15th Session Of Oliy Majlis Of Uzbekistan Ends Work
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, August 27: 15th session of Oliy Majlis (parliament) of second convocation ended in Tashkent on 27 August. President of Uzbekistan participated in the work of the session. Second day of the session started with consideration of Bill `On recall of deputy of local Council of People`s Deputies, deputy of Legislative Chamber and member of Senate of Oliy Majlis`. Speaking on the bill, President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov said it was aimed at protection of MPs and senators. Deputies and senators are representatives of their voters and regions, as well as all countries. As state workers, they should take into account national interests. MPs passed the law in the first reading. Bill `On Oliy Majlis human rights representative (ombudsman)` was presented by Ombudsman of Oliy Majlis on human rights Sayyora Rashidova.
Observers Say Kazakh Election Commission Breaking Rules
Interfax
Almaty, August 26: Independent observers claim to have uncovered violations in the activities of Kazakhstan`s election commissions. `Many election commissions still work behind closed doors, and in some cases observers have been barred entry to commission sessions, or have not been able to obtain accurate information about scheduling,` Murat Tungishbayev, the project director on election observation of the Republican Chain of Independent Observers Association, told a press conference in Almaty. Also, many commissions do not give observers a copy of their meetings` minutes, he said. The association has monitored election commissions in 11 regions and the cities of Almaty, Astana and Semipalatinsk. The violations also included instances of interference by the executive branch in the work of election commissions, Tungishbayev said.
Uzbek Parliament Starts Session In Tashkent
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, August 25: Oliy Majlis (parliament) of Uzbekistan gathered in Tashkent on 26 August. The fifteenth session of Oliy Majlis of the second convocation will consider the following issues: 1. Implementation of the State Budget of Uzbekistan in the first half of 2004; 2. Forecasts of main macroeconomic indices and parameters of State Budget of Uzbekistan for 2005; 3. Bill `On export control` (second reading); 4. Bill `On counteraction to legalisation of incomes received from criminal activity, and financing of terrorism` (second reading); 5. Bill `On farms` (first reading); 6. Bill `On treasury implementation of the State Budget`; 7. Bill `On status of deputy of Legislative Chamber and members of Senate of Oliy Majlis`; 8. Bill `On status of deputy of regional, district and city Councils of People`s Deputies`; 9. Bill On `On recall of deputy of local Council of People`s Deupties, deputy of Legislative Chamber and member of Senate of Oliy Majlis` 10. Bill `On Oliy Majlis human rights representative (ombudsman)` (first reading); 11. On changes and amendments to legislative acts of Uzbekistan.
Kazakh Election Head Decries Commission No Shows
Radio Free Europe
Astana, August 25: Central Electoral Commission head Zagipa Balieva told an international conference on the country`s electoral system in Almaty on 25 August that political parties are shirking participation in local-election commissions, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported. She said that 199 representatives of political parties are skipping sessions. `They have to be replaced by teachers, doctors, and people from public-sector organizations,` Balieva said. Under the country`s new election law, political parties, public associations, and higher-level election commissions nominate candidates to serve on seven-member local-election commissions, which are then formed by local assemblies.
Press Freedom Under Pressure In Tajikistan - Association Head
Interfax
Dushanbe, August 25: Tajik Independent Press Association chairman Nuriddin Karshiboyev believes the country`s authorities are deliberately limiting the activity of independent media. `The authorities` pressure on freedom of speech is increasing as the parliamentary elections draw nearer,` Karshiboyev told Interfax on Wednesday. This pressure is seen in the closure of the Dzhienkhon printing house and the seizure of an issue of the newspaper Nerui Sukhan by tax authorities on August 18, he said. Three other independent opposition newspapers, Nadzhot, Ruzinav, and Odamu Olam, were not printed, and so they were not delivered to readers, he said.
Kazakh Information Minister Steps Aside For Elections
Radio Free Europe
Astana, August 24: Information Minister Altynbek Sarsenbaev, who is also the co-chairman of the moderate opposition party Ak Zhol, announced on 24 August that he is temporarily stepping aside from his ministerial post in the lead up to the 19 September parliamentary elections, Kazinform reported. Deputy Minister Oleg Ryabchenko will take over Sarsenbaev`s duties as minister for the duration.
Turkmen Religious Board Removes Mufti
Radio Free Europe
Ashgabat, August 24: Turkmenistan`s Religious Board has removed chief mufti Kakageldi Vepaev, Turkmen TV reported on 24 August. The report said that Vepaev was relieved `for serious shortcomings in carrying out religious work and for mistakes made in life.` Vepaev was named mufti in January 2003 (see `RFE/RL Newsline,` 8 January 2003). The board unanimously elected Rovshen Allaberdiyev to replace him.
Volume Two Of Rukhnama Debuts
Radio Free Europe
Ashgabat, August 24: The second volume of Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov`s spiritual guide, the `Rukhnama,` debuted on 23 August with public readings in the country`s parliament, Turkmen TV reported. Official site turkmenistan.ru reported on 24 August that those present `held their breath, hearkening to every word of a book that yet further broadens our understanding of the unbounded spiritual world of the Turkmen, their moral precepts, and traditions of worldly wisdom.` Completed in 2001, the first volume of Niyazov`s `Rukhnama,` or `book of the soul,` is a compulsory part of school curriculums and a fixture of Turkmen life under the mercurial president.
Tajik Opposition Paper Seeks New Printers
Radio Free Europe
Ashgabat, August 24: The newspapers `Ruzi Nav` and `Najot,` the print organ of the Islamic Renaissance Party, continue to experience difficulties finding a printer after the closure of the Jiyonkhon printing house on 18 August, Avesta reported on 24 August. Tax police sealed Jiyonkhon in the course of a dispute over the print run of independent newspaper `Nerui Sukhan` (see `RFE/RL Newsline,` 20 August 2004). `Najot` editor in chief Abduqahhor Davlatov told the news agency that the newspaper is looking for a private printer after the state-owned Sharqi Ozod printing house turned them away.
CIS Observers Of Kazakhstani Elections
Kabar Agency
Astana, August 24: Vladimir Rushailo led the CIS mission of observers of elections to mazhilis. On August 23, Zagipa Baliyevam chairwoman of Central Election Committee of RK handed an observer`s accreditation to the chairman of the executive committee, the executive secretary of CIS. Over 100 people from CIS will observe the elections. They are the officials of CIS embassies in Kazakhstan, representatives of Inter Parliamentary CIS Assemble, deputies of Union of Belarus and Russia. The participation of members of Inter State Council of Eurasian Economic Community into observation is being discussed now. Most of observers will arrive 2-3 days before elections.
Jailed Kyrgyz Opposition Leader Eligible For Parole In Late 2005
Radio Free Europe
Bishkek, August 23: Vladimir Nosov, head of Kyrgyzstan`s penal system, told a news conference on 23 August in Bishkek that imprisoned opposition leader Feliks Kulov will be eligible for parole on 12 November 2005, Kabar news agency reported. Nosov said that the news conference was necessitated by erroneous reports that Kulov might be eligible for early release this summer. Nosov explained that Kulov initially received a seven-year sentence on 22 January 2001. On 8 May 2002, Kulov received an additional nine-year sentence. The two sentences were eventually aggregated into a single 10-year sentence with time served calculated from 26 July 2001. That sentence was later reduced by one-third, or two years, seven months, and 28 days. Thus, Kulov will have served two-thirds of his sentence, making him eligible for parole, after 12 November 2005.
Kazakh E-voting System Passes Final Test
Radio Free Europe
Astana, August 23: Kazakhstan`s Central Electoral Commission announced on 23 August that the Saylau electronic-voting system has passed its final test and proved itself technically reliable before its expected debut in the 19 September parliamentary elections, Khabar TV reported. The final test involved a mock vote with 30 voters and the transfer of data between Almaty and Astana. Commission Chairwoman Zagipa Balieva said that the system, which still requires the final approval of a state commission, will continue to function in test mode until 15 September.
Georgian Opposition Announces Referendum Plans
Radio Free Europe
Tbilisi, August 23: Shalva Natelashvili, chairman of the opposition Labor Party, told journalists in Tbilisi on 23 August that his party will begin next month collecting signatures in support of its demand to hold a referendum on whether the Georgian leadership should resign, Georgian media reported. Natelashvili accused the Georgian government of `criminal military activity, economic shortsightedness, and geopolitical blindness.` He deplored in particular President Saakashvili`s decision to launch a military offensive in South Ossetia despite calls for restraint by the United States, Russia, and the EU. The Labor Party has three deputies in the Georgian parliament, all elected from single-mandate constituencies; it lost an appeal to the Constitutional Court to annul as fabricated the official results of the 28 March parliamentary ballot according to which it polled 6.1 percent of the vote, less than the minimum 7 percent required to win parliamentary representation under the proportional system.
Kazakh Party Suggests Naming Town Of Kapchagai After Former Communist Party Leader
Interfax
Almaty, August 23: Ak Zhol (Bright Path) Party of Kazakhstan has suggested naming the town of Kapchagai in the Almaty region after former First Secretary of the Kazakh Communist Party Central Committee Dinmukhamed Kunayev. `Our party wants to rename the town of Kapchagai into the town of Kunayev. We will put forward the proposal at the appropriate departments,` Ak Zhol Cochairman Bolat Abilov told a Monday press conference in Almaty. Kunayev headed the Kazakh Communist Party Central Committee in 1960-62 and 1964-86. He died in August 1993 at the age of 81.
NATO Chief To Visit Uzbekistan In September
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, August 27: Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation will visit Uzbekistan in mid-September, Uzbek President Islam Karimov told journalists in Tashkent. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer will visit the country within his tour to the region on 17-20 September, Islam Karimov said. According to the President, the aim of visit is to discuss a wide ranger of issues, including terrorism, rehabilitation of Afghanistan and assistance to International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan (ISAF).
Georgia Tells Russian Ships Not To Enter Abkhaz Waters
Interfax
Tbilisi, August 27: The Georgian border service has asked its Russian counterpart to warn the captains of Russian vessels to refrain from entering Georgian territorial waters off the coast of Abkhazia, a Thursday press release from the border service says. The service sent an official letter to the North Caucasian department of the Russian Border Service saying that `possible ship movement in Abkhaz territorial waters must be agreed upon with the Georgian side.` `Otherwise such movements will be regarded as blatant violations of shipping rules,` the press release says. It says the letter was prompted by an increasing number of illegal movements of ships in the Abkhaz section of Georgian territorial waters.
Georgia Completes Training 1st Reservist Battalion
Interfax
Tbilisi, August 27: A Georgian reservist battalion on Friday finished a month-long training course at the Defense Ministry`s Osiauri base in the Kaspi district located near the separatist region of South Ossetia. The 350-strong reservist battalion underwent intensive training under the command of instructors, who had earlier been trained by American military instructors, the Georgian Defense Ministry told Interfax. `The battalion is quite combat-ready, and other reservist battalions will soon be set up as well,` Defense Minister Giorgi Baramidze told the press after visiting the reservists` final exercises.
Armenia, China Discuss Military Cooperation
Radio Free Europe
Yerevan, August 26: Major General Jiang Lihua, deputy head of the Chinese Defense Ministry`s Foreign Relations Department, met in Yerevan on 26 August with Armenian Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian to discuss how to expand bilateral military cooperation, RFE/RL`s Armenian Service reported. Sarkisian thanked Beijing for the assistance it has provided to the Armenian military. That aid includes the training in Chinese military academies of 10 Armenian military personnel. Sarkisian also announced that Armenian President Robert Kocharian will visit China in September.
Uzbek President Promises Largescale Joint Exercises With Russia
Radio Free Europe
Tashkent, August 26: President Karimov also told journalists that Uzbekistan and Russia will hold large-scale military exercises in Uzbekistan next year, Uzbek TV reported on 26 August. `What is at issue is not a routine exercise but a very serious one, which will be held at our new training ground in Forish [in central Uzbekistan],` he stressed. `This fact is further proof that there is a high level of trust between the armed forces of Uzbekistan and Russia.` Karimov also praised the Russian business presence in Uzbekistan, ITAR-TASS reported.
Saakashvili Wants Russian Testing Range In Ajaria Closed
Interfax
Batumi, August 26: Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said that the Russian military should hand over to Georgia the testing range in Gonio, which is located several kilometers outside of Batumi, Ajaria. `The Russian military should leave the testing range in Gonio, otherwise we will raise the issue acutely next year,` he told a meeting of the Georgian Cabinet in Batumi on Thursday. He said it was impermissible for Russian troops to use a resort area as a shooting range. The testing range of the Russian base in Gonio is located near the Gonio fortress, which is considered an historical monument.
Peacekeepers Holding Exercise In Georgian-Abkhaz Conflict Zone
Interfax
Sukhumi, August 26: Peacekeeping forces in Georgia`s breakaway region of Abkhazia are holding a command post exercise (CPX) to practice accomplishment of missions in the framework of their mandate and the Moscow Agreement on Ceasefire and Separation of the Parties of May 14, 1994. `In accordance with an approved plan, the exercise started on Monday and will last until August 29. The event involves all peacekeeping units. Commander of the Collective Peacekeeping Forces Lieutenant General Alexander Yevteyev is in charge of the CPX,` a spokesman for the unified HQ of the forces told Interfax-Military News Agency. On the first day of the event, the peacekeepers practiced such combat training elements as personnel notification on putting units on various stages of alert, medical aid provision to affected people, evacuation of the wounded, and arrangement of interaction with local authorities and uniformed agencies.
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili Appoints New Chief Of Georgia`s General Staff
Itar-Tass
Tbilisi, August 25: Vakhtang Kapanadze has been appointed chief of Georgia`s General Staff, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said. Speaking at a government session in Batumi on Wednesday, Saakashvili said, `Georgia`s army is introducing a principally new structure laying on NATO standards that is why the General Staff will be led by officers who underwent training in Western military schools.` Kapanadze graduated from the U.S. military academy. Mamuka Nikolainishvili and David Nairashvili have been appointed his deputies. `They are officers with Western military education. They should create new armed forces,` Saakashvili said. In his words, former chief of General Staff Givi Iukuridze `has done what he can do. Now we need the full reorganisation of the General Staff.`
Georgia Seeks Army Of Reservists As Border Tensions Rise
Interfax
Batumi, August 25: Georgia is to establish a reserve army comprised of part-time soldiers, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said on Wednesday. `These forces will comprise all Georgian citizens who are physically fit to perform these duties,` Saakashvili told a Cabinet session held in Batumi on Wednesday. Georgia, whose relations with neighbor Russia have deteriorated recently over the breakaway region of South Ossetia, already has a conscription army like in Russia. But it was unclear as to whether Saakashvili`s plans include mandatory terms of service in the new reserve army for the wider population or for those who have already completed their initial conscription service in the regular army. Georgia does not want a war and is not preparing for it, but `the need to protect the country is relevant today and will be relevant in a decade or a century,` he said. `As a state we are ready to provide all people with uniforms and weapons, should it prove necessary. But they (weapons - Interfax) will be kept at police stations. Every reservist will undergo training once or twice a year in order to put on a uniform and study the mobilization plan,` the president said. Reservists will be trained to deal `with both defense issues and emergency situations that might take place in the country,` Saakashvili said.
Russia Denies Report Of Military Buildup Near Georgia
Interfax
Moscow, August 25: The Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday dismissed as `inventions` and `unfounded statements` allegations by Georgian politicians that Russia has moved more troops to the vicinity of the Georgian border. A current Russian army exercise, which has been interpreted in Georgia as preparations for an invasion of the country`s breakaway region of South Ossetia, is a routine operation that was planned in 2003 and `has nothing to do with current events around Tskhinvali,` ministry spokesman Col. Vyacheslav Sedov told Interfax. The exercise is being held at a training ground in North Ossetia, a Russian region bordering South Ossetia, he said. `Maybe it is seen in Georgia as a large-scale exercise, but for Russia it is part of daily routine,` he said. Meanwhile, the chairman of the Defense and National Security Committee of the Georgian parliament, Givi Targamadze, urged his country to prepare for a Russian attack. `It appears that we cannot avoid Russian aggression, and so we must stop it, which is by no means an unfeasible task if one takes into account the Chechen experience,` Targamadze told a news conference in Tbilisi.
25 U.S.-made Mines Discovered In S. Ossetia - Tskhinvali Officials
Interfax
Moscow, August 24: Peacekeepers monitoring the self- proclaimed republic of South Ossetia have located trip wires and U.S.- made mines in the area, Irina Gagloyeva, head of the South Ossetian press and information committee, told Interfax by telephone on Tuesday. `More than ten trip wires were discovered in the area of the Tskhinvali bypass road, from where Georgian servicemen were withdrawn. Twenty-five U.S.-made mines were found in Georgian villages (in South Ossetia - Interfax). Sappers are currently working to defuse the found ammunition,` Gagloyeva said.
Armenia, Russia Launch Annual Wargames
Radio Free Europe
Yerevan, August 24: Hundreds of Armenian and Russian troops began a three-day military exercise near Yerevan on 24 August, ITAR-TASS and RFE/RL`s Armenian Service reported. The object of the maneuvers, in which troops will deploy tanks and helicopter gunships and fire live ammunition, is to improve the interoperability of the two countries` armed forces. The Armenian armed forces chief of general staff, Colonel General Mikael Harutiunian, told RFE/RL that such exercises have been held on an annual basis over the past few years and are not directed against any third country.
Baku-Ceyhan Pipeline Security Exercises Underway
Interfax
Baku, August 23: Headquarters exercises involving Azerbaijani, Georgian and Turkish servicemen have begun in Azerbaijan, the press service of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry told Interfax on Monday. `The objective of the exercises is to check security issues of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline,` the press service said. `This is a planned event that has been held annually beginning in 2000,` the press service said.
Peacekeepers, OSCE Observers Start Monitoring Situation Around Tskhinvali
Interfax
Tskhinvali, August 23: Representatives of the Joint Control Commission, OSCE observers and Russian peacekeepers on Monday started examining the area around Tskhinvali, where the fiercest fights took place last week, a commission spokesman told Interfax-Military News Agency. The peacekeepers and OSCE observers will check the hills where Georgian servicemen were previously stationed and about 10 villages, the spokesman said. The monitoring involves commission officials representing all parties to the commission, namely Russia, Georgia and South Ossetia. They are to check whether all armed formations, except peacekeeping forces, have been withdrawn from the conflict zone.
Peacekeepers In S. Ossetia Will Disarm Militia
Interfax
Yerevan, August 22: Russian peacekeepers deployed in South Ossetia plan to collect weapons from militia units in Ossetian and Georgian villages in the self-proclaimed republic. `As soon as the withdrawal of Georgian troops that took part in an operation to capture heights near Tskhinvali is completed, peacekeepers will start to collect weapons from militia units in Ossetian and Georgian villages in the conflict zone to ensure security in the region,` Major General Svyatoslav Nabzdorov, commander of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces in the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict zone, told Interffax-Military News Agency on Friday. `Except for peacekeepers and law enforcement officials, there should be no other armed people in the region,` he said.
Uzbek Blasts Organisers Are In Pakistan - Uzbek Head
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, August 27: Organisers and masterminds of recent terrorism acts in Uzbekistan are located in Pakistan, the President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov said at his interview during the break of parliament`s session. He said that terrorism attacks were developed in ordnance yard, where organisers and masterminds of terrorism acts had been located. `We know that in this case they are located in Southern Wazaristan (Pakistan). This is proved,` Karimov declared. Islam Karimov said that attacks in March-April and at the end of June were commanded by single group.
SCO RATS Could Not Prevent Blasts, Says Uzbek President
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, August 27: Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation did not contribute to prevent Uzbek blasts, President Islam Karimov said. He noted that RATS was at a formation stage and it was too early to speak about its effectiveness. To maintain work of RATS, it has to collect the information database and analyse it to develop a model of joint works to prevent acts of terrorism. So far, RATS has not reached the level when it can prevent terrorist attacks and it is early to demand this from the structure, the President stated.
Some CA Countries Not Fighting Terrorism - Karimov
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, August 27: President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov said that neighbouring countries demonstrate weakness in fight against terrorism. The head of the state noted that after the terrorist acts in Uzbekistan, terrorists escaped to neighbouring countries, where they found protection. These countries do not take measures to strengthen their borders, he said, adding that this can be explained by either lack of money or will. Some have mooed not to fight Islamic groups, including Hizb ut-Tahrir, in order not to create `problems for themselves` and allow to use their territory as transit. Karimov reminded that these groups aimed to create a Caliphate in Ferghana Valley, which also includes three regions of Kyrgyzstan (Batken, Osh and Jalalabad) and Tajikistan (Leninabad). The President urged neighbouring countries to stop playing games with these groups for the sake of the region`s people.
One Mastermind Planned Uzbek Bombings - Karimov
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, August 26: President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov said July blasts in Tashkent were linked to spring bombings in Tashkent and Bukhara. He said that one mastermind controlled organisation of explosions in Uzbekistan. Karimov said that each terrorist act was preliminarily modulated at an ordnance sites. He said that these sites may be located in a neighbouring country. The centre, which commanded the bombings, is located in Southern Waziristan (Pakistan). `This has been proved,` the President said.
Some EU Countries Encourage Islamic Groups - President
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, August 26: Uzbek President called on some countries of the European Union to wake up and take resolute measures against terrorist organisations operating on their territories. 9/11 attacks in the United States waked up some European Union states, but not all, Islam Karimov said. In particular, he said that Hizb ut-Tahrir was legally operating in London. The organisation`s ideologist lives in London, gathers funds and hires lawyers and editors to show the organisation as a `lamb`, the President said. At the same time, he asked why Germany, which is a member of NATO and the EU, banned this group. Is it so difficult to organise a seminar or a colloquium in the EU to discuss who is right - Germany, which banned the group, or London, which encourages it, Karimov said.
Uzbek President Says Europe Needs To Tackle Hizb Ut Tahrir
Radio Free Europe
Tashkent, August 26: President Islam Karimov told journalists in Tashkent on 26 August that European countries need to take more stringent measures to deal with Hizb ut-Tahrir, Uzbek Television reported. He delivered the remarks during a break in the opening session of Uzbekistan`s parliament. `Take London, for example, where Hizb ut-Tahrir has its headquarters,` RFE/RL`s Uzbek Service quoted Karimov as saying. `Party members go about their business unimpeded, collecting money, hiring lawyers, and spreading their views. They put articles in the paper that Hizb ut-Tahrir is a little lamb that harms no one. Then why is it banned in Germany? It would be good if the countries in the European Union got together and resolved this issue.` Karimov also stated that those responsible for recent terror attacks in Uzbekistan are `zombies and fanatics` who have used training facilities in Pakistan`s southern Waziristan Province, Interfax reported.
Alleged Uzbek Attackers Face Sentences Of 9-20 Years
Interfax
Tashkent, August 25: The prosecution asked for prison terms of nine to 20 years for 13 men and two women accused of organizing bombings and shootings in Uzbekistan in spring 2004 that claimed 47 lives, including those of 33 attackers, and injured 35 people. `The main organizers of the terrorist acts [] were killed in the course of a special operation,` prosecutor Murad Salikhov told the Uzbek Supreme Court. The trial opened on July 26. Offenses the defendants are charged with include murder under aggravating circumstances, terrorism, religious extremism, violent seizure of weapons and ammunition, manufacture and possession of explosives, contraband, dissemination of leaflets urging the overthrow of the government, political destabilization, enrollment of minors in religious organizations and trying to instill ideas of religious extremism, separatism and fanaticism in them. The prosecution asked for 20-year sentences for four of the accused, for a 13-year prison term for one of the women and for a nine- year term for the other.
Fifteen Found Guilty Of Terrorism In Uzbekistan
Interfax
Tashkent, August 24: Fifteen people have been found guilty of organizing a series of terrorist attacks in Uzbekistan in March-April 2004 and were sentenced to lengthy prison terms. The trial started on July 26 and was completed at the Uzbek Supreme Court on Tuesday. The defendants were charged with organizing the attacks in the capital and the Tashkent and Bukhara regions last spring. Deputy Supreme Court Chairman Bakhtiyer Dzhamalov, who presided over the trial, sentenced the 15 defendants to 6 to 18 years in prison. The defendants were originally charged under 18 articles of the Uzbek Criminal Court, but some of the charges were later dropped for lack of evidence. The 15 were found guilty of terrorism, religious extremism, manufacturing explosive devices and illegal weapons possession. The court also found them guilty of distributing leaflets calling for the overthrow of the legitimate authorities, destabilizing the country, and professing ideas of religious extremism, separatism, and fanaticism among minors. `The court also took into consideration the fact that the defendants admitted their guilt, cooperated with investigative agencies, and asked that their sentences be as lenient as possible,` Dzhamalov said. Two of the defendants, Furkat Yusupov and Farkhad Kazakbayev, who the prosecutor asked to sentence to 20 years in prison, have been given 18 years. Abdunosir Zulfikarov, who the prosecutor wanted to see behind bars for 20 years, was given 16 years. Khikmatulla Eshmatov, who had a previous criminal record and was paroled in 2003, and who the prosecutor asked to sentence to 20 years, received 16 years. Kamila Kayumova was given 10 years, and Ikbol Tashpultova received 6 years, although the prosecutor requested that they be imprisoned for 13 and 9 years respectively. The series of terrorist attacks from March 28 to April 1, 2004, killed 47 people, including 33 terrorists, and injured another 35.
Kazakh, Uzbek Law Enforcement Bodies Hold Joint Investigation
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, August 22: Law enforcement bodies of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are holding joint investigation on latest terrorist attacks in Tashkent, Kazakh Foreign Ministry said. The ministry said it had no concrete facts to comment on, but that information on the investigation would be circulated after the investigation finishes. This week trial over 15 persons accused in participation in terrorist acts in Tashkent and Bukhara this spring identified one suicide-bomber that blasted himself at the General Prosecutors` Office in the end of June. The suicide-bomber`s name was Avaz Shoyusupov and he was a citizen of Kazakhstan.
Uzbekistan Plans To Get US$0.5bn From Gas Exports
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, August 26: Uzbekistan is planning to receive US$0.5 billion of profit from gas exports in 2004, President Islam Karimov said at the session of the parliament on Thursday. He noted that income from gas exports would reach US$1-1.5 billion after the country starts exporting gas to western countries in cooperation with Russia. Karimov said that 1 cubic metre of gas price in Europe was US$120-150, while Uzbekistan sells 1 cubic metre at the price of US$40. He called to start investing in oil and gas sector now, so that in the next 10 years the country could receive yields of these investments.
Russian Carrier To Acquire Kazakhstan Operator
Kazakhstan News
Moscow, August 26: Russian wireless carrier VimpelCom announced it has won a tender against international bidders to purchase KaR-Tel, the second-largest cellular operator in Kazakhstan, for $350 million plus assumption of approximately $75 million in debt. KaR-Tel holds a national GSM 900 MHz license and currently serves approximately 600,000 subscribers, representing a 31-percent market share in Kazakhstan, according to company estimates. Recognizing the benefits of local expertise, VimpelCom said it is also in discussions with a Kazakh partner to sell for cash at the same pricing terms as paid by VimpelCom a minority interest of up to 50 percent minus one share in KaR-Tel. VimpelCom intends to retain control of KaR-Tel, with no less than 50-percent plus one share ownership. The closing of both the purchase of KaR-Tel by VimpelCom and the sale of a stake in KaR-Tel to a partner are expected to occur in the second half of 2004.
IMF Forecasts Annual 5 per cent-6 per cent GDP Growth For Kyrgyzstan
Interfax
Bishkek, August 26: Kyrgyzstan`s could achieve economic growth of 5 per cent-6 per cent in the years to come, Tapio Saavalainen, head of an IMF mission that worked in Bishkek from August 13-25, said in the Kyrgyz capital. Real GDP growth averaged at nearly 4.5 per cent in 2002-2003 - not including the gold and energy sectors, which did not always work steadily, Saavalainen said. He said Kyrgyzstan reduced inflation to 10 per cent in 2001 and inflation had been below 5 per cent since 2002. The country has had a moderate current account deficit and the national currency, the som, has strengthened.
Kazakhstan Must Upgrade Tax Laws - WTO
Interfax
Almaty, August 26: Kazakhstan should continue to upgrade its tax laws and market access in order to enter the World Trade Organization, WTO Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi said after a meeting with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in Almaty on Thursday. Kazakhstan should also continue bilateral negotiations with WTO member-countries, Panitchpakdi said. The functioning of Kazakhstan`s agricultural businesses under new conditions is one of the most difficult subjects of the negotiations, he said. Panitchpakdi said he hopes Kazakhstan will enjoy easy terms for sensitive commodities in accession to the WTO. Kazakhstan has said that it wants to join the WTO together with Russia in 2005.
Kazakh Plans 2005 Budget Deficit Of 1.5 per cent Of GDP
Interfax
Astana, August 25: Kazakhstan plans a roughly 88 billion- tenge state budget deficit for 2005, that being 1.5 per cent of forecast GDP for next year, Economy and Budget Planning Minister Kairat Kelimbetov announced on Wednesday. Budget revenues are planned at 1.135 trillion tenge (19.4 per cent of GDP) and spending at 1.223 trillion tenge (20.9 per cent), Kelimbetov said as he presented the government with the budget draft. The draft 2005 budget figures average annual world oil prices of $32.9 per barrel.
Uzbekistan To Sell 25.6 per cent Of Tashkent Aircraft Plant By 2005
Interfax
Tashkent, August 25: Uzbekistan`s State Property Committee plans to host a tender seeking a foreign buyer for 25.6 per cent of the stock in Tashkent Chkalov Aviation Production Association state joint-stock company before this year ends, a committee source told Interfax. Documentation for the tender is being readied with the Russian investment company Finam`s assistance, one committee source said. Expectations are that all the tender materials will be submitted for the state tender commission to inspect before the end of September. The source said that Emerging Markets Finance Corp (United States) has recommended measures for restructuring the plant. He did not speak about the restructuring process per se, but said it is aimed at making the company more attractive to foreign investors. The state owns 51 per cent of the company`s stock, another 6.7 per cent belongs to the country`s agency for foreign economic ties and the National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity of the Republic of Uzbekistan and 10 per cent to the company workforce.
Gazprom To Prepare Karachaganak Contract By Sept 15
Interfax
Moscow, August 24: Russian gas giant Gazprom plans to prepare a final draft of a contract for gas supplies from the Karachaganak field in Kazakhstan to Orenburg Gas Processing Plant, containing a long-term price formula, by September 15. Gazprom said in a press release that this was decided at a meeting dealing with cooperation with Kazakhstan to process gas from Kazakh fields, chaired by Gazprom deputy CEOs Alexander Ryazanov and Yuri Komarov. Participants in this meeting discussed the pace of negotiations to prepare a long-term contract between Gazprom and OOO Orenburggazprom on one side and Karachaganak Integrated Company on the other. The contract deals with an increase from in supplies of gas from Karachaganak to Orenburg from 7 billion to 8.5 billion cubic meters per year from 2005. The participants discussed the readiness of the plant to receive and process the additional volume of gas and said that all the necessary work to make this possible would be carried out by the end of the year. Another topic discussed at the meeting was the setting up of a joint venture with the Kazakh side to upgrade Orenburg Gas Processing Plant to receive 15 bcm of gas a year from Karachaganak.
No Russian Eurobonds Trade On KASE Since Offered
Interfax
Astana, August 24: Since Russian eurobonds maturing in 2028 and 2030 started being offered on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) on August 11, there has not been a single deal involving them, head of investment portfolio management at TuranAlem Securities (the Russian eurobond market maker on the KASE) Zhasulan Bekzhigitov has told Interfax. `The situation on the market now with these bonds is still not completely explained. Potential participants, private investors in the main, that are more or less familiar with Russian instruments are still figuring out how interested they are,` Bekzhigitov said. TuranAlem Securities `has maximally narrowed spread to the level of international markets,` he said.
TengizChevroil Mulling Use Of Various Oil Export Routes
Interfax
Atyrau, August 24: The TengizChevroil joint venture is considering the possible transportation of oil via various export routes in the future. The company is considering the employment of an oil pipeline to link western Kazakhstan and China, which is currently under construction, TengizChevroil General Director Alexander Kornelius told a press conference in Atyrau on Tuesday. `We are considering the use of the Chinese pipeline in the future, and we hope we can find other ways to transport our oil to the world market` in addition to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, Kornelius said. `We are always interested in any routes for transportation,` he said. However, `no discussions have so far been held or steps made in this direction,` he said. TengizChevroil will closely follow the implementation of this project and make corresponding decisions later on, he said. At the same time, Kornelius said transporting oil through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) is currently the cheapest option for his company. He admitted that the CPC`s potential could grow more slowly than TengizChevroil`s oil production. `As far as I know, the CPC is considering the expansion of its resources, but we could finish our projects [to increase oil production] earlier than they do,` Kornelius said.
Armenian GDP Up 9.3 per cent In First 7 Months
IRNA
Yerevan, August 23: Armenia`s GDP increased 9.3 per cent year-on- year to 788.3 billion dram in January-July 2004, a source in the National Statistics Service told Interfax. In July this year GDP increased 10.4 per cent compared with June. According to the statistics, industrial production in Armenia amounted to 285.6 billion dram in the first seven months of the year, up 3.4 per cent year-on-year. Electricity production increased 15.4 per cent year-on- year to amount to 3.68 billion kWh in the reporting period. Foreign trade increased 2.8 per cent to $1.1 billion.
Uzbek President Hails Japan, Germany For Role In Afghanistan
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, August 27: Uzbek President Islam Karimov praised Japan for its role in Afghanistan`s reconstruction and assistance to Uzbekistan. Karimov underlined that Japan had issued US$1.82 billion soums to Uzbekistan, of which US$147 million was no string-aid. Two years ago, Japan committed to issue US$1.5 billion to Afghanistan at Tokyo conference. To date, the government earmarked US$427 million to this war-torn country, about half of which was no string-aid, Karimov said. The President also praised Germany for its contribution in solving the Afghan problem and called on other countries to support Afghanistan morally if they cannot do it financially. Karimov added that Uzbekistan enjoys good relations with Germany.
Afghan Foreign Minister To Pay Visit To Uzbekistan
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, August 27: A delegation of Interim government of Afghanistan led by Foreign Minister Abdollah Abdollah will visit Uzbekistan on 28-30 August. According to Uzbek Foreign Ministry`s press release, the visit is aimed at discussion of current state and perspectives of bilateral cooperation, further participation of Uzbek enterprises in rehabilitation of Afghanistan`s economy, political and economic cooperation of Afghanistan with Central Asian countries, fighting terrorism and drug trafficking. Uzbekistan pays important attention to firm and long-term peace in Afghanistan as an important factor of regional and international security, as well as implementation of Trans-Afghan transport corridor, construction of which will allow cardinally improve infrastructure of the whole region, the Foreign Ministry statement said. `Our country considers Afghanistan as an imprescriptible entity of Central Asian region, supports active participation of this country in regional integration processes,` the statement added. By proposing creation of a single Central Asian market, Uzbekistan is interested in implementation of this idea with Afghanistan`s participation, the Foreign Ministry said. Afghan delegation will hold negotiations with Deputy Prime Minister and chairman of Uzavtoyul state company Rustam Yunusov, chairman of the State Committee for Geology and Mineral Resources Nurmuhammad Ahmedov, Deputy Prime Minister and chairman of the Agency for Foreign Economic Relations Elyor Ghaniev and chairman of the State Customs Committee Bakhodir Matlyubov. The Afghan officials will also meet Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Rustam Azimov, Foreign Minister Sadyk Safaev and Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The delegation of Afghanistan will familiarise with exposition of the State History Museum and visit Beldersay recreation area. They will also participate in presentation of Hayraton-Mazar-i-Sharif railway construction project.
Firms Discuss Cross-border Gas Pipeline
Kazakhstan News
Astana, August 27: China and Kazakhstan are reviewing the possibility of building a pipeline to deliver natural gas from western Kazakhstan to Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on China`s western border, to satisfy the country`s increasing gas demands. The cross-border pipeline will connect to China`s west-east pipeline, which will transport 12 billion cubic metres of natural gas from Tarim Basin in Xinjiang to Shanghai, some 4,000 kilometres away. The Sino-Kazakhstan pipeline will allow China to secure gas fields in western Kazakhstan as back-up resources to China`s west-east pipeline. PetroChina, the nation`s largest oil and gas company, is set to start the commercial operation of the west-east project by the end of this year. But the company has not secured enough reserves to satisfy demand for 45 years - the designated tenure of the project. Insiders said to pipeline natural gas from Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan is an important step in meeting the long-term gas demands of the west-east pipeline project, should the Chinese company not be able to find more resources in coming years. The Sino-Kazakhstan gas pipeline project will cost billions of US dollars and may supply several billion cubic metres of gas, said sources close to the project. In the long term, the pipeline may extend further west towards Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, and may be connected with the pipeline grids of Russia and Iran, creating a `Pan-Asian Global Energy Bridge`. Insiders said, however, that the project is still premature, and it may take years to scrutinize its feasibility. The project has made little, if any, progress, after it was put forward several years ago. Experts are concerned that it is too expensive to pipe gas thousands of miles to Chinese markets.
Japan Signs Loan For Rail Line In Uzbekistan
Radio Australia News
Tashkent, August 27: Japan`s Foreign Minister, Yoriko Kawaguchi, has signed a $US150 million loan to Uzbekistan to help link Asia and Afghanistan`s rail systems. Japanese foreign ministry spokesman, Hatsuhisa Takashima, says the money will be spent on a mountainous 110-kilometre section of railway in the south of the central Asian nation. Mr Takashima says the project will also help Afghanistan to rebuild its economy. Uzbek officials have said they hope that eventually the railway will reach south through Afghanistan to Iran`s Gulf coast and east through Kyrgyzstan and China to the Pacific Ocean, creating a lucrative oil transit route.
Uzbek Parliament Ratifies Strategic Partnership Treaty With Russia
RIA Novosti
Tashkent, August 27: The Uzbek parliament has ratified the treaty on strategic partnership between Uzbekistan and Russia, which was signed by Russia and Uzbek Presidents Vladimir Putin and Islam Karimov on June 16, 2004. In compliance with this document, Russian-Uzbek strategic partnership aims at provision of mutual security, fight against global threats and challenges, consolidation of regional stability and expansion of political, economic and humanitarian cooperation. The treaty stipulates that the sides cooperation within the UN, OSCE and other multilateral international structures. Moreover, Russia and Uzbekistan are to hold bilateral consultations between security councils, foreign ministries and other interested departments to form a firm and effective regional security system in Central Asia. The treaty also implies military and military-technical cooperation on the basis of relevant agreements. If occasion requires the sides should give each other right to use their military objects to provide security, peace and stability. The Uzbek parliament has also ratified the agreement on the joint use of Russian and Uzbek air defense and air forces for air security purposes. The agreement was signed by defense ministers of the two countries on October 19, 2001 in Moscow. The document says that in danger the sides should hold consultations to coordinate their actions. In case of necessity the heads of state are to decide on the launch of the plan of joint use of air defense means and air force in compliance with the Russian and Uzbek legislation. The relevant agreement was concluded for five years and will be automatically prolonged for the following five-year periods if any of the sides does not secede from the agreement in the written form.
Qazvin Province, Kyrgyzstan To Bolster Economic Ties
IRNA
Bishkek, August 27: The Kyrgyz ambassador to Iran said here on Wednesday that his government`s economic relations with the Iranian province of Qazvin will be raised to a higher level in the near future. Medet Chokanovich Sadyrkulov made the remarks at a gathering of reporters during which he also announced that the governor-general of the province is slated to visit Kyrgyzstan to explore prospects for enhanced bilateral cooperation. Qazvin`s representative office in Bishkek was established through the initiative of the governor-general which has been instrumental in increasing trade between the two countries` businessmen, the ambassador said. He further said that in accordance with an agreement reached by the two sides in 1382, Qazvin has been able to hold two exclusive exhibitions in Bishkek.
Uzbek President Meets With Japanese Foreign Minister
Radio Free Europe
Tashkent, August 26: Karimov met with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi in Tashkent on 26 August, Uzbek TV reported. The report said that the two discussed economic relations and regional security. In remarks to journalists in Uzbekistan`s parliament, Karimov called Japan a `fair country` and praised Tokyo for its aid to Uzbekistan, Uzbek Radio reported. `As of today, the all-around assistance Japan has provided to Uzbekistan totals $1.828 billion, about $2 billion,` Karimov said. `A total of $147 million was allocated with no strings attached.` Kawaguchi also met with Uzbek Foreign Minister Sadyk Safaev, Uzbek TV reported. The two signed an air-transportation agreement and documents for Japan to provide a low-interest loan for railway construction.
Russia To Gain Control Of Tajik Power Station
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, August 26: Tajikistan`s Energy Ministry has announced that Russia and Tajikistan have reached a preliminary agreement for Russia to acquire a 51 percent stake in Tajikistan`s unfinished Sangtuda hydropower plant for $100 million, Avesta reported on 26 August. Tajik Energy Minister Jurabek Nurmahmadov hammered out the deal with Viktor Khristenko, his Russian counterpart, at a 24 August meeting in Moscow, a Tajik Energy Ministry spokesman told the news agency. Under the agreement, Sangtuda will undergo an independent assessment by 1 October with a subsequent share issue by 15 December.
Iran To Provide Armenia With Pipeline Credit
Interfax
Yerevan, August 26: Iran is to provide Armenia with a credit of $30 million to build the Armenian section of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline, Armenian Energy Minister Armen Movsisian told journalists on Wednesday. He said that the funds would be used to finance the construction of a pipeline from the border town of Agarak to Kajaran. The credit will be provided for 7.5 years at 5 per cent per year. `These conditions are acceptable to Armenia,` Movsisian said. He said that the credit would be paid back with supplies of electricity. He also said that construction of the Armenian section of the pipeline should begin before the end of 2004 and that work on the reconstruction and replacement of parts of the Kajaran-Yerevan pipeline would be financed by the Armenian side.
Kazakh President, WTO Head Meet
Radio Free Europe
Almaty, August 26: President Nursultan Nazarbaev met with World Trade Organization (WTO) General-Director Supachai Panitchpakdi in Almaty on 26 August to discuss Kazakhstan`s progress toward WTO membership, Khabar TV reported. After the meeting Panitchpakdi told journalists that once Kazakhstan becomes a WTO member, the country`s agricultural sector may be eligible for allowances to allow it to compete on equal terms with foreign producers, `Kazakhstan Today` reported. Panitchpakdi noted, however, that Kazakhstan will have to bring domestic energy prices in line with international standards. A working group on Kazakhstan`s accession to the WTO will begin work in Geneva in September, Panitchpakdi said.
Japanese FM Signs Rail Building Loan With Uzbekistan
Agence France-Presse
Tashkent, August 26: Japan`s Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi signed a 150-million-dollar (125-million-euro) loan to Uzbekistan on Thursday intended to help link Asia and Afghanistan`s rail systems, a Japanese official said. The money will be spent on a mountainous 110-kilometre (65-mile) section of railway in the south of this former Soviet republic to be completed by 2007, Japanese foreign ministry spokesman Hatsuhisa Takashima said. `This project will also help Afghanistan to rebuild its economy,` Takashima told journalists. Eventually Uzbekistan hopes that the railway will reach south through Afghanistan to Iran`s Gulf coast and east through Kyrgyzstan and China to the Pacific Ocean, creating a lucrative oil transit route, Uzbek officials have said. Earlier Kawaguchi urged greater economic cooperation between the often fractious former Soviet republics of Central Asia that broke from Moscow in 1991.
Japan Seeks Observer Status In Central Asian Security Group
Associated Press
Tashkent, August 26: Japan is seeking observer status in a Central Asian security group led by Russia and China, a Japanese official said Thursday. `Japan is very much interested in becoming an observer to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization,` Hatsuhisa Takashima, spokesman to Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, said in Uzbekistan`s capital Tashkent. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, or SCO, is a regional security group that also includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Afghanistan is an observer. Uzbekistan was Kawaguchi`s first stop in a Central Asian tour. In Uzbekistan, Kawaguchi met with Uzbek President Islam Karimov and Foreign Minister Sadyk Safaev. She is scheduled to head to Kazakhstan`s capital, Astana, on Friday, where she is expected to participate in talks with her counterparts from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Safaev told Kawaguchi that Uzbekistan plans to propose that the United Nations acknowledges Japan as a permanent Security Council member, Takashima said. There was no immediate comment from Uzbek officials.
Uzbekistan To Get US$439,000 Within UN-Japan Programme
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, August 25: National cultural centres in Uzbekistan will celebrate 13th anniversary of Uzbekistan`s Independence at Bobur Park in Tashkent. On 1 Septemer, representatives of all cultural centres operating in Uzbekistan will gather in this park. It is planned to organise a concert and a separate programme, which will show culture and cuisine of different nations. The event is being organised and initiated by International Cultural Centre in cooperation with national cultural centres. Today there are 13 national cultural centres and 12 city cultural centres in the country.
Kazakhstan Calls For Promoting CIS Integration
Kabar Agency
Alma-Ata, August 25: Kazakh Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov on Tuesday called for accelerating the integration of theCommonwealth of Independent States (CIS). During a meeting with CIS executive secretary Vladimir Rushailoin Kazakh capital Astana, Akhmetov said there was `a good and practical opportunity` for the bloc to speed up its integration. The CIS, which was set up in 1991, is made up of 12 former Soviet republics. It is widely regarded as a forum for member countries to wield more power on the international arena as a whole. Akhmetov and Rushailo discussed the upcoming CIS summit to be held in Astana on Sept. 15-16, and agreed that `the integration benefits all CIS members.
China, Kazakhstan Mull Cross-border Gas Pipeline
Agence France-Presse
Shanghai, August 24: China and Kazakhstan are mulling construction of a multi-billion dollar natural gas pipeline from the Central Asian nation to China`s western Xinjiang Autonomous Region, state press has reported. If built it would link with China`s West to East pipeline which will pump 12 billion cubic metres of natural gas from the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang to Shanghai, some 4,000 kilometres (2,400 miles) away, the China Daily reported Wednesday. The Sino-Kazak trunk would give China access to gas fields in western Central Asia as a back-up to the West to East line and is considered a further step toward meeting the country`s long-term energy needs, the newspaper said. China and Kazakhstan earlier this year agreed to a seperate three-billion-dollar deal to build the second-phase of a 3,000-kilometre (1,860-mile) oil pipeline. It is expected to eventually pump 20 million tonnes of crude oil to western China. The Sino-Kazak gas pipeline would also cost billions of dollars although the exact price tag is not known. In the long term, the pipeline may extend further west towards Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, and may be connected with grid conduits in Russia and Iran, creating a pan-Asian global energy bridge, the paper said.
Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan Not Satisfied With Bilateral Trade
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, August 24: Trade turnover between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan is stable and makes up about US$210-215 million, Kazakh Ambassador to Uzbekistan Tleukhan Kabdrakhmanov told journalists. However, the ambassador noted, both Uzbek and Kazakh sides are not satisfied with the trade level, as it can be much higher. On 28 May 2004, the Uzbek President Islam Karimov and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev signed a protocol on liquidation of barriers to trade. Implementation of this protocol should serve to significant growth of trade turnover, Kazinform quoted Kabdrakhmanov as saying. `Ideally, we want to establish a free trade regime,` Kazakh diplomat said.
Kazakh Prime Minister, CIS Executive Secretary Meet
Radio Free Europe
Astana, August 24: Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov met on 24 August in Astana with CIS Executive Secretary Vladimir Rushailo, `Kazakhstan Today` reported. They discussed the further development of the CIS and, in particular, preparations for the 15-16 September CIS summit in Astana. Akhmetov noted that the integration process within the CIS has become more effective, citing as an example Russian-Kazakh coordination in preparing for accession to the World Trade Organization, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported. For his part, Rushailo suggested a number of initiatives to make the CIS Executive Committee more productive.
Tajikistan To Receive Millions In US Medical Aid
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, August 24: Barbi Moore, senior vice president of international programs at the Heart to Heart relief agency, told Avesta on 24 August that a 50-strong delegation of U.S. doctors will bring $10 million-$15 million of medical supplies to Tajikistan in October 2005. The agreement to deliver the aid was reached on 14 August in Dushanbe by Tajik Health Minister Nusratullo Fayzulloev and a U.S. State Department representative. Moore told the news agency that the medical supplies will include suture materials, syringes, medical gloves, and various medicines.
Armenia Wants Equatorial Guinea To Release Its Pilots
Interfax
Yerevan, August 24: Armenia is working hard to convince the authorities of Equatorial Guinea to release six Armenian pilots who were detained earlier this year, Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian told journalists on Monday. `I would not like to offer optimistic forecasts, but Armenia is doing everything possible in this direction,` Oskanian said. An Armenian delegation has left for a third visit to Equatorial Guinea for talks, he said. The pilots, who arrived in Equatorial Guinea`s capital of Malabo in January 2004, were engaged in delivering cargoes on an Armenian carrier`s An-12 aircraft under an agreement with German contractors. They were arrested on March 7.
Azerbaijan To Open Consulate In Northwestern Iran
IRNA
Tabriz, August 24: The Republic of Azerbaijan is to open a consulate in this northwestern provincial capital in the near future, said a local official here Tuesday. East Azarbaijan`s Provincial Governor Mohammad Ali Sobhanollahi said that the consulate is to be opened in Tabriz in accordance with an agreement signed in Baku during a recent visit of President Mohammad Khatami. The agreement provides, among others, that the two sides will endeavor to speed up the establishment of the consulate in that Iranian city. Sobhanollahi further said that after an Azeri consulate in Tabriz is opened, efforts would be made to open direct flights to Baku from Tabriz and vice-versa. The official was optimistic the opening of the Azeri consulate in Tabriz would hasten the opening of the Tabriz-Baku flight route.
Japan Foreign Minister To Visit Uzbekistan On 26-27 August
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, August 23: Foreign Minister of Japan Yoriko Kawaguchi will pay an official visit to Uzbekistan on 26-27 August. According to Uzbek Foreign Ministry, Ms Kawaguchi will start her tour to Uzbekistan with visit of Internee Japanese Citizens Monument on 26 August. Afterwards, she will meet her Uzbek counterpart Sadyk Safaev. Japanese Foreign Minister will meet representatives of Uzbek society and diplomatic missions at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy (UWED). It is expected that Ms Kawaguchi will be awarded with Honourable Professor Award of UWED. She will also read lecture on policy of Japan in Central Asia. On the same day, Japanese Foreign Minister will be received by the Uzbek President Islam Karimov. Uzbek and Japanese officials will exchange opinion on a wide range of issues on deepening political, economic and humanitarian cooperation, regional security and perspective of further collaboration of the two countries.
Japan Issues Grant For 950m Yens To Equip Uzbek Companies
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, August 23: Government of Japan handed over metal refinement equipment to Uzvtorsvetmet (Uzbek Secondary Non-Ferrous Metal) on 23 August. The total sum of the grant is 950 million yen. Uzvtorsvetmet received equipment worth 212 million yens (US$1.92 million). This equipment will be used to prepare products of crushing and waste of non-ferrous metals on the basis of aluminium and copper to melting to aluminium and copper alloy. The equipment will allow to increase efficiency of crushing, grading, cleaning and improve product quality.
Passport Requirement Could Affect Tajik Migrant Labourers
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, August 23: Muzaffar Zaripov, director of the International Organization of Migration`s (IOM) information resource center in Dushanbe, told Asia Plus-Blitz in a 23 August interview that the impending introduction of a passport requirement for travel to Russia will create serious difficulties for Tajik migrant laborers. (Beginning on 1 July 2005, Tajik citizens will need to have a valid international passport to travel to the Eurasian Economic Community, which consists of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia.) `On the technical level, this will create tremendous difficulties for the Interior Ministry, which issues these documents,` Zaripov said. `These difficulties will affect those of our countrymen who are already working in Russia, since they will need to come home to obtain this document.` Tajik consular offices abroad lack the authority to issue passports. According to the IOM, the number of Tajiks who travel abroad in search of higher wages each year now exceeds 600,000, and only 10 percent of them have foreign passports.
Ambassador Of Azerbaijan Called On Faisal
Pakistan News Service
Islamabad, August 23: Ambassador of Azerbaijan Mr. Anvar Salikhbaev was on call to the Minister for Interior and narcotics Control Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat. During the meeting a wide range of issues of mutual interest came under discussion. The Minister for Interior briefed the visiting envoy about the policy of govt. against terrorism and drug trafficking. He said we are committed to wipe out terrorism from our soils. The visiting envoy lauded the role of Pakistan in war against terrorism. He also appreciated the role of security agencies of Pakistan in breaking down networks of terrorist organization. He said that we are interested in enhancement of our co operation with govt. of Pakistan on security issues. The Minister thanked the visiting envoy and wished that relations between two countries will be further strengthened in coming time.
Lifting Autonomy Of S. Ossetia, Abkhazia Was Mistake - Putin
Interfax
Sochi, August 23: President Vladimir Putin said that he considers the decisions made by Georgia in the early 1990s to lift the autonomous status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia a mistake and that he has evidence that such decisions were indeed made. `The decision about South Ossetia was made and this fact cannot be questioned. We have copies of documents [which call for] eliminating South Ossetia`s autonomous status. The documents were signed by then Georgian President [Zviad] Gamsakhurdia. We are prepared to show them to journalists,` he said at a news conference in Sochi on Friday. `As for Abkhazia, the decision was made de facto and no record was left,` Putin said.
Turkmenistan Embassy Planned
The Daily Yomiuri
Tokyo, August 22: The government will open an embassy in Turkmenistan in January and station an acting ambassador in the Central Asian country, a government source said Saturday. Turkmenistan is the only one of the five Central Asian countries in which there is no Japanese Embassy. The embassy will be established in Ashgabat, and the ambassador to Russia will also serve as ambassador to the country. The government has concluded it should fill the diplomatic vacuum in the region in an effort to strengthen its ties with Central Asia, an area rich in natural energy resources.
Turkmenistan Ready To Boost Electricity Export To Iran
Interfax
Ashgabat, August 22: Turkmenistan Sunday introduced a new 220-kilovolt power transmission line that will bolster the country`s capability to export electricity to Iran. The new line, which will feed up to 375 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year to northeastern Iran via the border town of Serakhs, cost $7.5 million, Turkmenistan`s Energy and Industry Ministry told Interfax. The line, which links two cities by the name of Serakhs - one in Turkmenistan and one in Iran - was built in accordance with a memorandum on long-term, electricity cooperation signed by the governments of the two countries in the summer of 2003. Turkmenistan started to export electricity to Iran using the 220- kilovolt Balkanabad - Gonbad line in June 2003. It is exporting 562.5 million kWh of electricity to Iran per year with this line. The line is part of the Turkmenistan - Iran - Turkey energy corridor, introduced in December 2003. Turkey will use the corridor to import 600 million kWh of electricity generated at the Turkmenbash and Balkanabad power plants in western Turkmenistan per year. Turkmenistan is poised to build a new, 400-kilovolt power line from the city of Mary to Mashkhed in Iran. Once this is up and running, Turkmenistan will be capable of exporting nearly 2.4 billion kWh of electricity to Iran per year.
CIS Fiscal Control Bodies To Hold Regular Session In Late August
Kabar Agency
Astana, August 21: The managerial council of the CIS top fiscal control bodies will hold its fifth session in Astana from August 31 to September 2, the Audit Committee of Kazakhstan told RIA Novosti. Sergei Stepashin, President of the Russian Audit Chamber, will lead the Russian delegation. Relevant delegations of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan and Ukraine have confirmed their participation. `On the agenda are topical questions - openness and transparency of work of the higher bodies of financial control and their interaction with different branches of power`, the Kazakh Audit Committee said. A declaration on the above-mentioned problems is to be adopted at the session. `The declaration proclaims openness and transparency among the basic principles of work of the higher bodies of financial control. They ensure full embodiment of the democratic basics of economic control, efficient state control and the protection of society from corruption and other offences`, the Kazakh committee said.
Uzbek-Turkish Textile Mill Opens In Namangan Region
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, August 21: As-Shah, an Uzbek-Turkish joint venture was commissioned in Namangan region. The venture was founded Turkish Astop and Uzbek Notukimachi joint-stock company. Total cost of the As-Shah is US$5.08 million and the authorised capital is US$2.4 million, of which 70 per cent belongs to Turkish side. It will produce 2,100 tonnes of dyed stockinet. The company`s export potential is estimated at US$3 million.
Russia, Kyrgyzstan Sign Agreement On Fighting Drugs
Interfax
Bishkek, August 25: Russian Drug Control Agency chief Viktor Cherkesov and Kyrgyz Drug Control Agency director Kurmanbek Kubatbekov signed a cooperation agreement on the fight against drug trafficking in Bishkek on Wednesday. `The signing of this agreement with Kyrgyzstan is an important step for Russia, as it will allow us to build an efficient barrier to obstruct drug trafficking,` Cherkesov told Interfax after signing the document. The agreement envisages the exchange of information between the departments, cooperative searches, exchanges of know-how and practical assistance, Cherkesov said. The document does not specify any date of expiry to the agreement, he said. Talking about the withdrawal of Russian border guards from the Tajik-Afghan border, Cherkesov said `this will negatively affect the drugs situation in Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.`
Tajik Prosecutors Detail Investigation Into Former Drug Czar
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, August 24: The Prosecutor-General`s Office released an official statement on 24 August detailing the status of its investigation into crimes allegedly committed by Ghaffor Mirzoev, former head of Tajikistan`s Drug Control Agency, Asia Plus-Blitz reported. The statement notes that prosecutors have gathered evidence that Mirzoev shot an Interior Ministry official in 1998 and had his underlings murder a local politician, also in 1998. The investigation has also revealed that Mirzoev received $660,000 for leasing a Russian-made MI-8 helicopter to a company in Afghanistan identified as Prago International Inc. The helicopter has since been returned to Tajikistan`s National Guard. The statement stressed that this evidence will be integrated into formal charges when the investigation is complete.
Lawyer Says Former Tajik Drug Czar Committed No Crimes In Russia
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, August 23: Abduqayum Yusufov, a lawyer for former Tajik Drug Control Agency head Ghaffor Mirzoev, told Asia Plus-Blitz in a 22 August interview that his client committed no crimes in Russia, the news agency reported the next day. `Some local media have suggested that criminal actions by Mirzoev on Russian territory explain the participation of Russian lawyer Vladimir Golubev in this trial,` Yusufov said. `Mirzoev, like any other Tajik citizen, has the right to engage a lawyer from abroad.` Mirzoev was arrested on 6 August on charges ranging from abuse of office to weapons stockpiling. He has admitted partial guilt (see `RFE/RL Newsline,` 18 August 2004).
S. Ossetian Minister Reports Tskhinvali Police Chief`s Death
Interfax
Tshinvali, August 25: The Interior Department deputy chief in Tskhinvali, Nodar Dzagoyev, was killed on Wednesday, and authorities have opened an investigation to discover if foul play was behind the death. `Investigators are looking into all possible murder scenarios, including a terrorist act,` said Robert Guliyev, Interior Minister of the unrecognized South Ossetian republic. Further details about the incident were unavailable at the time. The minister also told Interfax that two Tskhinvali residents were detained and heavily beaten in the Georgian village of Kekhli last night.
Uzbekistan To Beef Up Security On Independence DayInterfax
Tashkent, August 25: Uzbek law enforcement agencies will be put on alert during celebrations of Independence Day on August 31 and September 1, an Interior Ministry source told Interfax. `The Interior Ministry and other law enforcement agencies are taking special security measures in the run-up to Independence Day festivities. They will be put on alert during the festivities themselves,` the source said. The U.S. State Department earlier issued a warning about the possibility of terrorist attacks in Uzbekistan on Independence Day. The Interfax source did not comment on reports about possible terrorist attacks, but said the Interior Ministry has worked out a special plan for large-scale measures to provide public security. `Special measures have been taken at the sites where festivities will take place, near foreign embassies, administrative buildings, and other important facilities,` the source said. `Special fire security and public order teams have been set up to patrol the sites where celebrations will take place in Tashkent and the regions,` the source said. These teams are examining the construction quality of stages and other installations that have been erected for participants in the celebrations, the source said.
Young Cosmonauts Start Training At Baikonur
Kazakhstan News
Baikonur, August 25: A group of young cosmonauts arrived at the Baikonur space center on Tuesday, where they will continue training and preparations for the launch of an AMS-15 U.S. telecommunications satellite in September. `Three future Russian cosmonauts Sergei Zhukov, Mark Serov and Sergei Ryazansky and two future Kazakh cosmonauts Mukhtar Aimakhanov and Aidyn Aimbetov are undergoing training now. Trainees Yevgeny Tarelkin and Oleg Artemyev have not arrived at the space center,` Baikonur Federal Space Center officials told Interfax on Wednesday.
Kazakhstan To Create National Space Agency
Kabar Agency
Alma-Ata, August 22: Kazakhstan has decided to set up a National Space Agency to boost the Central Asian country`s spaceindustry. The creation of the agency was brought up in a meeting on the 2005-2007 plan for the space industry, according to local media. Kazakh Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov said Wednesday the new agency will help coordinate the resources in the field and that the Education and Science Ministry would work out a plan for the formation of the agency in a month. Akhmetov stressed that the realization of the 2005-2007 blueprint for the space industry will bring Kazakhstan into the ranks of nations capable of producing and launching satellites. According to the three-year space industry plan, Kazakhstan will earmark 347 million US dollars for the development of a communications satellite and the construction of a launching complex and a satellite monitoring center.
Special Focus
OSCE Shifting To Greater Attention On Central Asia, Caucasus
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), born in the days of the Cold War, is starting to take a fresh look at where its efforts can be most useful. Despite its name, the Vienna-based body includes the five states of Central Asia and the three South Caucasus republics among its members.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/pp082104.shtmlTajikistan: Traders Look To China For Brighter Fortunes
Streams of vehicles regularly shuttle Tajik traders across the Pamir Mountains so that they can stock up on bargains in China. The opening in May of the 4,400-meter Kulma Pass border crossing between Tajikistan and China allows bus services to operate regularly between Tajik cities and Kashgar, the first commercial stop on the Chinese side of the border.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/business/articles/pp082204.shtmlUS Troop Redeployment Sparks Speculation On Azerbaijani Base
News that the United States plans a massive redeployment of its armed forces has Azerbaijanis wondering whether their country will soon host US troops. Azerbaijani officials are coy on the base question, prompting some local political analysts to say Baku is trying to leverage the issue to achieve a breakthrough on the stalled talks on a Nagorno-Karabakh peace settlement.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav082304.shtmlCentral Asia: Is Hizb Ut-Tahrir A Threat To Stability?
Established in the 1950s in the Middle East, Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami (The Party of Islamic Liberation) began operating in Central Asia around 10 years ago. The group advocates replacing the governments of the Muslim world with an Islamic state in the form of a caliphate. Although the group professes only peaceful means to achieve its aims, Central Asian governments have mostly taken a harsh stance against it.
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http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2004/08/f270f4fe-f8b2-4b5a-acf8-087e22cbea2e.htmlMedia Mysteries Come And Go In Kyrgyzstan
Just as soon as one media mystery is solved in Kyrgyzstan, another seems to arise. A prominent telecommunications entity reportedly linked to President Askar Akayev`s family revealed recently that it has acquired a significant stake in Pyramida TV, apparently ending a long-running controversy over the station`s ownership structure. At the same time, questions concerning the murky origins of a new Russian-language channel are being asked in Bishkek.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav082404.shtmlSouth Ossetia Crisis Strokes Tension Betweeen Russia And Georgia
As a tenuous ceasefire remains in effect in Georgia`s separatist region of South Ossetia, the war of words between Tbilisi and Moscow is escalating. Russian leaders are accusing Georgia of stoking conflict, while prominent politicians in Tbilisi say the country must `get ready to repel Russian aggression.`
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav082504.shtmlChina`s Military Footprint In Central Asia
In the past 12-18 months, China`s role and influence in Central Asia has gradually been mounting. This has taken the shape of increased energy deals, furthering of the SCO and seeking to develop it into a collective security organization, and direct bilateral ties and military exercises with Central Asian states. China is increasingly showing a desire to broaden its links to Central Asia to be independent on Russia.
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http://www.cacianalyst.org/view_article.php?articleid=2609Pulling Back Troops, Georgia Calls For European Help
President Mikheil Saakashvili`s decision to pull back his troops from South Ossetia is almost desperate cry for the political assistance from the European powers. Georgia is ready to accept suboptimal solutions with regards to peacekeeping, but return to the pre-July status quo is no longer acceptable. If no definitive answer is received within a month, resumption of hostilities becomes likely.
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http://www.cacianalyst.org/view_article.php?articleid=2610Caspian Gas: Potential To Activate Europe In The South Caucasus
The initial enthusiastic support of the EU and other major European countries toward the new states of the Caucasus was replaced by passivity by the end of 1990s. The Traceca (Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia) and Inogate (International Oil and Gas Transport to Europe) programs, launched in the mid-1990s, focused primarily on smaller scale projects and never achieved their initial strategic goal of diversifying supply routes to Europe.
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http://www.cacianalyst.org/view_article.php?articleid=2611Putin`s Hands On The Oil Pumps
For a decade Washington has backed the Turkish and Azerbaijan governments to steer the export of Caspian region crude oil away from Russia. Russia`s newest riposte has been to ally the Russian and Iranian oil industries, and open up the shortest, cheapest and most lucrative oil route of all, southwards out of the Caspian to Iran.
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http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/FH26Ag01.htmlCaspian Capers
As attempts to solve differences on how to divide the Caspian Sea riches between Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan go nowhere, the five littoral states remain divided in decade-long negotiations. Meanwhile, some evidence suggests that positions in the great Caspian could be shifting.
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http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/FH26Ag02.htmlPause In Hostilities Allows Georgia To Rethink Approach On South Ossetia
The current pause in hostilities in Georgia`s separatist-minded region of South Ossetia may prove temporary. A shake-up of the Georgian military establishment carried out by President Mikheil Saakashvili is just one indication that Tbilisi remains intent on restoring its authority in South Ossetia.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav082604.shtmlAttorney Pushes To Reopen CIA Murder Case In Georgia
Lost amid the tension stirred by Georgia`s latest confrontation with South Ossetia, an attorney representing the family of a reported CIA agent, murdered in Tbilisi just over 11 years ago, is pushing to reopen the case, asserting that he possesses documents that cast doubt on the official version of events.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav082704.shtml
Report dated 27 August 2004