the part of Tajikistan.
Lukoil Overseas Develops Kazakh Oil Fields In Caspian
RIA Novosti
Moscow, April 14: The Lukoil Overseas company prophesies commercial discovery of hydrocarbons in the Tyub-Karagan and Atashski sites in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian sea in 2005, the company`s press release says. Start of production is forecasted for 2012. The rated maximal production is 7.2 million tonnes annually, accumulated production of oil (by the time of the contract expiry) - 110 million tonnes, accumulated production of gas 19.1 billion cubic meters. The forecasted geological resources are 388 million tonnes of conventional fuel, including 324.3 million tonnes of oil. The number of producing wells is 83, of them oil wells - 79, gas wells - four. The base document is the product-sharing agreement for a term of 40 years. The forecasted geological reserves of the Atashski site are 248.8 million tonnes of conventional fuel, including 141,7 million tonnes of oil.
Gazprom To Invest In Uzbek Energy Sector
Associated Press
Tashkent, April 14: Russian energy giant Gazprom will invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the Uzbek natural gas industry as the two nations rekindle ties, a top Gazprom official said Wednesday. Gazprom and Uzbekistan`s state energy company Uzbekneftegaz signed a 15-year, $15 million deal Wednesday to modernize and develop the Shahpahti gas field in northwestern Karakalpakstan province. The deal `is a first step toward a much bigger project where the volume of Gazprom investments will amount to hundreds of millions of dollars,` said Aleksandr Medvedev, general director of Gazprom`s Gazexport subsidiary. The deal came the day before Uzbek President Islam Karimov was to travel to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two leaders signed a partnership agreement last year to try to mend relations that were damaged when the Uzbek government spurned Russia after its 1991 independence from the collapsing Soviet Union. Subsequently, Western investors stayed away when Karimov`s government failed to institute economic and political reforms. On Wednesday, Medvedev said he hoped that another multimillion-dollar deal would be signed soon. He said Gazprom by the end of the year plans to invest $31 million in exploration and development of gas fields in the Ustyurt region in western Uzbekistan.
Kazakh Output Soars
The Moscow Times
Moscow, April 13: Kazakhstan boosted gas production 44 percent in the first quarter, compared with the same period last year, Interfax reported, citing an unidentified official from the Kazakh government. Kazakhstan`s gas pumping rose to 4.6 billion cubic meters of gas, the news service said, without giving precise figures for the same period of 2003. That includes 2.4 billion cubic meters of natural gas, the news service said. Kazakhstan, the second-largest oil producer among the former Soviet states behind Russia, plans to triple oil output to about 3 million barrels per day by 2015.
Kazakhstan GDP Rises 9 Per Cent
Radio Free Europe
Astana, April 13: Economy Minister Qayrat Kelimbetov announced on 13 April that Kazakhstan`s GDP posted an 8.9 percent year-on-year gain for the period January-March 2004, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported the same day. Agricultural production jumped 6 percent in the first quarter and capital investments rose by 21.5 percent. The minister`s remarks came at a forum on regional development, investment projects, and housing policy in Aqtobe.
Schlumberger To Sign New 5-yr Deal With Turkmenistan
Interfax
Ashgabat, April 13: Schlumberger will sign a new five- year contract for oil- and gas-well services with Turkmenistan`s state- owned oil producer Turkmenneft worth $36 million, a spokesman for Turkmen President Saparmurad Niyazov told Interfax. Niyazov decreed that the contract will be financed by the State Oil and Gas Industry and Mineral Resources Development Fund using Turkmenneft`s receipts from the sale of crude oil and oil products. Schlumberger has worked in Turkmenistan since 1998. Its first five- year contract, signed in 1999, expired in November last year. By signing the new contract Schlumberger remains the only long-term partner operating at oil fields in western Turkmenistan, Niyazov`s spokesman said.
Kazakhs Turn Up Heat On Rosneft
Reuters
Aktyubinsk, April 13: Kazakhstan said Tuesday that it would fight for the lion`s share in profits from a Caspian oil venture with Russia, giving a clear signal to investors that it would not amend its much-criticized tax code. Russia and Kazakhstan agreed last year to develop jointly the offshore Kurmangazy field with reserves of between 700 million and 1 billion tons of crude. But the $10 billion production sharing agreement, to be implemented by Russia`s state oil firm Rosneft and Kazakh state oil firm KazMunaiGas, has hit a snag over tighter rules for all new PSAs and higher taxes imposed Jan. 1. `We now feel pressure from certain firms in order to make Kazakhstan`s tax legislation more liberal and cut the state`s share,` said Prime Minister Danial Akhmetov on a visit to Kazakhstan`s oils and metals hub of Aktyubinsk. `But this is not going to happen.` Under the tax legislation introduced in November, foreign oil investors must either pay new export taxes linked to the world price of crude or agree to PSAs that hand the state a larger share of profits.
Gazprom To Develop Uzbek Gas Field On PSA Terms
Interfax
Tashkent, April 13: Gazprom and the Uzbek national holding company Uzbekneftegaz on Wednesday plan to sign a production sharing agreement (PSA) on developing the Shakhpakhty gas condensate field in the Ust-Yurt region of Uzbekistan, the Uzbekneftegaz press service told Interfax. As was reported earlier, Gazprom and Uzbekneftegaz concluded a strategic gas cooperation agreement in mid-2003, which envisions long-term supplies of Uzbek gas in 2003-2012, and joint implementation of gas production projects on PSA terms. The volume of gas to be bought from Uzbekistan by 2005 should reach 10 billion cubic meters a year.
Kyrgyzstan Economy Expands 5.7 per centIn Q1
Interfax
Bishkek, April 12: Kyrgyzstan expanded its economy 5.7 per centyear-on-year in the first quarter of 2004 to 15.27 billion som, the Finance Ministry told Interfax. GDP went up 4.6 per centin January-March, excluding companies working at the Kumtor gold deposit, the ministry said. Industrial production grew 8 per centin the first quarter to 13.64 billion som, the National Statistics Committee told Interfax.
Azerbaijan Forecasts Economic Growth Of 15 per centIn 2005
Interfax
Baku, April 11: Azerbaijan`s GDP will grow 15.3 per centfrom this year`s anticipated figure to 43 trillion manat in 2005, the Economic Development Ministry forecast. This year`s GDP will `correspond to approved forecasts,` said Farhad Aliyev, the economy minister. `All macroeconomic indicators remain at the level we have forecast. There may be slight changes, which is normal. Recent years have shown that our forecasts correspond with real indicators,` Aliyev said. Targeted GDP this year is 37.3 trillion manat. GDP grew 11.2 per centto 35.1 trillion manat in 2003. The government is forecasting GDP to grow to 63 trillion manat by 2008 and 101.68 trillion manat by 2010.
Kazakh Foreign Debt Up 25.6 per centIn 2003
Interfax
Astana, April 11: Kazakhstan`s overall foreign debt went up 25.6 per centto about $22.859 billion in 2003, according to a statistical report of the country`s National Bank posted on its website. The country`s government and government guaranteed foreign debt stood at some $3.623 billion as of January 1, 2004. It was $3.481 billion as of January 1, 2003.
Dominance Of Top 3 Banks Worries Kazakh Govt
Interfax
Astana, April 11: The government of Kazakhstan is concerned about the dominance of the country`s three largest banks - Kazkommertsbank, TuranAlem and Narodny Bank of Kazakhstan - on the banking market, First Deputy Prime Minister Grigory Marchenko said at a news conference. We are concerned about this because the gap between the three largest banks and others does not only remain but is even growing, Marchenko said. Meanwhile, the market share of the leading western banks in Kazakhstan - ABN Amro Bank, HSBC and Citibank - is shrinking, he said. Marchenko said he would like to see strong competitors, particularly from among major international financial institutions, enter Kazakhstan`s banking market. The National Bank and the government would welcome it if other major players enter the market, including Austria`s Raiffeisen Bank, which now has a stake in the bank TuranAlem, but it has announced plans to buy a controlling stake in a Kazakh bank, Marchenko said, adding that there will be no problems with this. He said Russian banks have shown little interest in the Kazakh banking market.
Turkmenistan To Increase Electricity Exports To Turkey Through Iran
Interfax
Ashgabat, April 11: Turkmenistan plans to increase electricity exports to Turkey through Iran to 600 million kilowatt- hours, the average handling capacity being 70 megawatt-hours. The Turkmen corporation Kuvvat, the Turkish corporation TEIAS and the Iranian organization Tavanir have signed an agreement to increase the electricity transit from Turkmenistan to Turkey, the Turkmen Energy and Industry Ministry told Interfax on Sunday. Turkmenistan began exporting electricity to Turkey through Iran in December 2003 after the first tripartite agreement was signed on the export and transit of 300 million kilowatt-hours of electricity. Two months later, Turkey announced that it would like to increase electricity imports considerably. Electricity is currently being exported to Iran and Turkey via the power line linking Balkanabat (former Nebitdag, Turkmenistan,) Gonbad (Iran) and Hoi-Bashkale (Turkey.)
DFAD, CFA Mark 10th Anniversary Of Activity In Uzbekistan
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, April 16: The solemn meeting on the occasion of 10th jubilee of the activity of German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and Central Department of Foreign Postgraduate Masters Programme (CFA) in the Republic of Uzbekistan will be held in the University of World Economy and Diplomacy (UWED) on 22 April 2004. Head of Department for Foreign Policy in the field of culture and education of German Foreign Ministry Wilfrid Grolig, head of DAAD Central Asia and Caucasus Department in Bonn Peter Hiller, manager of the CFA Eastern Europe and CIS Department in Cologne Wolfgang Harmgardt, representatives of Uzbek government in charge of higher and secondary education, as well as scholars from all regions of Uzbekistan will participate in the forum.
U.S. Wants To Take Part In Developing Caspian Resources
Interfax
Almaty, April 16: U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan Larry Napper said the United States is interested in taking part in the development of the resources of the Caspian Sea. The U.S. wants the Caspian Sea to become an area of cooperation not only for the littoral states, but also for the U.S., which has interests in the area, Napper said in an interview published in the Thursday edition of the Kazakh weekly Vremya. The development of the Caspian Sea resources would promote the energy independence of the U.S., Napper said. U.S. companies rank first in investments in Kazakhstan`s oil and gas sector, he said. However, Kazakhstan can invite Russian and Chinese companies as well and there does not seem to be any reason for a conflict because of that, he said. The U.S. would like to promote the development of Kazakh oil resources, he said. In this connection, Napper said U.S. companies have invested over $6 billion in Kazakhstan`s oil and gas sector. However, he added that this does not mean the U.S. will close its eyes to the situation concerning democracy and human rights abuses in Kazakhstan.
CIS Prime Minister`s Council Wraps Up Session, Signing All Planned Documents
Kabar Agency
Bishkek, April 16: The Council of Prime Ministers of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Cholponata wrapped up its work. All the submitted problems and proposals to the meeting were approved by the meeting`s participants. 7 main documents signed, including the agreement on the introduction of an international certificate for transport vehicle weighing in the CIS and the decision on results of fulfillment of financial obligations in the CIS to finance measures aimed to setting up united air-raid system of the states of CIS. The CIS Prime Ministers without discussion signed 19 documents, having interstate importance, which prepared by expert groups. As whole 28 documents signed. The Heads of Governments of CIS after concluding the meeting in Cholponata gave a press conference on the results of the meeting. As it was declared, according to decision of the Council of Prime Ministers, First Deputies of the Secretary of CIS Executive Committee were elected. Dimitry Bulahov appointed as the First Deputy from Belarus, Asan Kojakov from Kazakhstan, Anatoliy Golovatiy from Russia and Vladimir Fedrov from Ukraine. At the same time, the Council of the Heads of Governments decided to prolong the term of office of Valeriy Verchagin, Deputy Head of the CIS Antiterrorist Centre. Besides, as it was declared, the next meeting of the Council of Prime Ministers of CIS will take place on September 15, 2004 in Astana (Kazakhstan).
Uzbek President Will Support Russian Business
RIA Novosti
Moscow, April 16: Russian business projects in Uzbekistan will be supported politically, president of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov said during his meeting with Russian businessmen in Moscow on Friday. `Many Russian projects are not implemented for lack of political support,` Karimov said. According to him, if this problem is solved, the economic element of the Russian-Uzbek relations will receive a powerful impetus. Karimov reported that the presence of the Russian capital in the Asian region would be one of the main provisions of the treaty of strategic partnership to be signed on June 16-17 at the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Tashkent. `We should discuss giving the most favoured treatment regime to the Russian capital,` Karimov pointed out.
Iran, Turkmenistan To Hold Joint Economic Commission Tomorrow
IRNA
Ashgabat, April 16: Eighth Iran-Turkmen joint economic commission will be held in Tehran on April 17-18 to examine ways of expanding mutual economic and trade ties. According to Iranian diplomats in Turkmenistan, the meeting will mainly focus on bilateral relations in the field of energy, industries, banking, transport, trade and proper use of water. Deputy head of Turkmen cabinet on oil and gas affairs has undertaken co-chairmanship of the joint economic commission. Turkmen Minister of Power Engineering and Industry Atamyrat Berdiyev and head of the country`s Chamber of Commerce and Industries will also attend the eighth meeting of Iran-Turkmenistan Economic Commission. Turkmenistan`s head of transport department, head of foreign economic department of its Ministry of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations as well as the director of banking department of Turkmen Central Bank will also attend the imminent meeting.
Transportation Ministers Of Russia, Kazakhstan Discuss Cooperation Options
RIA Novosti
Moscow, April 16: Russian Transportation and Communications Minister Igor Levitin met Friday in Moscow with his visiting Kazakh counterpart, Kazhmurat Nagmanov, to discuss various aspects of cooperation between the two countries in the transportation sector. The sides discussed, amongst other things, the preparation of two intergovernmental agreements-on the rail access regime for railway carriers and on cross-border travel fares (313 kilometers of Kazakh railways run across Russia and 813 kilometers of Russian railroads cross the territory of Kazakhstan). Levitin instructed his staff to speed up work to draft and agree the blueprints, the Russian Transportation Ministry reports in a press release. The ministers also discussed an agreement on the navigation of mercantile ships in the Caspian Sea.
Russian PM For Increasing Cooperation With Kyrgyzstan
RBC News
Choplon-Ata, April 16: Russia stands for enhancing the efficiency of Russian-Kyrgyzstani cooperation, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov declared at a meeting with Kyrgyzstani President Askar Akayev today. According to Fradkov, one of the main tasks was to deepen collaboration of the two countries. Akayev noted that today`s meeting of the council of CIS prime ministers held in Cholpon-Ata (Kyrgyzstan) `will be successful and productive`.
Russia, Kyrgyzstan To Expand Energy Cooperation - PM
Interfax
Cholpon-Ata, April 16: Russia and Kyrgyzstan have made a general decision to expand cooperation in power engineering and are considering the possibility of building hydro power stations in Kyrgyzstan, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov told a Friday news conference in Cholpon-Ata. Fradkov said joint construction of the Kambarata power station in Kyrgyzstan is under discussion. `It is premature to speak of the size of the investments,` he said. As the feasibility study of the project is made, the amount Russia is to invest will be determined, he said. Responding to a question from reporters, he spoke favorably of prospects in the CIS. `The future of the CIS depends only on us,` he said. `We are doing and will continue to do everything to make integration effective,` he said.
Afghan And Czech President Visit Kazakhstan
Radio Free Europe
Astana, April 15: Afghan President Hamid Karzai visited Kazakhstan on 15 April, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported the same day. Karzai and President Nursultan Nazarbaev discussed economic ties, regional security, and the problem of drug trafficking. Karzai said Kazakh businessmen are welcome in Afghanistan. The Afghan leader also assured his Kazakh counterpart that `we will continue the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking and will work with Kazakhstan to develop transit potential and trade between the two countries,` Interfax-Kazakhstan reported. For his part, President Nazarbaev said Kazakhstan wishes to see stability in Afghanistan and open transport routes to the south. Czech President Vaclav Klaus stopped in Astana on 15 April for a 1 1/2-hour visit on his way to China, Khabar reported. He met briefly with President Nazarbaev to discuss international issues and economic ties between the two countries.
Uzbek, Russian Presidents Hold Negotiations In Moscow
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, April 15: Uzbek President Islam Karimov started his two-day working visit to the Russian Federation on 15 April. The aim of the visit is to exchange opinions on key problems of bilateral relations, regional and international development within the framework of political dialogue between presidents of Uzbekistan and Russia. President Karimov was welcomed by his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the residence of Russian president at Novo-Ogarevo. In his welcoming speech, the President Vladimir Putin has confirmed Russia`s support of Uzbekistanīs fight against terrorism. `Uzbekistan can count on Russiaīs comprehensive and unconditional support in its fight against any manifestations of terrorism,` Putin said. Putin said that apart from the anti-terrorism fight, he would also like to discuss economic issues. Russian president praised 2 per centrise in the countries` trade turnover over the past 18 months. Russia remains a key trade and business partner for Uzbekistan, he added. The Uzbek and Russian presidents considered issues of the Uzbek-Russian relations, regional and international problems. President Karimov once more congratulated Vladimir Putin with the victory in presidential elections.
Bush Thanks Kazakhstan For Support
Radio Free Europe
Astana, April 15: President Nazarbaev received a letter from U.S. President George W. Bush on 15 April thanking Kazakhstan `for its unwavering support and resolve to achieve peace and democracy in Iraq,` Kazinform reported the same day. The letter comes at a time when the future involvement of Kazakhstan`s 27 peacekeepers in Iraqi reconstruction has generated substantial debate within the country.
China Inks Transport Deals With Central Asian Nations
Xinhua
Beijing, April 15: The once thriving Silk Road is regaining its place as a hub for China to enhance transportation cooperation with countries in central Asia. `We have made transportation cooperation the priority on the agenda,` said Feng Zhenglin, Chinese vice minister of communications, here Thursday. China is to host the Third International Silk Road Conference in October of 2004 in Xi`an, the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, said Feng. After announcing the conference, Feng told the press that transportation cooperation could bring prosperity to the region as the ancient commercial route across Eurasia did centuries ago. Currently, China has already inked a number of transport pacts with central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. China has set up a special committee pertaining to transport cooperation with Kazakhstan and formed a meeting mechanism of transport ministers among member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which groups China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. `The development of transport cooperation between China and central Asian countries will further consolidate and develop ties among the relevant nations and promote the socio-economic development in the region,` Feng said. According to Feng, China is negotiating with Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan on road construction and planning to build a road linking China with Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Iran. China has already opened a port to Kazakhstan, two to Kyrgyzstan and launched 47 international cargo transport routes toKazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. China is yet to open direct auto transport route to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
Russia - Uzbekistan: Summiteers Appraise Economic Partnership
RIA Novosti
Novo-Ogarevo, April 15: Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan met in summitry this afternoon at Novo-Ogarevo, presidential country residence near Moscow. President Putin highly appreciated present-day commercial and other bilateral economic ties. `Russia remains among Uzbekistan`s basic trade and economic partners,` he remarked in an opening address, adding that the preceding eighteen months had sent the bilateral trade turnover 25 per cent up-`a fine achievement in absolute figures.` The actual increase was 27 per cent not 25, President Karimov specified. As he pointed out, bilateral commerce was strongly disbalanced in Russia`s favour within the two preceding years. The visitor called to balance it out. Uzbekistan is willing to spectacularly extend contacts with Russia, he reassured. His country is ripe for resolute strides to implement a vast potential of such contacts, be they political, economic or humanitarian. The Russian press describes today`s summit as continuing last August`s talks in Uzbekistan`s Samarkand. Mr. Karimov shares the opinion.
Fradkov To Visit Kyrgyzstan
The Russian Journal
Moscow, April 15: Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov is going to Kyrgyzstan on a working visit today, the Government Information Department reported to RBC. This will be Fradkov`s first foreign trip as the Russian Prime Minister. Fradkov will participate in a meeting of the council of prime ministers of the CIS, which will take place in Cholpon-Ata (Kyrgyztan) on April 16, 2004. The Prime Minister will return to Moscow the same day. According to the information and press department of the Foreign Ministry, the meeting`s agenda includes discussion of further development of multilateral cooperation of the CIS states. Special attention will be paid to illegal migration, fighting crime and drug threats. The parties are planning to elect Moldovan Prime Minister Vasily Tarlev as a new chairman of the council of prime ministers of the CIS.
President Aliyev Of Azerbaijan Receives Prime Minister Erdogan
Anadolu Agency
Astana, April 15: President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, who is currently paying a state visit to Turkey, received Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday. Following the meeting, President Aliyev and Prime Minister Erdogan lunched together.
Uzbekistan, Russia To Discuss Expansion Of Ties
Itar-Tass
Moscow, April 15: Uzbek President Islam Karimov arrived in Moscow on a two-day working visit on Thursday, on an invitation from the head of the Russian state. He intends to discuss international and regional problems, and opportunities to expand bilateral cooperation in the economic sphere. According to Karimov, `in politics, Uzbekistan and Russia almost always find a common language.` But the two countries have not yet fully tapped their trade and economic potentials, he said. Karimov is planning to discuss in Moscow the improvement of the customs policy.
Armenian FM Criticizes U.S. Position On Latest Yerevan Events
Interfax
Yerevan, April 15: Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian has criticized the U.S. Department of State`s report addressing the latest developments in Yerevan. In its report, the U.S. Department of State expressed concern over the situation in Armenia and called on the country`s authorities and opposition to hold negotiations to resolve the problem. `The United States has forgotten to condemn the opposition`s calls for a coup in the republic. If not for this failure, I myself would have signed off on the U.S. Department of State`s report. At the same time, it is these opposition calls that can be viewed as the underlying reason for what has been happening in Armenia over the past few days,` Oskanian told a roundtable session in Yerevan on Wednesday.
Foreign Trade Undersecretary Kayalar Leaves For Kazakhstan
Anadolu Agency
Istanbul, April 15: Turkish Foreign Trade Undersecretary Tuncer Kayalar left for Kazakhstan on Thursday to hold a series of official meetings and to inaugurate Turkbuild Construction and Construction Equipment Fair. During his visit, Kayalar will meet with Turkish trade consultants in the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan in order to assess Turkey`s commercial and economic policies about the region. Issues such as ways to increase mutual trade with the regional countries, potential sectors, marketing strategies about these sectors, transportation, banking, mutual investments and construction will be discussed at the meeting. Kayalar is also scheduled to meet with officials of Kyrgyz-Turkish Businessmen`s Association.
The Meeting Of The Council Of CIS Prime Ministers Kicks Off In Cholponata
Kabar Agency
Bishkek, April 15: The regular meeting of the Council of CIS Prime Ministers has begun its work in Cholponata. The governmental delegations led by Prime Ministers of the Cmmonwealth of Independent States are attending the meeting. The meeting`s agenda includes issues in the economic and social areas. Including, on the results of fulfillment of financial obligations of the CIS state-participants on financing measures aimed to set up and develop air-raid system of CIS in 2002 and measures on paying off debts on assessable contributions. The heads of governments of CIS will discuss draft agreement on the introduction of an international certificate for transport vehicle weighing in the CIS, hear a report of the chairman of the interstate television and radio company `Mir`, and consider candidatures for the post of chairman of the Council of the Heads of Government. Answering to questions of journalists upon his arrival in Bishkek, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov noted that security problems of the states of Central Asia do not submitted to the meeting`s agenda separately.
Uzbek President To Meet Russian Leader, PM
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, April 14: Uzbek President Islam Karimov will pay a working visit to the Russian Federation on 15-16 April. The aim of the visit is to exchange opinions on key problems of bilateral relations, regional and international development within the framework of political dialogue between presidents of Uzbekistan and Russia, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry told UzReport.com. The Foreign Ministry noted that Uzbek-Russian relations are based on confidence and pragmatism. Partnership of Uzbekistan and Russia is based on mutual interest of cooperation in important spheres for both countries, the ministry said. According to the Foreign Ministry, President Karimov will arrive in Moscow on 15 April and on the same day will hold negotiations with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the residence of Russian president at Novo-Ogarevo. On the second day of the visit, Islam Karimov will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, chairman of Manufacturers and Entrepreneurs Union Arkadiy Volskiy and director-general of ITAR-TASS news agency Vitaly Ignatenko.
Kazakh Cultural Centre Opens Kazakh Language Courses
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, April 14: Free courses of Kazakh have opened at the Kazakh cultural centre in Tashkent on 10 April. The centre has attracted several skilled teaches, who have experience in teaching Kazakh in Russian schools. The centre provides the students with necessary manuals, which have been delivered at the assistance of World Kazakhs Association, also free of charge. Both children and adults can attend Kazakh classes. More than 40 students participated in the first class.
President Aliyev Of Azerbaijan Addresses To Turkish Parliament
Anadolu Agency
Ankara, April 14: President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, who is currently in Turkey on an official visit, has said, that Turkey attributed great importance to its relations with Azerbaijan, adding, `our power depends on our unity.` Addressing the Turkish parliamentary general assembly, President Aliyev said on Wednesday, `during the last two days in Turkey, I observed that the friendly relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan has been further improving day by day. Turkey was the first country recognizing Azerbaijan after it acquired independence. Turkey has always supported Azerbaijan. We appreciate it. We believe that our countries will continue to support each other in the future. Our power depends on our unity.` Aliyev said that he believed that OSCE Minsk Group would take important steps in near future about the issue. Noting that it was his first ever official visit to Turkey as the Azerbaijani President, Aliyev said, `I am quite faithful to Turkey and I see Turkey my homeland. My visit will play important role in development of relations between our two countries which will record further progress.`
Governmental Delegations Arrive In Bishkek
Kabar Agency
Bishkek, April 13: The governmental delegations from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) arrive in Bishkek today to attend the regular session of the CIS Prime Ministers` Council. The session will begin its work in the town of Cholponata, Issykkul on April 16. The governmental delegations of all 12 state-participants of the Commonwealth of Independent States will attend the session. According the Foreign Ministry of Kyrgyzstan, the agenda includes issues in the economic and social areas. Including, on the results of fulfillment of financial obligations of the CIS state-participants on financing measures aimed to set up and develop air-raid system of CIS in 2002 and measures on paying off debts on assessable contributions. The heads of governments of CIS will discuss draft agreement on the introduction of an international certificate for transport vehicle weighing in the CIS, hear a report of the chairman of the interstate television and radio company `Mir`, and consider candidatures for the post of chairman of the Council of the Heads of Government. The participants will pay special attention to illegal migration issues, and fight against crime and drugs trafficking.
Uzbek Leader Receives Credentials From New Envoys To Uzbekistan
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, April 13: Uzbek President Islam Karimov received credentials from newly appointed ambassadors of Hungary, Canada, Romania and Czech Republic to Uzbekistan at the presidential residence Oqsaroy on 13 April. Welcoming the Hungarian Ambassador to Uzbekistan Ferenc Kontra, Islam Karimov expressed satisfaction with development of the Uzbek-Hungarian relations. Uzbek leader noted that accession of Hungary to NATO and joining to the European Union in May 2004 is important for development of bilateral relations. Kontra expressed his gratitude for warm receipt and underlined that during his mission he will pay attention to development of trade-economic ties of Uzbekistan and Hungary.
Canadian Ambassador to Uzbekistan Christopher Westdal Uzbekistan and Canada have similar views on many international issues, which creates ground for development of contacts within international organisation, Karimov said receiving the Canadian Ambassador to Uzbekistan Christopher Westdal. The Uzbek government developed special programme on development of relations with Canada in 1999, taking into account importance of political, trade-economic and public relations with Canada. It is expected that Calgary will host presentation of the Uzbek oil and gas industry. Besides, two countries can fruitfully cooperate in gold mining, aircraft construction, machinery and others. Westdal, underlining existence of many opportunities to development of relations between Uzbekistan and Canada, said it is advisable to hold bilateral meeting in high level and stir up dialogue within the framework of international organisations.
Romanian Ambassador to Uzbekistan Constantin Alexa Islam Karimov. Receiving Romanian Ambassador to Uzbekistan Constantin Alexa, Karimov noted that there are many opportunities for development of wide-scale cooperation between Uzbekistan and Romania, new member of NATO. In his turn, the Romanian envoy, expressing his gratitude to reception, said that he is ready to pay important attention to development of collaboration between Uzbekistan and Romania. Uzbekistan and Romania created legal basis for trade relations, but trade indicators between countries are below of existing opportunities. Uzbek-Romanian intergovernment economic council is working on development of trade between countries, as well as other economic issues.
Ambassador of Czech Republic to Uzbekistan Ales Fojtik Welcoming new Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Uzbekistan Ales Fojtik, Islam Karimov verified that Uzbekistan and the Czech Republic are reliable partners. He added that accession of the Czech Republic to NATO and the European Union opens new opportunities. Ambassador Fojtik said that during his mission in Uzbekistan will consider development of relations between Uzbekistan and the Czech Republic as priority issue.
Japanese Government Issues Grant To Support Uzbek Music
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, April 13: The government of Japan has issued a grant to the government of Uzbekistan worth US$414,200 in the framework of its no-string aid programme. The grant has been issued in the framework of the project entitled `Delivery of music instruments and audio equipment to State Conservatory of Uzbekistan`. According to the Japanese Embassy in Uzbekistan, the purpose of the project is to support musical education and concert activity in Uzbekistan.
Georgia, Russia In Talks Over Preparing New Framework Treaty
Itar-Tass
Tbilisi, April 13: Ambassador at large of the Russian Foreign Ministry Lev Mironov stated here on Tuesday that together with Georgian Foreign Ministry officials, the members of the Russian delegation he leads `discuss issues of preparing a new framework agreement between the two countries.` Moscow and Tbilisi will also consider implementation of the accords reached in March 2003 by the presidents of the two countries on settling the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict, which envision, among other things, the return of refugees to Abkhazia`s Gali district, Mironov told reporters. The Georgian delegation is led by Deputy Foreign Minister Merab Antadze. The Russian-Georgian consultations will continue until Friday.
Vice Premier Meets Kazakh Guests
People`s Daily
Beijing, April 13: Chinese Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan met in Beijing Tuesday with Kazakhstan`s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Vladimir Sergeyevich Shkolnik. Zeng said the friendly neighborly relations between China and Kazakhstan have developed rapidly since the two countries established diplomatic relations, with the cooperation achieving effective progress in all areas. The economies of the two nations are very complementary, with promising future cooperation in energy and mineral resource area, Zeng said. He hoped two nations would strengthen exchanges as wellas expand the length and breadth of cooperation on the base of equality and mutual benefit.
Turkish, Azerbaijani Presidents Laud Oil Pipeline Project
Itar-Tass
Ankara, April 13: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish President Ahmed Necdet Sezer lauded progress in the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which would transport Caspian oil to Europe via Turkey. The project will be an additional source of the regional economic growth and stability, the joint statement of the two presidents says. The presidents want Kazakhstan to join the project and transport its crude oil to Western markets. They hope that related negotiations between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan will result in an agreement this year. The presidents also stressed the importance of the TRACECA transport corridor.
Council Of CIS Leaders Will Gather In Bishkek
RIA Novosti
Moscow, April 13: Issues related to the further intensification of contacts in the economic and humanitarian spheres between the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries will dominate an upcoming meeting of the Council of CIS Leaders in Bishkek, Kyrghyzstan, Alexander Yakovenko, the Russian foreign ministry`s official spokesman, said on Tuesday. The leaders will also consider stepping up mutual law-enforcement contacts, added the diplomat. Besides, the conferees will touch on the problem of streamlining the CIS bodies` activities. `While discussing the package of economic issues, the conferees will look into what has been done to liberalize trade within the CIS, will assess remaining trade restrictions and hear proposals on the gradual abolishment of those restrictions,` said Mr Yakovenko.
Iran, Armenia FMs Discuss Regional, Int`l Issues
IRNA
Tehran, April 13: Iran and Armenia here Tuesday discussed expansion of bilateral cooperation as well as regional and international issues, including Karabakh. Visiting Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, in a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Kamal Kharrazi, called for expansion of relations with Iran. Oskanian pointed to the increasing trend of political, economic, cultural and scientific cooperation between the two countries, and voiced his country`s determination to boost mutual ties through increased regular consultations. He further highlighted the positive outcomes of the two countries` joint gas projects, saying they are in line with the two countries` interest and hoped such projects would be implemented seriously. He termed developments in Karabakh and his country`s upcoming negotiation with Azeri officials as `important,` and stressed the need to maintain regional consultations, particularly with Iran, to establish stability in the region. Kharrazi, for his part, outlined the two countries` potentials for cooperation and said providing facilities to increase trade exchanges would double the motivation of tradesmen, industrialists and state and private companies for promotion of bilateral cooperation.
International Conferences Addresses Aral Sea Issues
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, April 12: Nukus State Pedagogical Institute held a scientific-practical conference entitled `Physical and chemical processes in drying Aral Sea` within the framework of NATO project Cooperative Lonkage Project EST.CLG. The scientists of Uzbekistan, Germany, Russia and Kazakhstan developed Cooperative Lonkage Project EST.CLG, which covers wide-scale scientific work on current state and problems of Aral. The event was attended by scientists of different countries, UzA reported.
President Aliyev Of Azerbaijan To Address Turkish Parliament
Turkish Press
Ankara, April 12: President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan will address the Turkish parliament during his official visit to Turkey. Sources told the A.A correspondent on Monday that President Aliyev would come to Turkey tomorrow. President Aliyev is scheduled to address the Turkish parliament on Wednesday.
Turkmenistan, Iran Leaders Favor Expanding Bilateral Economic Cooperation
Tehran Times
Ashgabat, April 12: Presidents of Turkmenistan and Iran Saparmurat Niyazov and Mohammad Khatami came out in favour of further intensification of bilateral economic cooperation. During the Saturday telephone conversation the heads of state decided to hold a meeting of the joint committee on trade and economic cooperation in Teheran on April 17-18. The expansion of interaction in the oil and gas, energy and transport spheres are put on the agenda of the meeting, the Turkmen presidential press service said. The sides will also exchange views on speeding up the process of determining the legal status of the Caspian Sea. Niyazov and Khatami also agreed to meet at the opening of the border water reservoir Druzhba (Friendship) next October.
Armenian Foreign Minister Off To Tehran
IRNA
Moscow, April 12: Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan, headed for Tehran Monday to review ways of expanding mutual cooperation in various fields, it was announced today. Oskanyan, heading a high-ranking delegation, is scheduled to confer with First Vice-President Mohammad-Reza Aref, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Hassan Rowhani and Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi. The Armenian foreign minister and senior Iranian officials are to review issues of mutual interests as well as latest regional developments.
East-West Media Forum In Almaty
Kazakhstan News
Almaty, April 11: Western defence and security experts are converging on Kazakhstan next month for an unusual East-West encounter with the international mass media. NATO and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will both be represented by keynote speakers at the third annual conference of the Eurasian Media Forum, the organisers announced here. Two influential American strategists, Richard Holbrooke and Richard Perle, will also be addressing the audience of journalists, politicians, academics and business representatives from East and West. They will be reviewing geopolitical and economic issues and the role of the media in the context of rapid changes at the heart of Central Asia, a region where Europe and the United States are vying for influence with China and Russia. The three-day event will be opened by President Nursultan Nazarbayev on April 22 in Almaty, Kazakhstan`s commercial capital situated on the ancient Silk Road between China and Europe. Jan Kubis, Secretary General of the Vienna-based Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe will give a welcome address, together with Dariga Nazarbayeva, Chair of the Eurasian Media Forum (EAMF) Organising Committee. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is among the sponsors of the conference.
Kyrgyzstan`s Erkebayev Invites Karroubi To Visit Bishkek
IRNA
Bishkek, April 10: Kyrgyz Chairman of the Legislative Assembly Abdygany Erkebayev here Friday invited his Iranian counterpart, Mehdi Karroubi, to pay a visit to Bishkek. In a meeting with Iran`s Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Gholam-Reza Baqeri Moqaddam, Erkebayev expressed satisfaction over the visit made by a Kyrgyz parliamentary delegation to Iran on the eve of the new Iranian calendar year (started March 20, 2004). He also voiced pleasure over the expansion of ties between the two friendly countries in the economic, social and cultural fields, and said the potential for promoting relations to a higher level exists due to the countries` historical and cultural commonalties.
UN Condemns Turkmenistan Human Rights Violations
Radio Free Europe
Ashgabat, April 15: The UN Commission on Human Rights voted on 15 April to approve a harshly worded resolution calling on Turkmenistan to improve its treatment of ethnic minorities and overall human rights record, ITAR-TASS reported. The resolution, which was proposed by the United States and the European Union, expresses profound concern at limitations on freedom of speech in Turkmenistan; the `discriminatory practices of Turkmenistan`s government toward ethnic Russians, Uzbeks, and other minorities`; and `state policy based on suppressing any political activity.` Twenty-five countries voted in favor, 11 against, and 17 abstained, including Russia.
Kyrgyzstan: Internews Expresses Concern Over Independent TV Station
Irin News
Ankara, April 15: Internews, an international non-profit organisation supporting open media worldwide, has expressed concern over the operating status of Pyramida, one of the largest independent television stations in Kyrgyzstan, and which is currently being prevented from broadcasting on its licensed channel. `This is a worrying development,` Nicholas Ebnother, country-director for Internews told IRIN from the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, on Thursday, calling on foreign representatives of international human rights organisations, NGOs and Kyrgyz deputies to bring the issue to the highest attention of the government. One of the last major independent television channels operating in the mountainous Central Asian state, as well as the largest in the capital, with a viewing audience of some 2.5 million, Pyramida broadcasts in Bishkek, the Chuy Valley, and Osh, the country`s second largest city. `Pyramida is not an opposition station. It hasn`t really been behaving in a way dangerous for the government, but is working to remain objective, without pressure, in covering the news,` Ebnother said. But following a technical problem with its transmission one month ago - an issue that was quickly resolved - state telecommunication authorities have yet to allow Pyramida to resume broadcasting on its original VHF channel - leaving what Ebnother described as one of the few `genuinely` independent broadcasting outlets in a quandary.
Arrested IRP Members Released In Tajikistan
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, April 13: Seven of eight arrested members of Tajikistan`s Islamic Renaissance Party have been released, Asia Plus-Blitz reported on 13 April. The IRP members were among 20 alleged adherents of the religious extremist group Bay`at recently arrested on suspicion of murder and arson. IRP spokesman Hikmatullo Sayfullozoda told Asia Plus-Blitz that `the only person from our party still under arrest is Umedjon Mahkamov, the driver for the Isfarin IRP organization.` Sayfullozoda went on to deny any knowledge of or involvement in Bay`at`s alleged activities. `
A Meeting Of Heads Of Force Structures Took Place In Bishkek
Kabar Agency
Bishkek, April 13: President of Kyrgyzstan Askar Akaev announced that it is necessary to take urgent measures on controlling criminality in the republic. The people are missing in Kyrgyzstan. In 2002-2003, nearly 3 thousand people missed. At the same time, the quantity of unidentified corpses is growing. So, 1029 unidentified corpses registered in 2003, 141 of them died violent death, said President A. Akaev during the meeting with heads of force structures. He noted the regularity of meetings with heads of law-enforcement bodies conditioned with worsening the criminal situation in the country and insufficient work of law-enforcement bodies. `I do not see positive actions on the part of law-enforcement bodies. The activation of criminal groups in the republic creates opinion in the society about incapacity of authorities to fight criminality in the country`, - said A. Akaev. 25 famous ordered murders have not still discovered. In the last two months alone, 7 ordered assassination occurred, said the President of Kyrgyzstan.
Tajik-Afghan Frontier: Drugs Traffic Rampant
RIA Novosti
St.Petersburg, April 16: More than nine tonnes of smuggled drugs have been confiscated along the Tajik-Afghan frontier since the year`s start, Amirkul Azimov, Tajikistan`s national Security Council Secretary, announced to the media. Mr. Azimov chairs the Secretarial Committee of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, which brings together Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. It is hard to evaluate current developments in the south reaches of the Commonwealth of Independent States, CIS-the situation depends too closely on how things are going in Afghanistan. That is especially true of Tajik frontier areas. The situation is normal, more or less, and only drugs present formidable problems for now, he said.
Russian Soldiers Fight Drug Traffickers On Tajik - Afghan Frontier
RIA Novosti
Moscow, April 15: Russian border guards had a violent clash with drug traffickers on the Tajik-Afghan frontier last night, reports the Public Relations Centre of Russia`s Federal Security Service, or FSB. Moscow frontier unit patrols spotted two suspicious-looking armed men as they were stealing into Tajikistan from the Afghan side near Shuroabad, 170 km southeast of Dushanbe, Tajik capital. After an attempt to seize them, the patrols started shooting to kill. Return fire came from men covering the two on the Afghan side. One soldier got a light wound in the skirmish, and is now in a Dushanbe military hospital. The two trespassers beat a retreat back to Afghanistan. As the patrols examined the site after battle, they found a solid batch of abandoned drugs-twelve packs of opium, total weight 11.7 kilograms, and two packs of heroin, 1.7 kilos. They took the drugs to their unit HQ.
Special FocusDraft Media Law Stirs Political Controversy In Kazakhstan
Political intrigue is swirling around a media bill pending before Kazakhstan`s Constitutional Council. Four political parties, including one headed by the president`s daughter, have called for the proposed legislation to be rejected, saying it would give government excessive control over the country`s mass media.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/rights/articles/eav041204.shtml
Kyrgyzstan: Prime Minister Narrowly Survives Confidence Vote
Kyrgyzstan`s prime minister narrowly survived a confidence vote in the country`s upper house of parliament April 8. The People`s Assembly voted 27-14 to dismiss Prime Minister Nikolai Tanayev -- falling just short of the 30 votes needed to force him from office. Four deputies did not cast votes. Tanayev has been accused of financial misdealing. Deputies questioned how the prime minister managed to obtain a loan of some $104,000 from the National Electric Power Grid -- a company that was already deeply in debt.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/pp041204.shtmlGovernment Forcibly Breaks Up Opposition Protest
Police in Armenia used stun grenades and water cannon to disperse an opposition protest during the early hours of April 13 in Yerevan. In addition, authorities closed the offices of two leading opposition political parties involved in organizing the demonstration, which President Robert Kocharian said threatened the country`s `constitutional order.`
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/rights/articles/eav041304.shtmlArmenian Opposition Vows More Protests Despite Government Crackdown
The leaders of Armenia`s opposition vow to press on with a protest campaign designed to force President Robert Kocharian`s resignation, even after police resorted to force in breaking up a demonstration in Yerevan. The police action has prompted some international organizations, including the Council of Europe, to express concern about the democratization process in Armenia.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav041404.shtmlBush Administration Backs Uzbek Response To March Militant Attacks
The Bush administration, though perturbed by Uzbekistan`s reluctance to reform, is dismissive of the notion that the late March violence that gripped Tashkent and Bukhara was a popular reaction to government repression. Washington concurs with the official Uzbek view that the militant attacks were the product of an international terrorist conspiracy, and Bush administration officials indicate that the United States will maintain its strong backing for Uzbek President Islam Karimov.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav041404a.shtmlUzbek Crackdown On Muslims Prompts Some Believers To Flee
An Uzbek government security sweep, carried out in response to the late March militant attacks in Tashkent and Bukhara, is prompting a significant number of independent Muslims to leave the country. The neighboring states of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are the primary destinations for the Uzbek emigrants.
To read more, click on the link:
http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/rights/articles/eav041504.shtmlDesert Gold: Niyazov`s Conflicted Approach To Turkmenistan`s Water Woes
In early April, Turkmenistan celebrated its annual water holiday with President Saparmurat Niyazov proclaiming that water resources should be treated as a `national treasure.` Yet, while vast sums are spent on high-profile projects that glorify Niyazov`s regime - notably the $9-billion construction of Lake Turkmen - insufficient amounts are spent on Turkmenistan`s aging water infrastructure, and on providing its approximately 5 million residents with access to clean drinking water.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/environment/articles/eav041604.shtml
Report Dated 16 April 2004