Tax Charges Halts Tajik Opposition Newspapers
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, August 19: Tajikistan`s Tax Ministry has accused the opposition newspaper `Nerui Sukhan` of evading taxes by concealing the true size of its print run from tax authorities, Tajik television reported on 19 August. A Tax Ministry spokesman said that an inspection at the Jiyonkhon printing press revealed that 7,097 copies of the newspaper were printed on 18 August instead of the officially declared 2,700 copies. As a result, tax authorities closed down and sealed the printer on 18 August, preventing not only `Nerui Sukhan` from appearing, but also the opposition newspaper `Ruzi Nav` and `Najot,` the print organ of the Islamic Renaissance Party, Asia Plus-Blitz reported on 19 August. `Ruzi Nav` Editor in Chief Rajab Mirzo told the news agency, `We asked several printers to print our paper, but they refused, saying that the tax police had warned them and they couldn`t risk printing our newspaper. That`s why we won`t be able to publish the latest issue.` A `Nerui Sukhan` spokesman said that the circulation discrepancy was a result of a technical error.
Over 600 Candidates Vie For 67 Seats In Kazakh Elections
Radio Free Europe
Astana, August 19: Kazakhstan`s Central Election Commission announced on 19 August that 612 candidates are campaigning for 67 single-mandate-constituency seats in the Mazhilis (lower chamber) in the 19 September parliamentary elections, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported. The commission registered 623 of 681 applicants, but 11 candidates withdrew their candidacies after registration. The number could still change, the commission noted. The candidates break down by party affiliation as follows, Kazinform reported: 63 from the pro-presidential Otan party, 41 from the pro-presidential Asar party, 39 from moderate opposition party Ak Zhol, 28 from the opposition bloc of the Communist Party and Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan, and 16 from the Democratic Party of Kazakhstan. Other parties are each fielding fewer than 10 candidates.
Turkmen Interior Ministry, Television Reshuffled
Interfax
Ashgabat, August 19: Mukhammetgurban Bairamov was appointed first deputy interior minister and Akmammed Rakhmanov deputy interior minister as part of a reshuffling in Turkmenistan`s Interior Ministry and television, the administration of the country`s President Saparmurat Niyazov told Interfax. Bairamov and Rakhmanov have successful track records at the police department in the country`s Akhal region, Niyazov said at a special government session. The candidacies of Bairamov and Rakhmanov were suggested by Turkmenistan`s recently appointed Interior Minister Geldymukhammed Ashirmukhammedov. Ashirmukhammedov replaced Ashir Atayev at this post, who was relieved of the deputies of interior minister on August 13. Myrat Orazov, chairman of the Turkmen television administration, was appointed the country`s deputy culture minister for television broadcasting. Shadurdy Alovov was appointed head of the Altyn Asyr: Turkmenistan (The Golden Age of Turkmenistan) television station, Ilyas Durdyev became head of the Yashlyk (Youth) television station, and Chary Redzhepov took up the post of chairman of the Char Tarapdan (From Four Sides) radio station.
Date Set For Local Election In Azerbaijan
Radio Free Europe
Baku, August 18: Meeting on 17 August, Azerbaijan`s Central Election Commission (CEC) scheduled elections to local councils for 17 December, Turan reported. On 18 August, the CEC approved the schedule for the registration of candidates. CEC Chairman Mazahir Panakhov said the transparent ballot boxes used for last year`s presidential ballot are too small for use in local elections as the ballot papers will be much larger, given that in some districts the number of candidates will exceed 100. A total of 21,650 councilors will be elected to 2,735 local councils.
Supporters Describe Restrictions On Jailed Kazakh Opposition Leader
Radio Free Europe
Astana, August 18: Relatives and fellow party members of Ghalymzhan Zhaqiyanov, the imprisoned leader of opposition party Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK), told an 18 August news that Zhaqiyanov`s transfer from prison to house arrest in a settlement has only minimally improved his situation, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported. The news conference took place in the village of Shiderty, Pavlodar Oblast, where Zhaqiyanov is now confined. Karlygash, Zhaqiyanov`s wife, said that he is not allowed to use mobile phones or computers, leave the settlement, or meet visitors other than relatives and members of parliament. DVK spokesperson Gulzhan Ergalieva told journalists that `the authorities have just played a bit of a PR game before the election campaign.`
Kazakh Information Minister Presents New Draft Media Law
Radio Free Europe
Astana, August 18: Information Minister Altynbek Sarsenbaev presented a new draft law on the media on 18 August, Kazinform reported. Sarsenbaev said that the draft law differs significantly from existing legislation and is based on democratic principles. According to Sarsenbaev, the proposed law simplifies the registration process for media outlets, eliminates criminal penalties for libel, includes mechanisms for guaranteeing free speech and protecting the rights of journalists, and takes away the state`s right to own controlling stakes in broadcasting companies and news agencies. `The state and executive branch will not have the right to own controlling stakes in the media except for their own websites, specialized publications, and one television and radio company,` `Kazakhstan Today` quoted Sarsenbaev as saying.
Tajikistan Media Watchdog Decries Limits On Information Access
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, August 18: Information Minister Altynbek Sarsenbaev presented a new draft law on the media on 18 August, Kazinform reported. Sarsenbaev said that the draft law differs significantly from existing legislation and is based on democratic principles. According to Sarsenbaev, the proposed law simplifies the registration process for media outlets, eliminates criminal penalties for libel, includes mechanisms for guaranteeing free speech and protecting the rights of journalists, and takes away the state`s right to own controlling stakes in broadcasting companies and news agencies. `The state and executive branch will not have the right to own controlling stakes in the media except for their own websites, specialized publications, and one television and radio company,` `Kazakhstan Today` quoted Sarsenbaev as saying.
Kazakh Opposition Bloc Sues Election Commission
Radio Free Europe
Astana, August 17: Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) leader Asylbek Kozhakhmetov announced on 17 August in Almaty that the opposition bloc of DVK and the Communist Party has filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court against the Central Election Commission, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported. The suit seeks to reverse the commission`s decision to prevent the bloc from using the official title `The opposition bloc of Abdildin and Zhaqiyanov (union of communists and DVK).` Kozhakhmetov said that a separate suit filed with the Supreme Court aims to recover dividends for 361,092 investors in investment privatization funds. The suit is intended to remedy the inequality of large-scale privatization in the 1990s. Kozhakhmetov called it `only the first step toward returning national and natural riches to the people of Kazakhstan.`
Kazakh Poll Shows Trust In Pro Presidential Parties
Radio Free Europe
Astana, August 17: The Open Society Foundation announced on 17 August the results of a Gallup poll measuring trust in political parties among voters in Almaty, Kazakh TV reported. Respondents expressed their greatest faith in the pro-presidential Otan and Asar parties, which are trusted by 24 percent and 21 percent of those queried, respectively. The moderate opposition party Ak Zhol came in third place, trusted by 8.3 percent of respondents. The poll results are based on a sample size of 600 of a population of approximately 15 million.
Turkmen President Removes TV Network Heads
Radio Free Europe
Ashgabat, August 17: President Saparmurat Niyazov has issued a decree removing the heads of two of the country`s three television channels, Turkmen TV reported on 16 August. The decree relieves Ilmurat Ashirov from the top post at the Yashlyk (Youth) channel, and Gurbangeldi Annaev from the Altyn Asyr-Turkmenistan (Golden Age-Turkmenistan) channel. The decree cited serious shortcomings in both directors` work.
Sources Say Jailed Kazakh Opposition Leader Moved
Radio Free Europe
Astana, August 16: Imprisoned opposition leader Ghalymzhan Zhaqiyanov was moved from prison to a closed settlement on the evening of 15 August, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported the next day, citing law-enforcement sources. Zhaqiyanov, who has served one-third of a seven-year sentence for abuse of office, will now be confined to the village of Shiderty, Pavlodar Oblast, under a form of house arrest. Representatives of Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan -- the opposition party Zhaqiyanov heads -- have said that while the authorities are somewhat easing the conditions of Zhaqiyanov`s imprisonment, they will not allow him to return to active political life.
Kazakh Commission Tests Electronic Voting System
Radio Free Europe
Astana, August 16: The Central Electoral Commission tested its Saylau electronic-voting system in Astana on 16 August before an audience of political-party representatives, journalists, and international observers, Khabar TV reported. In the mock election, 45 voters voted for a variety of candidates. Commission head Zagipa Balieva pronounced herself satisfied with the exercise, `Kazakhstan Today` reported. She noted that the commission hopes that the system will be used by 30-40 percent of voters in the 19 September parliamentary elections, although she added that a final decision depends on the outcome of further testing, Khabar TV reported. But Robert Barry, the head of the OSCE`s election observation mission in Kazakhstan, urged caution. `When we were making a preliminary evaluation of our mission in June and July, we determined pretty clearly that it would be a concern for us if such an electronic-voting system were to be introduced in a large scale during the elections in September,` Interfax-Kazakhstan quoted Barry as saying on 16 August.
Tajik Socialist Party Holds Congress
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, August 14: An extraordinary congress of the Socialist Party on 14 August reelected Mirhusayn Narziev party chairman, Avesta reported. According to Narziev, the congress was a success despite a protest by supporters of Abduhalim Ghafforov, who represents a splinter faction of the party. However, representatives of the Justice Ministry and presidential administration who were present at the congress were quoted as saying that `the party`s work is unsatisfactory, and its activities include no concrete actions intended to advance the country`s socioeconomic development.` Shokirjon Hakimov, deputy chairman of the Social-Democratic Party, told Avesta that the comments by officials were `inappropriate.`
Georgia Captures Strategic Heights In South Ossetia
Reuters
Tbilisi, August 20: Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said his forces seized strategic heights after fighting in a rebel region yesterday and promised more such victories to fulfil a pledge to reunite his fractious country. Hours later, Saakashvili said his troops would hand over the heights above South Ossetia`s regional capital of Tskhinvali to peacekeepers and pull back in what he described as a last chance to avoid all-out war there. `There will be many more such gifts in the future,` Saakashvili said after announcing at an official ceremony that Georgian forces had `wiped out` South Ossetian separatists responsible for killing Georgian soldiers in overnight fighting. Saakashvili, elected last January on a pledge to bring back South Ossetia and other wayward territories into the fold, later said in a televised speech that Georgian forces would now pull back beyond the zone of conflict.
Pullout Of Georgian Troops From Conflict Zone Completed - Baramidze
Interfax
Tbilisi, August 20: All Georgian troops have left the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict zone, Georgian Defense Minister Giorgi Baramidze told journalists on Friday. `The separatists have no excuses now to justify their aggressive actions. The Georgian authorities will continue their attack on the separatists on the political front, involving the international community in this process,` the minister said.
Georgia Starts S Ossetia Pullout
BBC
Tbilisi, August 20: Fighting in South Ossetia has reportedly died down as Georgia began withdrawing its troops from the conflict zone. The move came a day after Georgia claimed to have captured key strategic positions in the breakaway region. Control will be handed over to a joint peacekeeping force of Russian, Ossetian and Georgian soldiers. The US welcomed the move, saying it sent the right signals, and urged both sides to seek a political solution. A BBC correspondent in the region said the situation around the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, was calmer overnight, although there were still outbursts of small arms fire. Georgia`s new leader Mikhail Saakashvili earlier said the withdrawal was the `last chance for peace` in the region.
Georgia Begins Re-deployment In S Ossetia
Itar-Tass
Tbilisi, August 19: Re-deployment of Georgian servicemen has begun in South Ossetia, Interior Minister Irakly Okruashvili said. In an interview with Rustavi-2 television channel on Thursday, Okruashvili said, `The positions, from which South Ossetian units have recently fired at Georgian villages and which have been seized by Georgian interior units, will be controlled by tripartite (Georgian-Russian-South Ossetian) peacekeeping force.` The minister said the population was concerned about the re-deployment. He stressed, `There is nothing alarming in this re-deployment. The Georgian peacekeeping contingent, which will stay in the conflict area, will ensure security of the population.`
British Battalion Takes Part In Peacekeeping Exercises In Kazakhstan
Interfax
Astana, August 19: International peacekeeping exercises that began in southeastern Kazakhstan on Wednesday involve 164 servicemen from Britain, the Kazakh Defense Ministry press service told Interfax on Wednesday. Military attaches of Britain, India, South Korea, Russia, the United States and Turkey are following the exercises at the training center of the Kazakh air-borne forces. `The exercises will last until August 28 and will involve formations of the air-borne forces, air defense (Su-27 fighters, Mi-8 helicopters and An-12 cargo aircraft), and a 164-man strong British infantry battalion,` the press service said. It added that the exercises have an anti-terrorist nature. `The involvement of a greater number of personnel and military hardware distinguish it from previous exercises,` the press service said.
Six Georgian Servicemen Killed, Seven Injured In Overnight Shootout
Interfax
Tbilisi, August 19: Six Georgian servicemen were killed and another seven injured in last night`s shootout with South Ossetian military units, the police department of the Shida Kartli region told Interfax on Thursday morning. The heaviest attack, involving howitzers and mine launchers, was launched against the Georgian villages of Eredvi and Vanati, Georgian police officials said. The shelling of Georgian positions had stopped by the morning.
Saakashvili Ready To Put Key Heights Under Peacekeepers Control
Itar-Tass
Tbilisi, August 19: Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has said Georgia has been faced with a real risk of a major conflict. `If the conflict begins, Georgia will have no right to lose, because otherwise the country will collapse and we shall no longer exist as a nation and as a country,` Saakashvili told a news briefing in Tbilisi. Saakashvili said the situation in the area of the South Ossetian conflict worsened after a route of smuggling through the Tskhinvali region, disastrous for the Georgian economy, was eliminated. Saakahsvili expressed the readiness to put the strategic heights in the Tskhinvali region under the control of the joint peacekeeping force, of which a Georgian battalion was an integral part. `Attempts to retain control of the positions and heights currently under our control in the Tskhinvali region using only the limited forces there are there now would be fraught with losses in the future. The introduction of reinforcements might lead to the beginning of a major military conflict. To preserve the chances for peace we shall be prepared to put the strategic heights in South Ossetia under the peacekeepers` control and to leave 500 elite troops within the peacekeeping quota framework to protect Georgian villages from attacks and provocations, if any.
Georgia Shows Off Force In Separatist S. Ossetia, Sparks Russian Ire
Agence France-Presse
Tbilisi, August 19: Georgia withdrew its troops from South Ossetia after first pouring in tanks and soldiers in a show of force aimed at winning control over the separatist pro-Russia republic. The manoeuvers, the first of their kind, prompted a furious reaction from Moscow and highlighted how far tensions have escalated in a strategic region that has seen several bloody conflicts since the Soviet Union`s collapse in 1991. `We have withdrawn from the positions that we took earlier and they are now being patrolled by peacekeepers,` said Givi Yukuridze, chief of staff of the Georgian army. The move `shows the sincere intentions of the Georgian leadership to establish peace in the region,` Georgian Defense Minister Giorgi Baramidze was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying. But Interior Minister Irakli Okruashvili warned that Tbilisi would not hesitate to send troops back to South Ossetia if villages populated by ethnic Georgians in the breakaway region were to come under attack. `If civilians in Georgian villages come under threat again, we will come back to Ossetia in 15 minutes and ... we will go straight to (the Ossetian capital) Tskhinvali,` Okruashvili told Georgian television. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili had said earlier in the day his country was poised to strike further into South Ossetia but would prefer to withdraw its troops and begin political negotiations. It was his first direct admission of the presence of his military in South Ossetia proper, rather than in a peacekeeping zone that is also patrolled by Russian and South Ossetian troops.
Georgian Army Battles With Separatists
Associated Press
Tskhinvalli, August 19: Explosions and gunfire echoed over this regional capital Thursday as government troops battled South Ossetian separatists over key hills outside town, after a week of near nightly clashes that escalated into some of the worst fighting in a decade. Georgian Interior Minister Irakly Okruashvili said government forces captured hills overlooking a key road that links ethnic Georgian villages with the rest of Georgia, but officials in the breakaway region disputed that claim. Both sides said government troops began pulling back after nightfall, and Georgia`s president offered to withdraw all forces if fighting stops. South Ossetia`s military chief said three civilians were killed by Georgian shelling of Tskhinvali on Thursday, while Georgian officials reported three soldiers died overnight and claimed to have killed eight `Cossack mercenaries.` But fighting quieted, and after nightfall officials on both sides said Georgian forces were beginning to pull out of the region. The Interfax news agency quoted Georgian Defense Minister Georgy Baramidze as saying Georgian forces had withdrawn to Gori, a city south of the region. Georgy Khaindrava, Georgia`s minister for conflict resolution, echoed Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili`s statement that non-peacekeeping forces would be withdrawn, but said they would not leave the strategic hills until Friday. Russia`s NTV television said peacekeepers were moving into the hills.
Azerbaijani-U.S. Cooperation Aimed At Army Building - Minister
Interfax
Moscow, August 18: Military cooperation between Azerbaijan and the U.S. is aimed at building a national army, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammedyarov said at a press conference in Moscow on Wednesday. `We believe that our cooperation with foreign specialists will help conduct essential reform, including in the sphere of building the army,` Mammedyarov said when asked if Baku expects the arrival of U.S. military units in the near future.
S. Ossetia Ready To Reduce Number Of Posts On Dominant Hills
Interfax
Tskhinvali, August 18: The self-proclaimed republic of South Ossetia is ready to reduce the number of its posts on the dominant hills around Tskhinvali on certain conditions, South Ossetian Deputy Defense Minister Ibragim Gassiyev said on Wednesday. `The South Ossetian Defense Ministry and Interior Ministry Force are ready to reduce the number of its posts on the Prisi heights near Tskhinvali on the condition that the Joint Peacekeeping Forces take those positions,` Gassiyev told Interfax-Military News Agency. `As a response measure, placement of a trilateral peacekeeping observation point in the vicinity of the Georgian village of Tamarasheni should be considered,` he said.
Uzbekistan Military Boost May Spark Unrest
Associated Press
Almaty, August 18: Washington`s plans to beef up its military base in Uzbekistan as part of a troop realignment abroad could whip up tensions between the impoverished ex-Soviet republic`s secular government and radical Islamic groups, analysts and opposition politicians say. Top Pentagon officials said Monday that the United States would make greater use of training and logistics bases on the soil of new allies such as Uzbekistan, Poland and Romania, while closing some U.S. installations in Europe to consolidate forces at larger bases there. U.S. troops arrived at the Karshi-Khanabad air base in southern Uzbekistan, 90 miles from the Afghan border, in 2001 after the Sept. 11 attacks in their first deployment in a former Soviet country. The base, which currently hosts about 1,000 U.S. troops, served as a main hub for U.S. special operations in Afghanistan, with the number of troops there at times reaching several thousand. The Americans always stressed that they intended the base to be temporary. Foreign Minister Sadyk Safayev had said earlier that Tashkent would consider a permanent U.S. base if Washington wanted one. However, the Uzbek government has always been tightlipped on the extent of the base and insisted it`s used only for humanitarian operations a line considered vital to head off public discontent. Uzbek officials and the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent declined comment on the Pentagon`s latest statement. Atonazar Arifov, leader of the outlawed Erk party, said a more permanent U.S. military presence could strengthen anti-American feeling among Uzbeks because they have allegedly seen only `a reverse effect` on democratic development from Tashkent`s increased ties with Washington. `I welcome American democracy, but I cannot respect the use of force,` he said. President Islam Karimov`s government has long struggled with radical Islamic groups, which easily find followers among Uzbeks frustrated by the lack of economic and democratic reforms. In March and April, the capital Tashkent and the central Bukhara region were shaken by a string of explosions and assaults against police that killed 47 people. Last month, suicide bombers attacked the U.S. and Israeli embassies and the chief prosecutor`s office in Tashkent, killing seven and injuring another seven. Authorities said both waves of attacks were the work of al-Qaida-linked groups based outside the country. However, critics said the violence may have been triggered by Islamic fundamentalists` anger over Karimov`s persecution of dissident Muslims. Thousands of devout Muslims have been imprisoned. Kamal Burkhanov, director of the Kazakhstan-based Institute of Russia and China, said Washington`s plans to consolidate its military position in Central Asia could provoke further attacks by Islamic radicals. `Nothing can strengthen Karimov`s position now,` he said. `One or two more American bases will hardly improve the situation there, which is very explosive.`
Tajik Defence Minister Does Not Anticipate Hosting US Troops
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, August 17: Sherali Khayrulloev told Interfax on 17 August that the United States has made no request to deploy military forces in Tajikistan. The defense minister said that the deployment of U.S. forces in Tajikistan is unlikely given the presence of Russia`s 201st Motor Rifle Division, which is slated to become a permanent Russian military base. `The United States has only offered material assistance in acquiring equipment for improving and tightening border control, in particular its Tajik-Afghan and Tajik-Chinese sections,` Murod Shaimov, a section chief on the Tajik Security Council, told Interfax.
Georgia, South Ossetia Reaffirm Agreement To Cease Hostilities
Voice of America
Moscow, August 17: Georgian and South Ossetian officials have agreed to a new cease-fire and plans to demilitarize the separatist region. Tuesday`s agreements came during a meeting of the Joint Control Commission on resolving the conflict. The meeting followed new clashes between Georgian soldiers and South Ossetian separatists, despite a cease-fire agreement signed Saturday. Both sides denied instigating the conflict. Monday, the U.S. State Department called for an end to cease-fire violations and urged both sides to move forward with dialogue. Georgia again appealed to world leaders to hold an urgent, international conference on South Ossetia.
Uzbekistan: Demining In Border Areas Underway, Military Officials Say
IRIN News
Ankara, August 17: The Uzbek military is clearing mine fields in the Ferghana Valley part of the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border which have in the past claimed the lives of many civilians. `[Preliminary] work on demining actually started at the beginning of August. We assessed the area and demining efforts are now underway along the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border,` Komil Jabarov, an Uzbek defence ministry spokesman, told IRIN from the Uzbek capital, Tashkent on Tuesday. Demining would also cover the borders of the Uzbek enclaves of Sokh and Shakhimardan located within Kyrgyzstan, Jabarov added. Enclaves are islands of territory completely surrounded by land from a neighbouring country - a legacy of the Soviet period when borders were simply administrative. According to the Uzbek defence ministry, Tashkent planted mines in some mountainous parts of its Kyrgyz and Tajik borders which were difficult to control in an effort to stave off incursions by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) since 1999 and prevent drug trafficking and weapons smuggling through the area. Earlier in July, Uzbek authorities said at a session of the Uzbek-Kyrgyz inter-governmental commission that they were ready to start demining its Kyrgyz border from 15 August, Ilkhom Zakirov, a spokesman for the Uzbek foreign ministry, told IRIN. Tashkent first expressed its willingness to consider removing land mines, along its 1,000 km plus frontier with Kyrgyzstan at a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna on 18 June, a move welcomed by Bishkek. `It is a very positive development. We are interested in demining of these fields because there won`t be any more casualties and people living in the border areas could conduct their normal daily life activities,` Gulmira Borubayeva, a spokeswoman for the Kyrgyz border service, told IRIN from the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek. Since mines were planted in 1999, more than a dozen Kyrgyz and some 60 Tajik civilians have been killed by mine explosions in the border areas.
Georgia`s Village, Peacekeepers Fired Upon, Four Wounded
Itar-Tass
Tbilisi, August 17: Givi Iukuridze, Chief of the General Staff of Georgia`s Armed Forces, said in a live broadcast of the country`s state television on Wednesday, `The Georgian village of Eredvi (near Tskhinvali) and the positions of Georgian peacekeepers were again fired upon` in the zone of the Georgia-South Ossetia conflict on Tuesday night. `Firing erupted at about 17:30 Moscow time. Subsequently it ceased but later on resumed and sporadically continued until midnight`, Iukuridze said. Four Georgian servicemen were wounded, he announced.
Azerbaijan Is Not Planning To Host Foreign Troops In Its Territory - Vice Speaker
Interfax
Baku, August 17: Azerbaijan is not planning to deploy foreign troops in its territory, the vice speaker of the Azerbaijani parliament, Ziyafet Askerov, told Interfax on Tuesday. He gave a negative answer to a question about the possibility of deployment of foreign troops in Azerbaijan following a recent announcement of U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld of the coming transfer of U.S. troops to some former Soviet republics.
No Specific Plan For U.S. Bases In Central Asia Drafted Yet - Ambassador
Interfax
Almaty, August 17: The United States has not yet drawn up any specific plans for expanding its military presence in Central Asia, Mark Asquino, charge d` affairs of the U.S. embassy in Kazakhstan, told journalists in Almaty on Tuesday. So far, there is no detailed specific plan of how the redeployment of U.S. troops abroad will effect Europe or Central Asia, he said. Asquino offered his comment in response to his country`s announced plans to redeploy some of the U.S. troops stationed abroad to other countries, including former Soviet republics.
British Troops Arrive In Kazakhstan For Training Exercise
Agence France-Presse
Almaty, August 17: Around 150 British troops arrived in Kazakhstan for a 10-day training exercise aimed at strengthening the oil-rich republic`s defences, a British official in the former Soviet republic told AFP. The soldiers of the third battalion of the Princess of Wales` royal regiment will train with a unit of Kazakh air-mobile infantry to meet several hypothetical threats including military invasion and a raid on oil installations, the British embassy official said Tuesday. `It`s designed to protect the territorial integrity of Kazakhstan against any group,` said the official. The exercise near the country`s commercial centre Almaty is the second British-Kazakh exercise of its kind.
Georgian Leader Seeks Ossetia Conference
Associated Press
Tbilisi, August 17: Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili appealed to world leaders Tuesday to convene an international conference on the conflict in breakaway South Ossetia, where daily exchanges of gunfire threaten to spark a war. Fighting between South Ossetian separatists and Georgian forces persisted early Tuesday for the fourth straight day since a cease-fire agreement was reached, killing a Georgian government soldier, officials said. Tensions in South Ossetia, which broke away from the central government in 1992 following an 18-month war, have escalated since the January election of Saakashvili, who has vowed to bring South Ossetia and another breakaway region -- Abkhazia -- under control.
Seven Georgians Wounded In Gunfire Exchange With South Ossetia
Voice of America
Tbilisi, August 15: Seven Georgian peacekeepers have been wounded in the latest exchange of gunfire between Georgians and South Ossetian separatists. The Georgian defense ministry said Sunday that the seven were wounded near the Taskinvali region late Saturday night during sporadic gunfire and shelling. Both sides have denied initiating the exchange. The gunfire follows a protocol signed Saturday by Georgian, South Ossetian, and North Ossetian officials at a Joint Control Commission meeting . The protocol includes a cease fire that went into effect Sunday and an increase in peacekeeping checkpoints.
Saakashvili Orders Troops Not To Assume Offensive In S.Ossetia
Interfax
Tbilisi, August 15: Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said he had ordered Georgian troops not to take the offensive in South Ossetia. `We have ordered our armed forces not to assume the offensive. We would like to show the world that Georgia wants to regain unity only by peaceful means,` Saakashvili said at a ceremony marking the formation of a new police patrol service in Tbilisi on Sunday. `The armed forces will do everything possible to protect Georgian villages in the Tskhinvali district,` the Georgian president said.
Kazakhstan To Stage International Stepnoi Orel Exercise In August
Interfax
Astana, August 15: The Stepnoi Orel 2004 international military exercise is going to be held August 18-25 at the quarters of the air assault brigade of the Kazakh airmobile forces deployed in Kapchagai, Alma-Ata district, where the Kazbat Kazakh peacekeeping battalion is stationed. Bulat Darbekov, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staffs of the Kazakh Defense Ministry, told a news briefing in Astana Friday that the exercise would see the participation of 164 servicemen from the United Kingdom in addition to Kazakh detachments. Previous Stepnoi Orel exercises saw the participation of military detachments from Kazakhstan, the UK and the USA. Also Turkey and some other countries are expected to participate this year.
Two Georgian Servicemen Killed In S.Ossetia
Interfax
Tbilisi, August 15: Two Georgian servicemen were killed and several others wounded when the Georgian village of Eredvi outside Tskhinvali was being shelled overnight to Monday. The artillery attack was launched from the village of Sarabuk, where Georgian and South Ossetian law-enforcement officials had met earlier to set up a tripartite peacekeeping checkpoint, the police of the Shida Kartli district told Interfax.
Georgia-South Ossetia Cease Fire Agreements Violated
Itar-Tass
Tskhinvalli, August 14: Georgian-South Ossetian cease-fire agreements that took effect at midnight on August 14 were violated on Saturday after dark. `Military observers registered eight mortar shots near three villages - Tamarasheni, Eredvi and Dvani,` a source in the united headquarters of the joint peacekeeping troops in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone told Itar-Tass on Saturday. The fire from machine guns and grenade launchers was also heard in villages neighbouring the South Ossetian capital on Saturday evening. `After cease-fire agreements have taken effect separate shots were heard. It cannot be stopped at once,` Russian ambassador at large Lev Mironov emphasised.
Uzbeks Seek Long Jail Terms In Blast Trial
Reuters
Tashkent, August 20: Uzbekistan has decided not to seek the death sentence for 15 suspected militants accused of involvement in a series of bombings and shoot-outs earlier this year that killed 47 people, prosecutors said on Friday. The 13 men and two women standing trial for links to the violence in the capital Tashkent and ancient city of Bukhara in March and April should be imprisoned for sentences between nine and 20 years, prosecutors said in a submission to the judge. The explosions and fighting shattered five years of apparent stability in Central Asia`s most populous state. President Islam Karimov has jailed thousands of dissident Muslims and said his state is under threat from Islamists similar to the Taliban. `Taking into consideration that those who carried out and organised the terrorist acts were either destroyed or killed, that the accused confessed their guilt and that their active cooperation helped prevent worse terrorist acts, we do not seek the ultimate punishment,` said prosecutor Murad Salikhov.
Uzbek Detective Investigating `Kazakh Trace` In Tashkent Blasts Killed - TV
Channel 31 TV
Tashkent, August 20: A mysterious murder has been committed in Shymkent [the administrative centre of South Kazakhstan Region, which borders on Uzbekistan]. The police have found a corpse of a man in a sauna. According to first-hand information, he was an Uzbek citizen who came to Kazakhstan to carry out an unofficial investigation into a possible `Kazakh trace` in the Tashkent terrorist acts. It is not ruled out that the Uzbek detective was killed by a method used by spies. Near his body, the police found an ordinary shoe into the sole of which a gun in the form of a ballpoint pen had been installed. The case is classified, which is why competent sources deny to give any comments on it.
Kazakh Suspect Named In Uzbek Bombing
Kabar Agency
Tashkent, August 19: A Kazakh man was one of the three suicide bombers who attacked the U.S. and Israeli embassies and prosecutor`s office in Tashkent last month, defendants and police said Thursday. The Kazakh is the first foreigner accused of direct involvement in a series of blasts and shootouts with police this year that killed more than 50 people. The judge at the trial of 15 Uzbeks accused of involvement in the first spate of violence in March and April, which killed 47, showed a picture of the Kazakh man, Avaz Shoyusupov, and asked two of the defendants if they knew him. The defendants, Furkat Yusupov and Abdunasyr Zulfikarov, said he was a member of their cell and they had met in Kazakhstan early this year. The judge said Shoyusupov blew himself up in the lobby of the Prosecutor General`s Office on July 30, injuring five. Yusupov and Zulfikarov said the spring attacks and those last month, which interrupted their trial, were linked. Human rights groups have accused Uzbekistan`s police of extracting confessions under torture. An Uzbek Interior Ministry officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters that Shoyusupov had been arrested by Kazakh police after the spring attacks. Uzbekistan has asked for him to be extradited, but the request was denied and Shoyusupov was freed, he said.
Uzbek Blast Trial Hears Evidence
BBC
Tashkent, August 19: A court in Uzbekistan has been hearing evidence at the trial of 15 suspects allegedly involved in a series of suicide bombings and attacks. The judge said that a total of six Uzbeks blew themselves up during three days of violence in March which killed more than 40 people. It was the first time violence of this sort had hit Uzbekistan. The accused allegedly belonged to a radical Islamic group, which the authorities say had al-Qaeda links. The court was aghast to see photographs of two young women and four men, who, it seems, blew themselves up in Tashkent, two near a bazaar and the rest in a house, cornered by a police chase. Suicide belts The 15 defendants, who sat silently in cages, are accused of a range of crimes. A woman in her 40s said she had sewn 50 suicide belts. Some of the men testified to training in Waziristan, in the Pakistani borderlands near Afghanistan. The evidence put forward is dense and at times hard to follow, but the picture emerging seems to be that the Uzbek group was planning a much wider series of attacks, possibly at foreign embassies and international hotels. This plan apparently stalled, leaving a handful of militants to hit an assortment of targets, mainly policemen. The trial began in July, but was adjourned after three more suicide bombers blew themselves up at the US and Israeli embassies and the procurator`s office. According to the prosecution, one of those involved was a Kazakh national, heavily involved in the Uzbek radical Islamic movement. The violence in Uzbekistan has been brewing for many years. Many people here blame political stagnation, coupled with the government`s ferocious purges against Islamic groups of every sort. The government blames world politics. It says Uzbekistan is a victim of what it calls global terrorism.
Trial On Alleged Terrorists Reopens In Tashkent
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, August 18: Trail over 15 people, accused in terrorism and sabotage in Tashkent city and Bukhara region last spring, resumed at Supreme Court under the chairmanship of the deputy chairman of Supreme Court Bakhtiyor Jamalov. Defendants Furkat Yusupov, Farkhad Kazakbaev, M. Mirzaqulov, N. Kurbanaliev, Rahim Yusupov, Abdunasir Zulpikarov, Kudrat Sohotaliev, Jamoliddin Nigmanov, Yo. Umarov, Hikmatillo Ishmatov, Utkir Hamroyev, E. Aslanov, Kamola Kayumova, Iqbol Tashpulatova and K. Tuychiev are accused and stand before trial. The above-mentioned persons are blamed of murdering at aggravating circumstances, terrorism, religious extremism, acquisition of weapons and ammunition by robbery, manufacturing of explosives, their possession and storage, smuggling under 18 articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Over 20 victims and their representatives, as well as witnesses gave testimony before court on the first day of re-launched proceedings.
China Energy Ventures Corp. Awards Drilling Contract
CCNMathews
Calgary, August 20: China Energy Ventures Corp., (NASDAQ OTC/BB: CEVC) (the `Company`) announced today that its subsidiary, KoZhaN LLP, has awarded a turn-key drilling contract to Precaspiburneft-Kazakhstan LLP, to drill one well (Well #10), followed by two optional wells in its Morskoe field, located on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea in western Kazakhstan. Well #10, the proposed infill location, will be drilled to a depth of 1300m, off-setting an existing capped oil well (Well #6) which was drilled in 1965. This well will be drilled 200m from the Well #6 surface location in what is believed to be an updip position. Well #6 encountered two oil-bearing (25 degreesAPI) sandstone formations; the Albian and the Aptian (1178m to 1182m and 1255m to 1265m respectively).
Kyrgyzstan Hydro-plant Projects To Cost $2 Bln - Chubais
Interfax
Cholton-Ata, August 20: It will cost around $2 billion to finish building the two Kambar-Ata hydroelectric dams in Kyrgyzstan, Anatoly Chubais, the head of Unified Energy System (UES), Russia`s national electricity monopoly, said at a joint press conference with Kyrgyz Prime Minister Nikolai Tanayev. `Preliminary estimates put the cost of completing the plants at around $2 billion,` Chubais said. `This will probably be a combination of credits and investments [by the electricity holding],` Chubais said. Chubais and Tanayev signed a memorandum on the construction of the two plants. UES and the Kyrgyz government will draft a cooperation agreement on the project. `Today`s memorandum turns the Kambar-Ata project into a priority for our company,` Chubais said. A full-scale agreement will be signed by November 30,` he said.
Paris Club Debt Write-off Talks Complicated For Kyrgyzstan - Prime Minister
Interfax
Bishkek, August 19: Kyrgyzstan`s non-fulfillment of conditions for receiving the third, $17.8 million tranche of a World Bank Governance Structural Adjustment Credit (GSAC) complicates negotiations with the Paris Club of creditors for a partial foreign debt write-off, Prime Minister Nikolai Tanayev said at a meeting of the GSAC program supervisory council on Thursday. Parliament should have confirmed in June a program for the fourth phase of the privatization of power company Kyrgyzenergo and a program for the reorganization and privatization of gas company Kyrgyzgaz, and also pass law on effective social protection, Tanayev said. That would have paved the way for the tranche, he said. Negotiations with bidders for 51% of the stock in Kyrgyztelecom should also have been wrapped up.
Asian Development Bank Approves New Kyrgyz Strategy
Radio Free Europe
Bishkek, August 19: The Asian Development Bank approved on 18 August a new strategy for Kyrgyzstan in 2005-06, Kyrgyzinfo reported the next day. The new strategy provides for up to $40 million in financial assistance each year, with grants making up half of the total. The bank`s strategy focuses on reducing poverty by encouraging economic growth, private-sector development, and human development. Target areas are agriculture, the financial sector, regional cooperation, and education. Kyrgyzstan has already received 22 loans from the Asian Development Bank totaling $535.9 million, akipress.org reported.
AES To Put $5 Mln Into Kazakh Power Plant In 2004
Interfax
Almaty, August 19: AES Ekibastuz, owner of the Ekibastuz GRES-1 power plant in northern Kazakhstan`s Pavlodar region, plans to put 694 million tenge (around $5 million) into overhauling the plant`s generating units in 2004, a press release from AES Kazakhstan says. AES Kazakhstan is a subdivision of the U.S. corporation AES. AES Ekibastuz will be investing 182 million tenge in upgrading unit #5, making it possible to increase output from 300 to 400 megawatts. Another 512 million tenge will be spent rejuvenating unit #3, the release says. Of that money, 132 million tenge has already been used. This block`s launch is slated for February 2005.
BP Upping Shah-Deniz Gas Field Reserve Estimate By 100 Bcm
Interfax
Baku, August 18: The drilling of three advance wells at the Shah-Deniz gas deposits in Azerbaijan provides evidence the reserves there are 100 billion cubic meters (bcm) greater than initially supposed, BP`s manager for the Shah-Deniz project Michael Lutz told the press. These three wells were drilled through the Svita Pereryva producing stratum and discovered gas deposits of around 100 bcm, Lutz said. A full study of the new stratum`s reserves will be conducted when a fourth boring is done. BP plans to drill this fourth well in the field`s southern area, deeper than any well so far, Lutz said. Shah-Deniz holds an estimated 625 billion cubic meters of gas and 101 million tonnes of condensate. Stage-1 development includes the production of 178 billion cubic meters of gas and 34 million tonnes of condensate. During peak production under Stage-1 the field will produce 8.4 billion cubic meters of gas and 2 million tonnes of condensate a year. Gas will be produced from 15 wells at the TPG-500 platform at sea depths of 105 meters. Production will increase to 16 billion cubic meters a year in the later stages of the project.
Kazakh Plant Aims To Sell Drilling Units In Foreign Markets
BBC
Astana, August 18: At the Petropavlovsk machine-engineering plant (North Kazakhstan Region), journalists have witnessed tests of the second drilling unit which the plant has built with the German Bentec company. The plant will now start routine manufacturing of these units. A total of five drilling units, each worth 4.5m dollars, will be delivered to a customer (KazMunayGaz) [the Kazakh national oil and gas company] of the plant this year. The first unit is already operating at the seventh well [of KazMunayGaz]. Next year, the plant will begin to manufacture up to 60 per cent of parts for these units on its own. The main thing is to find a market, said the deputy chairman of the PZTM [the Russian abbreviation of the Petropavlovsk machine-engineering plant] open joint-stock company, Vladimir Kovshov.
Aker Kvaerner To Provide Services For Caspian Barges
Rigzone
Astana, August 17: Aker Kvaerner has signed a letter of intent to perform fabrication, outfitting and testing of seven barges for oil production in the giant Kashagan oilfield in the north Caspian Sea, offshore Kazakhstan. In the letter of intent, Agip Kazakhstan North Caspian Operating Company N.V. and Aker Kvaerner confirm their intentions to complete final negotiations and sign a contract for the work later this autumn. The work on the project starts immediately under an interim agreement. `This project is an important stepping stone in Aker Kvaerner`s North Caspian Sea strategy in general and for the Kazakhstan offshore market in particular,` said executive vice president Simen Lieungh in Aker Kvaerner. Extensive field development will go on in the Kashagan field for the next 10 to 15 years. `The North Caspian Sea, is a very attractive area for Aker Kvaerner. We have clear intentions on growing our business in the Kazakhstan-based oil and gas industry and will position ourselves to compete for hook up, maintenance, modifications and operations in the Kazakhstan market. As part of this, we will work with local parties on the current projects and seek new partners for future opportunities in the region,` Mr. Lieungh added. He emphasizes that this award demonstrates Aker Kvaerner`s position as a competitive contractor in the oil and gas industry.
Implementation Of Cooperation Programme`s Terms Between Kyrgyzstan And IMF Discussed
Kabar Agency
Bishkek, August 17: A working meeting of Kyrgyz Prime Minister Nikolai Tanaev with a mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headed by Tapio Saavalainen took place in Bishkek. Issues of management and holding of structural reforms, implementation of cooperation programme`s terms between Kyrgyzstan and IMF were discussed during the meeting. At the meeting, T. Saavalainen emphasized that the mission`s work devoted to consultations in the frame of fourth article of the IMF`s Charter. The task of the mission is to analyze condition of economy for the last 3-4 years, problems that facing Kyrgyzstan at present and which may appear within the next two years. The present consultation - to estimate implementation of last programmes of IMF in Kyrgyzstan, beginning from 90`s. Experts of IMF are working on it and it is expected the report will be prepared in late August - early September, said the head of the mission.
BTC Pipeline Nearly 75%-complete
Interfax
Tbilisi, August 17: Construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline is now 75%-complete, BTC Co. Chief Executive Michael Townshend told a Monday press conference. A total of 1,487 km of of pipes have been welded, and earth has been filled in along 798 km of the route. In general, 75% of the construction has been completed. This includes 805 in Azerbaijan and 74% in Georgia and Turkey, Townshend said. The project has absorbed around $2 billion and contracts signed exceed $2.7 billion, Townshend said. In the first half of 2004, pipeline construction costs totaled $686 million of a forecast $1.137 billion for the year as a whole, he said. David Woodward, president of BP-Azerbaijan, said on Monday that the situation in the Georgian-South Osetia conflict zone would not reflect on progress with the BTC project. Woodward said the company was following events in Georgia closely and hoped for a peaceful solution to the situation. But the company does not expect construction work to be affected because South Osetia is quite a distance from the pipeline itself, Woodward said. The future pipeline will stretch 1,762 kilometers, including 443 km through Azerbaijan, 248 km through Georgia and 1,076 km through Turkey, and will have a capacity of 50 million tonnes of oil per year. Construction work should be completed in the first quarter 2004 and Azerbaijani oil will be exported from the port of Ceyhan in the second quarter 2005.
Nelson Resources Updates Field Operations In Western Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan News
Houston, August 16: Nelson Resources Ltd., Toronto, reported broad progress with its oil field operations in western Kazakhstan and acquired controlling interest in Chaparral Resources Inc., Houston, operator of Karakuduk field. Net production from all fields in June 2004 was a record 17,600 b/d of oil. Kazakhoil Aktobe (KOA) debottlenecked processing facilities at Alibekmola field to a capacity of 25,000 b/d and began planning to raise that to 42,000 b/d. KOA added three producing wells, bringing Alibekmola production to 21,505 b/d in June. Nelson`s interest is 50%.
Uzbekistan Expects 7% GDP Growth In 2005
Uzbek Report
Tehran, August 15: Uzbekistan plans to achieve growth of gross domestic product by 7% in 2005. It was reported at the session of the committee on budget, banking and finance issues of the Oliy Majlis. According to the governmental report, the GDP growth is expected to increase by 6% in 2004 due to rise of industrial production, agricultural products, services, etc. The session, chaired by committee`s head Abdurafik Ahadov, discussed issues scheduled for consideration at the 15th session of Oliy Majlis of the second convocation. MPs, heads of several ministries, departments and organisation participated at the session. Finance Minister Saidahmad Rakhimov made a report on implementation of the State Budget in the first half of 2004 and projection of the main macroeconomic figures and parameters of the State Budget for 2005. It was reported that the State Budget in the first six months of 2004 was implemented with 1.3% surplus to the gross domestic product of Uzbekistan.
Kazakh Oil Minnow Targets £70m Flotation
The Telegraph
Astana, August 14: Caspian Energy, an oil and gas company operating in Kazakhstan, is set to become the latest explorer to take advantage of the surge in the oil price by floating on the London stock market. The company, founded in Canada as Northway Explorations, is hoping to raise nearly $50m (£28m) when it floats on Aim next month. Caspian`s executives will start a series of presentations to investors in both Canada and the UK this week. The flotation is expected to value the company at close to £70m, including the new funds raised. Last night, Charles Summers, the chief operating officer of Caspian, said the current high oil price was `fortuitous` but noted that the company had intended to float anyway. `We were coming anyway,` he said. `And we will raise closer to $50m than the $30m originally targeted.` Caspian plans to use the money to fund its exploration and development activities in Kazakhstan. It holds a 50 per cent stake in Aral Petroleum Capital, a Kazakh company, which holds an exclusive licence to develop properties known as the `North Block`, a 2,348 sq km area in the west of the country.
UN, Japan Extend US$2.16m To Children Care Project In CA
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, August 20: On 20 August , the Government of Japan and the United Nations (UN) decided to extend assistance of a total of US$2.16 million through the Trust Fund for Human Security for the programme `Every Child Has a Right to Grow up in a Family Environment` in Central Asia. According to the Japanese Embassy in Tashkent, the funds will be used to implement programme `Every Child Has a Right to Grow up in a Family Environment`, providing alternative care arrangement for children without family care in Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. UNICEF will realise this project. In the Central Asian countries, since the time of the former USSR, poverty in individual families has forced the families to place children in institutions. There are still approximately 200,000 children being raised in institutions because of the difficult economic situation in these countries. This programme aims to establish a family and child-focused social care system and provide alternative forms of care, i.e. guardianship, domestic adoption and foster care, for children deprived of familiar care.
Rao UES, Kyrgyz Government Sign Memorandum
RIA Novosti
Bishkek, August 20: On Friday RAO Unified Energy Systems of Russia and the government of Kyrgyzstan signed the memorandum On Joint Implementation of the Project to Complete Construction of the Kambar-Ata hydroelectric power plants in Kyrgyzstan. At the press conference, RAO UES CEO Anatoli Chubais said that, in preliminary estimate, the completion may cost about $2 billion, though depending on the rated capacity of the Kambar-Ata plants upon end of the work. In tentative estimate, the capacity of the first plant will be 400 megawatts, second plant - 1,200 megawatts. He said that the memorandum fixed the parties` obligations and agreement that, prior to November 30, the sides would make an agreement on guidelines for such cooperation. `Funding of the project will combine credits and investments at the internationally-set proportions`, Mr. Chubais said. He also said that his company might participate in the tender for leasing concession of the Kyrgyz distribution company Severelektro.
Putin To Visit Armenia Early Next Year
Agence France-Presse
Moscow, August 20: Russian President Vladimir Putin said he will visit his Armenian counterpart, Robert Kocharian, in Armenia early next year and has renewed offers to mediate the decade-old conflict in Nagorny Karabakh, the Russian media reported Friday. Russia is ready to act as a `mediator and guarantor` of a negotiated settlement in Nagorny Karabakh, an ethnically Armenian enclave of Azerbaijan, Putin said according to Russian news service Interfax.
Armenian President Satisfied With Negotiations With Putin
Itar-Tass
Sochi, August 20: Armenian President Robert Kocharyan said he was satisfied with the negotiations with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, including the quick and efficient decision-making. `Vladimir Putin got in touch with his ministers and gave them instructions during the negotiations. I think that this style is very efficient,` Kocharyan said. Putin confirmed that he had spoken to Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin and Transport Minister Igor Levitin by phone during the negotiations.
Tajikistani Official Discusses Cooperation With Gazprom
Kabar Agency
Dushanbe, August 20: Gazprom Deputy CEO Alexander Ryazanov and Tajikistani Energy Minister Dzhurabek Nurmakhmatov discussed the implementation of a bilateral agreement on strategic cooperation in the course of a meeting on August 19. According to the press service of Gazprom, in particular, the sides considered exploration and production of natural gas and creating new gas transportation facilities in Tajikistan.
Japan Earmarks US$157,434 For Grass-root Projects
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, August 19: The government of Japan will issue US$157,434 in no-string aid for grass-root projects in Uzbekistan. The grant-agreement signing ceremony will be held on 20 August. Secondary school No. 22 of Bostanlyk district of Tashkent region will receive US$59,708 for equipment. US$34,106 was issued to equip school No. 32 of Zangiota district of Tashkent region. Secondary school No. 33 of Quyi-Chirchiq district of Tashkent region will get US$63,620. The ceremony is confined to the end of diplomatic mission of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Akio Kawato.
Iran, Uzbekistan To Boost Trade Cooperation
Tehran Times
Tehran, August 19: In the sixth meeting of the Joint Economic Commission of Iran and Uzbekistan, commerce ministers of the two countries stressed the necessity to expand bilateral cooperation based on joint interests. Iran`s Commerce Minister, Mohammad Reza Shariatmadari said that due to the good political relations between the two counties, development of economic relations is very essential, adding that commercial transaction between the two countries was about $300m last year `that is not a satisfactory figure`. The minister stated that Iran has been announced as top producer of 35 kinds of agricultural crops by FAO and has high potentials to expand its cooperation with Uzbekistan. Shariatmadari announced that Iran plans to establish a permanent trade center in Uzbekistan to supply customs facilities and issue visas for traders. He stated that the trade-transport document signed between the two countries during the Uzbek President Islam Karimov`s last visit to the country had positively influenced bilateral economic relations.
Japan Eyes Dialogues With Central Asia - Yomiuri Shimbun
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, August 19: Yomiuri Shimbun of Japan reported quoting government source that the government decided to establish a framework for regular dialogues with five Central Asian countries in an effort to strengthen cooperation with the region. `A ministerial meeting between Japan and the five nations is scheduled to be held on 28 August in the Kazakh capital of Astana. The government aims to take advantage of this occasion to create such a framework,` the report said. The meeting is expected to be attended by Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi and her counterparts from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, it added. Kawaguchi is to visit four Central Asian nations and Mongolia, beginning Wednesday [25 August]. At the Astana meeting, participating countries are expected to issue a joint declaration calling for further promotion of regional dialogue and cooperation, according to Yomiuri Shimbun. Within the framework, Japan may hold summit meetings and other ministerial talks to take up security, energy and other issues.
FM Urges Russia To Boost Efforts Towards Karabakh Settlement
Itar-Tass
Moscow, August 19: Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov has urged Russia to more actively participate in the settlement of the situation around the mostly Armenian populated Azerbaijani enclave of Nagorno Karabakh. `Russia is a co-chairman of the Minsk Group and we expect it to make active efforts in that direction,` the foreign minister told a press conference at the Itar-Tass news agency on Thursday. The problems of use of the southern part of the Caspian Sea should be resolved positively, Elmar Mamedyarov said. He said that he hoped a `meeting of the special working group for settlement of the legal status of the Caspian Sea, planned for September, will take place in Moscow at set dates`.
Japanese, CA Foreign Ministers To Meet In Kazakhstan
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, August 19: Foreign ministers of Japan and five Central Asian countries will gather in Astana, Kazakh capital on 28 August. Uzbek Foreign Minister Sadyk Safaev will participate in the session, Foreign Ministry told UzReport.com. Along with him, ministers from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Japan will attend the session. The meeting is organised within the Central Asian tour of the Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, which starts on 25 August. Japanese Foreign Minister will also visit Mongolia within the tour. According to ITAR-TASS quoting a source in Japanese Foreign Ministry, Japan intends to activate contacts with Central Asian countries, taking into account the region`s strategic location and existing rich natural resources.
Russia, Kyrgyzstan Develop Energy Cooperation
RIA Novosti
Bishkek, August 19: Anatoly Chubais, CEO of RAO Unified Energy Systems of Russia, is to meet with Kyrgyzstan`s President Askar Akayev and Prime Minister Nikolai Tanayev, reads the Russian company`s press release. A memorandum on joint actions on the completion of the construction of the Kambar-Ata hydroelectric power plants is to be signed after the talks between Mr. Chubais and the Kyrgyz premier. Moreover, Anatoly Chubais will visit the Kambar-Ata power plants and Kyrgyzstan`s largest Toktogul hydroelectric power plant. `The signing of this memorandum will consolidate bilateral energy cooperation,` said the press service of the Kyrgyz Electric Stations joint stock company. The construction of the Kambar-Ata hydroelectric power plants is of high socio-economic importance both for Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia as a whole, RAO UES stressed.
UNESCO Investigates Endangered Synagogue In Tajikistan
Israel National News
Dushanbe, August 19: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has begun investigating plans to raze the only synagogue in Tajikistan and has warned the government of that country that if it proceeds it would be in violation of its international commitments. In a letter to Bobby Brown, Director of International Affairs of the World Jewish Congress, the Office of the Director General for Culture of UNESCO stated that the UNESCO Secretariat `has brought the issue of the synagogue to the attention of the relevant authorities of Tajikistan`, who have been informed that, `should these allegations be confirmed, such an act would be in contradiction with existing international standards for the protections of cultural heritage.` Earlier, the WJC requested that UNESCO intervene with the government of Tajikistan to cancel its plans to tear down the 100-year old sanctuary, the only place of worship for the Jewish community, which numbers approximately 500 individuals. The revelation of that scheme precipitated a worldwide campaign by the WJC to prevent the destruction of the synagogue.
Putin, Nazarbayev, Kuchma Discuss CIS Affairs
Kabar Agency
Moscow, August 19: Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev on Wednesday to discuss prospects for further business cooperation, the Russian presidential press service told Interfax. Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, who is currently on a working visit to Russia, took part in the telephone conversation as well. Among other issues, the presidents addressed the law Putin signed earlier today on Russia`s changeover to the destination-country payment of indirect taxes. They said that this decision will further encourage integration process within the CIS and help create the Common Economic Space of Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus.
Russians Increasingly Mistrustful Of Georgian Leader - Poll
Interfax
Moscow, August 19: In two months, the number of Russians who don`t trust Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has grown. According to a study of ROMIR Monitoring, 66% of Russians said they don`t trust Saakashvili, a 16% increase from mid-June. Over the same period, the number of people who trust him dropped from 27% to 11%. Some 40% of Russians have a good attitude towards Georgia, 22% feel negatively about the country, while 35% are indifferent. Since mid-June these figures have not changed much (43%, 18% and 37%, respectively). It is interesting that people in southern Russia tend to be more negative in their attitude (39%). Sociologists say young people aged 18 to 24 are the most indifferent to Georgia (48%). Asked whether Russia should use armed force to protect Abkhazia and South Ossetia, 19% said it should, 18% felt it should give military- technical assistance but not get directly involved. In addition, 34% said Russia should help only as a peacekeeper and 22% spoke against any military assistance at all. The nation-wide poll was taken among 1,500 adults on August 17.
Book On Indian-Central Asian Cooperation Presented
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, August 18: Presentation of a book entitled `India and Central Asia: development of general interests` was held at the Indian Embassy in Uzbekistan. The book was compiled from reports of the Third Indian-Central Asian conference on regional security, held in Tashkent on 6-8 November 2003. It contains materials on regional security and cooperation in Central Asia, as well as international security issues prepared by the Institute of Defence and Analysis of India and the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Researches under the Uzbek President. Authors of materials represent 15 countries and 2 international organisations. Recently the book was presented held at the Embassy of Uzbekistan in India.
Putin Says His Trip To Georgia Would Be `inappropriate`
Itar-Tass
Sochi, August 18: President Vladimir Putin said his trip to Georgia now would be `inappropriate`. Responding to a question about such a trip, he told journalists on Wednesday, `We have discussed such a possibility with our Georgian colleagues, but given the deterioration of the situation, I think my trip would be inappropriate in this situation.` `We periodically hear a thesis that the crisis is assuming a bilateral Russian-Georgian nature. Nothing like has ever happened and cannot happen,` he said. Putin recalled that these conflicts had broken up after the disintegration of the Soviet Union when `Georgia suddenly announced that it was abolishing the autonomous status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.` `This stupid decision started ethnic conflicts. And today it`s a recurrence of what happened at the beginning of the 1990s,` the president said.
CIS Nine Countries To Declare May 8-9 As Days Of Memory And Reconciliation
Kabar Agency
Astana, August 18: Nine countries of CIS proposed to place on the agenda of the prospective 59th session of the UN Assembly a proclamation of May 8-9 as Days of Memory and Reconciliation. In the collective letter addressed to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, the permanent representatives from Kazakhstan, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan reminded of 60th anniversary of the victory over fascism is to be celebrated in 2005, RIA NOVOSTI informs.
Vietnam-Uzbekistan Friendship Society Head Visits Uzbekistan
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, August 17: The chairman of Vietnam-Uzbekistan Friendship Society Do Min Kuy is visiting Uzbekistan. According to UzA, he visited council of friendship society and cultural-enlightening relations of Uzbekistan with foreign countries on Tuesday. The council considered issues on development of cultural-enlightening relations between Uzbekistan and Vietnam. The agreement on cooperation between two societies was signed. The document was inked by the chairman of Uzbekistan-Vietnam Friendship Society Tursunali Kuziev and the chairman of Vietnam-Uzbekistan Friendship Society Do Min Kuy.
Russia, Azeri FMs To Hold Talks Focusing On Counterterrorism
Itar-Tass
Moscow, August 17, Counterterrorism will be one of subjects of discussion at talks to be held here on Wednesday between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mamedyarov. The Azeri Foreign Minister arrived here on Tuesday for his first official visit. Boris Malakhov, deputy spokesman of the Russian Foreign Ministry, has told Itar-Tass that the two Ministers intend to devote special attention to practical steps in the fight against terrorism in all its manifestations.
Minister Urges Effective Moves To Promote Iran-Uzbekistan Trade
IRNA
Tehran, August 17: Minister of Commerce Mohammad Shariatmadari said here on Tuesday that Iran and Uzbekistan should take effective measures for joint investment and increasing the volume of goods and services exchanged between the two countries given their high economic potentials. Shariatmadari said at the 6th Tehran-Tashkent Economic Cooperation meeting that the commonalties of the two countries would help them raise the volume of commercial and trade exchanges. He voiced displeasure over the meager volume of mutual exchanges which stands at dlrs 300 million a year. The minister put the volume of Iran`s exchanges with 70 countries in 2003 at about dlrs 58 billion, dlrs 30 billion of which earned from exports. He said 16 percent of Iran`s exports in 2003 destined for Central Asian republics.
German Centre Organises Seminar On EU-Uzbekistan Ties
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, August 16: Summer language academy, Sommer Sprachakademie, under National German Cultural Centre `Vozrojdeniye` (Revival), ended. Summer language academy is annual seminar, organised by the centre and German Technical Assistance Bureau (GTZ). Lessons in academy assist its participants to improve their German language skills and gain knowledge on certain topics. Besides, the programme includes psychological training, lessons on dramatic skills and participate in youth theatre work. This year, academy considered issues on `The European Union as a partner of Uzbekistan` in three directions - human rights, healthy life style and basics of entrepreneurship and management.
Kazakh President Holds Informal Meetings On Sidelines Of Olympics
Radio Free Europe
Astana, August 16: President Nursultan Nazarbaev, attending the Olympic Games in Athens as a guest of honor, has taken advantage of the opportunity to conduct a number of informal meetings with prominent political figures, Kazinform reported on 16 August. Nazarbaev has met with Romanian President Ion Iliescu, former U.S. President George Bush, former U.S. national security adviser Brent Scowcroft, former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, and Athens Mayor Dora Bakoyannis.
NBP Prepares Feasibility On Branch At Dushanbe
Central Asia Daily
Lahore, August 16: National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) is considering a pre-feasibility report for opening up its branch in Tajikistan`s capital, Dushanbe by the end of the current year. The NBP has already extended its consent to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for this venture, should it prove economically feasible, said a letter written by Executive Vice President and Group Chief of NBP to one of the Bank`s directors, Iftikhar Ali Malik. The said letter, received at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on 12th August, said that in 1995-96 the Bank was advised to establish its presence in newly independent Central Asian Republics (CARs) and for this purpose, representative offices were opened in Ashgabat, Bishkek, Almaty, Tashkent and Baku. In order to strengthen brotherly relations with these newly independent countries and for promoting economic and trade activities, first three offices were converted into full branches of the NBP. Moreover, the NBP is in the process of opening its branch in Baku (Azerbaijan), which would be completed by the end of this year. The SBP has advised the NBP in the inaugural session of Pak-Tajik Joint Economic Commission meeting, to decide about opening its one branch at Tajikistan. Following this advice, a pre-feasibility study has already been invited, which is being discussed and considered at highest level, the letter added. Pakistan and Tajikistan have recently renewed their bilateral trade ties following the holding of first ever `Made in Pakistan` exhibition at Dushanbe, which boosted bilateral trade volume of two million dollar to four million dollars immediately. The exhibition was organized by the LCCI.
Voice Of America Goes Quiet In Uzbekistan
Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Tashkent, August 16: The decision of the United States broadcaster Voice of America, VOA, to stop beaming radio programmes to Uzbekistan has been met with an equal measure of bewilderment and disappointment by its loyal audience. The move, coming at a time of renewed violence in the country, has left listeners complaining that they have lost an important source of news about Uzbekistan - a rare commodity in a country so dominated by state-controlled media. The end of Uzbek-language programmes from the US government-funded broadcaster could not have been timed worse. The last broadcast went out on the evening of July 31 - a day after suicide bombers attacked the US and Israeli embassies and the Uzbek prosecutor`s office in the capital Tashkent.
Kyrgyz Delegation In Turkish Parliament
Anadolu Agency
Ankara, August 16: Abdilkadir Sultanbayev, secretary general of House of Representatives of Kyrgyzstan, visited Turkish parliament on Monday. Deputy Parliament Speaker Sadik Yakut received Sultanbayev and accompanying delegation. Yakut said that social, political and economic cooperation should be further improved between Turkey and Turkish Republics. Sultanbayev recalled that single parliament system would be adopted in Kyrgyzstan soon, stressing that they wanted to benefit from experiences of Turkey. Kyrgyz delegation also had a meeting with Turkish Parliament Secretary General Rauf Bozkurt. Sultanbayev and accompanying delegation will also meet senior bureaucrats in the parliament. Kyrgyz delegation will proceed to Istanbul on Thursday and depart from Turkey on August 21st.
Turkmenistan Exported 4.5b Cu.m Of Gas To Iran In 7 Months
IRNA
Ashgabat, August 16: Turkmenistan has exported 4.5 billion cubic meter gas to Iran since the start of 2004. According to `Turkmenistan daily`, a Turkmen company has produced 5.1 billion cubic meters of gas and 4.5 million tons of oil from western areas of Turkmenistan over the same period. The export of Turkmenistan`s gas to Iran started in 1987 during a ceremony which was attended by Iran`s President Mohammad Khatami and his Turkmen counterpart Saparmurat Niyazov. Turkmenistan will export 7 billion cubic meter of gas to Iran by the end of 2004. Out of total 35.2 billion cubic meter of gas exploited so far by Turkmenistan, 25.5 billion cubic meters has been exported to Iran, Russia and Ukraine.
Embassy Of India Celebrates Independence Day
Uzbek Report
Tehran, August 15: On 15 August, the embassy of India in Uzbekistan held a ceremony commemorating the 57th Independence Day of the country. During the ceremony, an Indian flag was raised in front of the embassy as a symbol of ties between the governments of India and Uzbekistan. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of India to Uzbekistan Sharat Sabharwal delivered Indian President Abdul Kalam`s address to nation to the Indian businesses and representatives, residing in Uzbekistan. Indian president`s address was devoted to education and entitled `Education for Dignity of Human life`. President Kalam underlined the importance of education to development of the nation and increase expenditure to increase literacy among population.
Central Asia In 20th Century Discussed In Tashkent
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, August 15: International scientific conference entitled `XX Century in history of Central Asia: events, trends and lessons` was held in State Museum of Temurid`s history. According to UzA, it was organised by the History Institute under Science Academy of Uzbekistan in cooperation with international research association of Central Asia and Institute of Culture and Development in Asia (South Korea). The conference discussed socio-economic, cultural- enlightenment and political processes in Central Asia in 20th century. Archaeologists, historians, ethnologists, philosophers, politicians and other specialists participated at the event.
CICA Meeting To Open In Almaty
Kabar Agency
Almaty, August 15: The committee of senior officials of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) will gather for a meeting in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Monday. The press service of the Kazakh Foreign Ministry says that the forum will be attended by representatives of countries members of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures, observer states and international organizations. The committee will hold its last meeting before the CICA ministerial meeting in October. The Almaty meeting will try to compile a so-called `catalogue of confidence-building measures.` The political and economic potential of the CICA countries and their ability to influence world and regional processes have turned the CICA into one of the most important regional groups. The idea of convening the Conference belongs to Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and was announced at the 47th session of the U.N. General Assembly in October 1992. Its aim is to create an effective mechanism of preventive diplomacy in the Asian continent. Unlike other parts of the world, such mechanisms haven`t been formed in Asia as of yet.
German Medical Structures Hand Over Aid For 100,000 Euros
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, August 14: Berlin-Mitte and Moabit medical structures of Germany handed over humanitarian cargo for 100,000 euros to Sog`lom Avlod Uchun charity organisation. Cargo includes furniture for hospitals, medical equipment, clothes, footwear and toys. Significant part of cargo destined for Namangan and Khorezm branches of Scientific-Research Institute on obstetrics and gynaecology of Health Ministry. Consumer goods will be distributed to low-income families, living in remote regions of the country.
Former Chief Of Tajik Anti-drug Agency Makes Partial Confession - Lawyer
Interfax
Dushanbe, August 17: Former director of the Tajik Drug Control Agency, Lt. Gen. Gafar Mirzoyev, who is charged with illegal border crossings among other things, has partially confessed, his lawyer told a Tuesday news conference. `In our presence Mirzoyev partly recognized his responsibility for the charges brought against him. But he did not plead fully guilty under a single article [of the criminal code],` lawyer Kayum Yusupov said. Mirzoyev was arrested on August 6 and is charged with illegal border crossing, the evasion of tax and customs payments, abuse of power and illegal acquisition and possession of arms and ammunition.
Former Tajik Drug Czar Faces Formal Charges
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, August 16: Chief Military Prosecutor Yusuf Rahmonov officially charged former Drug Control Agency head Ghaffor Mirzoev on 16 August under five articles of the Criminal Code, ITAR-TASS reported. The charges include procuring and stockpiling arms, and abuse of office. `The accusation that [Mirzoev] is suspected of murdering a chief of one of the regional police departments in 1998 is still being investigated,` Rahmonov said. Also on 16 August, Mirzoev`s lawyers were allowed to meet with their client for the first time since his arrest on 6 August, Asia Plus-Blitz reported.
Large Consignment Of Drugs Seized On Tajik-Afghan Border
Interfax
Dushanbe, August 15: Russian border guards have prevented an attempt to smuggle a large consignment of drugs from Afghanistan to Tajikistan, the press service of the Federal Security Service`s border department in Tajikistan told Interfax on Monday. The drugs were seized on Sunday from four armed smugglers who were planning to reach Tajik territory by the river Pyanj. They opened fire at the border guards when they were told to surrender
Book Highlights Human Trafficking Problem In Tajikistan
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, August 19: Karim Soliev, a staff member at the academy of Tajikistan`s Interior Ministry, presented a book on 19 August with practical recommendations for fighting human trafficking in Tajikistan, Avesta reported. He noted that the Interior Ministry`s Department for Fighting Racketeering, Kidnapping, and Human Trafficking has opened 14 criminal cases since its creation on 28 April. Frederick Chenais, who heads the International Migration Organization`s mission in Tajikistan, told attendees at the book presentation that human trafficking is an increasingly serious problem in Tajikistan and Central Asia.
9,000 Turkmen Citizens And Foreigners Will Be Amnestied
Interfax
Ashgabat, August 19: A total of 9,000 Turkmen citizens and foreigners currently serving prison sentences for minor offences in the country`s prisons will be amnestied on the night of November 9-10, Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov said in a televised address. The amnesty will reduce the country`s prison inmate population to 6,500, Niyazov said. A final decision on the amnesty issue will be made at a People`s Council session in October, the president said, adding this amnesty will not apply to `traitors, enemies of the people, murderers, criminals who caused major damage to the state and repeat offenders.` The planned amnesty campaign will come in compliance with the law, passed on December 29, 1999, which allows the country`s authorities to amnesty or pardon people convicted of minor offences every year ahead of the end of the Holy Month of Ramadan. Those amnestied have to swear on the Koran, bread and the president`s book Rukhnama that they will never commit crimes in the future in a ceremony which is frequently broadcast by the country`s television.
Newspaper Office Attacked In S. Kazakhstan
Interfax
Taraz, August 17: Vandals threw molotov cocktails through the windows into the office of the non-government weekly Yuzhny Ekspress early on Tuesday in Taraz, south Kazakhstan. A source in local law enforcement told Interfax that newspaper workers coming to the office in the morning discovered broken windows and spilled gasoline. The molotov cocktails failed to cause a major fire in the building. Zharylkasyn Nuraliyev, the editor of the weekly, told Interfax that the attack may have been a response to the coverage of the election campaign or to certain publications about the local criminal community.
Experts Come Up With Solutions For Dangerous Uranium Dumps
IRIN News
Osh, August 19: Efforts to rehabilitate some 23 uranium dumps in southern Kyrgyzstan came to a head on Thursday following a meeting of some 15 international organisations, NGOs, local authorities and environmental groups in the southern Kyrgyz town of Mailu-Suu. Organised by the Kyrgyz emergency ministry and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the event coincided with a meeting of the Kyrgyz and Uzbek working groups on the rehabilitation of mine dumps in the area, a long standing legacy of the former Soviet Union. The two groups assessed how ongoing activities by specialists from both countries were proceeding, with a particular emphasis on safeguarding the facilities. `Both dialogues are very important in terms of ensuring the environmental safety of not only southern Kyrgyzstan but the wellbeing of the [entire] Ferghana Valley, a significant part of Central Asia,` Tilek Akambaev, Mailuu-Suu`s mayor, told IRIN, noting the majority of dumps fell under his jurisdiction. Landslides are the greatest threat to the uranium dumps, particularly in the Tectonic, Koi-Tash and Izolit areas around the town. From 1946 to 1968, more than 10,000 mt of uranium ore was extracted from the Mailuu-Suu uranium mine and processed at local plants in the area. According to the Kyrgyz emergency ministry, there are some 2 million cu metres of radioactive waste currently being stored in 23 dumps and 13 tailings in the area. Strapped by a lack of funds to effectively address the problem, following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, local authorities had been unable to properly secure the dumps, Ashir Abdullaev, an environmental protection official for the Mailuu-Suu municipality, told IRIN. According to international and local experts, the most vulnerable dumps are those named respectively No 3, 5 and 7. `The dumps are very fragile structures - trenches with a pit filled with clay, gravel and sand, covered just with soil,` Biymyrza Toktoraliev, a Kyrgyz ecology scientist, told IRIN, noting the constant risk of landslides and flooding. As part of Thursday`s coordination meeting, World Bank and emergency ministry officials presented a project on mitigating the threat of a possible disaster, providing community awareness and local involvement in the process, Aleksandr Meleshko, an emergency ministry official responsible for the uranium dumps, told IRIN. Repair of roads damaged earlier by recent landslides, rehabilitation of water supply systems in the suburbs of Sary-Biya and Kok-Tash and the involvement of local companies and experts in the rehabilitation effort was also discussed. Earlier in July, the World Bank signed a grant agreement with the Bishkek government for implementation of the project worth some US $11.7 million. But while actual rehabilitation work is not expected to start until October of this year, Kyrgyz experts emphasised the need to take preventative steps around the landslide-prone Tectonic area threatening dump No 3 first.
Soyuz-TMA-5 Delivered To Baikonur
Interfax
Baikonur, August 17: A Soyuz-TMA-5 spaceship was delivered to the Baikonur space center in the early hours of Tuesday. Later today, the spaceship will be placed in the assembly-and-test building of Baikonur`s launch pad No. 254, where it will undergo preparations for the launch, the space center told Interfax. The Soyuz-TMA-5 is expected to blast off on its piloted mission to the International Space Station on October 9. It will take off from the first launch pad.
Special Focus
Generational Change Occurs Amid Political Infighting Within Azerbaijan`s Ruling Party
This summer has been a volatile political season for Azerbaijan. President Ilham Aliyev appears intent on promoting generational change within the ruling establishment. But there are signs that the old guard will not go quietly.
To read more, click on the link:
http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav081604.shtmlDeadlock In Russia: An Incremental Gain For Russia
Recent events in the Republic of Georgia that have raised tensions between Russia and the United States illustrate the complexity of relations that great powers encounter when they seek to tip the balance of power in their favor.
To read more, click on the link:
http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/pp081604.shtmlRogue Elements Blamed For South Ossetia Violence
The clashes erupted just 40 minutes after the Joint Control Commission -- the four-party body in charge of monitoring a 12-year-old Georgian-South Ossetian peace agreement -- had agreed on steps to defuse tensions in the separatist region.
To read more, click on the link:
http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/pp081804.shtmlAn American `Millennium Challenge` Faces A Test In Turbulent Georgia
The United States intends to use Georgia as a proving ground for a new foreign aid strategy. Whether or not Tbilisi can take full advantage of the US-backed Millennium Challenge Account program remains questionable given that Georgia is fast becoming entangled in another round of separatist conflict.
To read more, click on the link:
http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/business/articles/eav081904.shtmlUzbekistan And The Evolving IMU
The synchronized, suicide bomber attacks against the American and Israeli embassies in Tashkent on July 30 reveal a number of disturbing realities. The first is that some issues in Central Asia, such as how governments liberalize their domestic policies, have changed only in the realm of rhetoric. Another reality, based on the target selection of the suicide attacks, indicate the involvement of the once brow-beaten Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) -- however, with a new twist from its original strategic mandate.
To read more, click on the link:
http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/pp082004.shtmlGeorgian Film: Still Waiting For A ComebackTwo years ago, hopes ran high that Georgia`s once-celebrated film industry was finally on the cusp of a comeback. Now, with little sign of an economic upturn in sight, filmmakers tend to be pessimistic about the future. Many are hoping the beleaguered and distracted Georgian government will come to the rescue.
To read more, click on the link:
http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/culture/articles/eav082004.shtml
Report dated 20 August 2004