Abkhazia In Confusion After Court Reversal
Associated Press
Tbilisi, October 29: The high court in the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia again reversed itself on whether presidential election results were valid, saying Friday an earlier ruling nullifying them should be ignored because court officials made it while being held hostage. The region`s Supreme Court first declared an opposition leader the winner of this month`s election, but then nullified those results hours later. On Friday, a judge said that second ruling was illegal because it was made after supporters of Prime Minister Raul Khadzhimba stormed the courthouse and held officials hostage for six hours. Departing President Vladislav Ardzinba, who has headed the unrecognized Black Sea region since before it broke away from Georgia, called for new elections to be held. He supported Khadzhimba. Abkhazia has been tense since Oct. 3, when it held its first openly contested presidential vote in more than a decade of unrecognized independence. The Central Election Commission initially declared opposition leader Sergei Bagapsh the victor over Khadzhimba. But Khadzhimba said his rival fell short of winning the race outright and claimed some districts experienced voting irregularities. Late Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that Bagapsh won the presidency with 50.32 percent of the vote, upholding an earlier decision by the Central Election Commission. Immediately after that ruling, several hundred Khadzhimba supporters rushed into the court building. Hours later, the judge read another ruling, declaring the vote void and ordering a new election within two months. Early Friday morning, Georgy Akaba, the presiding judge of Abkhazia`s Supreme Court, said at a news conference that the verdict canceling the vote was illegal because it was made while he was held hostage.
Kazakh News Agency Sues Former Minister For Defamation
Radio Free Europe
Astana, October 28: Khabar Agency has filed suit against former Information Minister Altynbek Sarsenbaev for defamation, `Kazakhstan Today` reported on 28 October. The suit alleges that Sarsenbaev defamed the company when he described it as part of a media holding monopolizing the Kazakh media market. A lawyer for Khabar explained that while the state-controlled company owns and operates a number of media outlets, it is not part of any larger holding company. The suit argues that Sarsenbaev, who was the minister of information when he made the comment, knew that he was making a false statement. The agency is asking for an apology and damages of 1 billion tenges ($7.5 million).
Azeri Human Right Groups Seek Help In Freeing Oppositionists
Interfax
Baku, October 27: Azerbaijani human rights groups have appealed to a number of international bodies to help secure the release of convicted oppositionists. `An unfair sentence was handed down on the convicted opposition leaders, who were charged with organizing disorders during the presidential elections on October 15-16, 2003,` the human rights groups said in an appeal circulated at a press conference in Baku on Wednesday.
Kazakh Opposition Wants Referendum To Nix Election Results
Radio Free Europe
Astana, October 27: Representatives of Ak Zhol announced at a press conference in Almaty on 27 October that the moderate opposition party is sponsoring a nationwide referendum to annul the results of the 19 September parliamentary elections, `Kazakhstan Today` reported. A demonstration on 30 October will put forward the initiative to hold the referendum, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported. The planned referendum will ask six questions: whether land sales should be halted until local administrative heads are elected, whether the direct election of administrative heads should be introduced in 2005, whether revenues from the sale of natural resources should be distributed directly and equally among all Kazakh citizens, whether half of parliament should be elected on the basis of party slates, whether 20 percent of voters should be able to initiate the recall of any elected official, and whether the results of the 19 September parliamentary elections should be invalidated.
Round Table On Elections Opens In Uzbek Capital
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, October 26: Round table entitled `International standards on holding democratic elections and election legislation of Uzbekistan` started in Tashkent on 26 October. The forum has been organised by Tashkent State Law Institute together with Central Election Commission, Development Support Service Programme, Civic Society Study Institute and Nagoya University of Japan. The participants considered international standards of elections, their implementation, international elections standards and development of election legislation.
Deadline For Registration Of Initiative Groups Of Voters Extended
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, October 26: On 26 October Central Election Commission of Uzbekistan introduced changes to the calendar plan of events within the framework of preparation to the parliamentary elections. In particular, the deadline for registration of initiative groups of voters was extended until 10 November. According to Law on Elections to Oliy Majlis, not only representatives of political parties but ordinary citizens as well have the right to register as candidate to deputies of the Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis. Each citizen or group of citizens having the right to vote can form an initiative group of voters consisting of at least 300 people to propose a candidate to deputy.
OSCE To Observe Uzbek Elections
Radio Free Europe
Tashkent, October 26: Per Normark, acting head of the OSCE center in Tashkent, told RFE/RL`s Uzbek Service on 26 October that the OSCE has decided to send an observer mission to monitor parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan in December. Normark informed RFE/RL`s Uzbek Service of the OSCE decision at a conference in Tashkent on Uzbek election legislation and international standards for democratic elections. Speaking after Buritosh Mustafoev, chairman of Uzbekistan`s Central Election Commission, Normark noted that while positive changes have taken place in Uzbekistan, the lack of a free press and complex procedures for nominating candidates remain obstacles to democratic elections.
Turkmens Honour `great Leader`
BBC
Ashgabat, October 26: Turkmenistan has celebrating its independence holiday with a huge parade in honour of President Niyazov, also known as Turkmenbashi. Mr Niyazov, who is president for life, watched as the military, Turkmen horsemen and others paid tribute in the main square of the capital, Ashgabat. The assembled crowd shouted: `Great leader, great leader`. There had clearly been months of preparation for Wednesday`s parade. In bright sunshine, the Turkmen army marched through the marble square, shouting `Turkmenbashi, Turkmenbashi`, saluting at the balcony where the leader was just visible.
Turkmen President Takes Job For Life
The Independent
Ashgabat, October 25: Central Asia`s most idiosyncratic dictator has engineered a plan that will allow him to remain in office for the rest of his life by dispensing with a further presidential election. In the past, Turkmenistan`s President Saparmurat Niyazov`s decrees have outlawed gold teeth and renamed the calendar so that the first month of the year bears his official title, Turkmenbashi, or head of the Turkmens. Yesterday, he asked parliament disingenuously to hold presidential elections in 2009, saying `When I turn 70, please release me. Younger people will be ready. Nothing lasts for ever and the destiny of a people must not depend on one person.` The hand-picked 2,000 members of parliament swiftly came to the rescue, and pleaded with the President, 64, to reconsider. He had already been named president for life in 1999, but later rejected that. It seems he has now had second thoughts. `You are given to us by God and therefore any talk about presidential elections should be stopped,` said Murad Berdysopyyev, a senior member of the parliament, or People`s Council. A deputy, Muratbedry Sopyyev, said: `This must not even be discussed. We elected you for life. There is no alternative person. No, no and no.`
New Agriculture Minister Named In Azerbaijan
Radio Free Europe
Baku, October 25: President Aliyev has issued a decree appointing Ismet Aliyev minister of agriculture, Turan reported on 25 October. Following Ilham Aliyev`s election one year ago, Irshad Aliyev continued in the post of acting minister. Observers link his dismissal to the tensions in Azerbaijani-Turkish relations that resulted from the Agriculture Ministry`s failure over a period of several years to repay debts it incurred to Turkish companies.
Arrests Of Former Georgian Interior Minister Non-political
Itar-Tass
Tbilisi, October 25: Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania said Monday the arrest of the country`s former Interior Minister, Koba Narchemashvili should not be a topic for political comments, as it was non-political in character. `Our law enforcement agencies have their own claims to make against him, and it`s their prerogative,` Zhvania said. `His detention has no political motives behind it`. In the meantime, Narchemashvili`s lawyers say their client had never been hiding away from investigators and had always cooperated with them. They believe arresting the man, who was Georgia`s Interior Minister in the last two years of rule of the president of Eduard Shevardnadze was totally unnecessary. First Deputy Prosecutor General, Georgy Dzhanashia, says Narchemashvili is accused of abusing occupational duties and violating customs regulations.
Turkmen President Declines Award, Elections
Radio Free Europe
Ashgabat, October 25: As Turkmenistan`s People`s Council wrapped up its session on 25 October, President Saparmurat Niyazov declined a Hero of Turkmenistan award but accepted a proposal to dispense with presidential elections, Turkmen TV reported. Niyazov had initially suggested holding presidential elections in 2008-09. But Saparmammet Veliev, head of the Turkmenneft state oil company, quickly rose to reject the proposal. The 2,507-member council enthusiastically followed his lead, chanting `Glory to the great leader!` Niyazov assented and the council session ended.
President Askar Akayev`s Traditional Address To The Nation And Parliament Of The Republic
Kabar Agency
Bishkek, October 25: I will do my best in order to parliamentary and presidential elections will be held in accordance with the Constitution and Election Code, President askar Akayev told during his speech to nation and Parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic.`I am interested in that positive results of the course followed by our society were showed in the process of the election campaign`. According to his words, local kenesh elections became the political test of the results of forming of the local self-governments. Thanks to new system of elections, political parties showed themselves as the real power. More than 45 per cent of the new staff are representatives of 14 political parties. In his words, the leadership and public-political forces of the country welcome international observation of elections. Strategically and tactically well thinked out, more aggressive export policy should replace the present one, President Askar Akayev told his during his address to the nation and Parliament. According to his words, one of the tasks facing the country is fulfillment of wide scale and coordinated actions on entering to the world market. New strategy in attracting investments should be applied. Creation of joint enterprises will give more effect. This will assist in fill up defficiency of investments in processing industry and tourism sphere. `Especially joint projects in innovation sphere are important, that will raise the demand in activity of our education system`, the President said. A. Akayev also noted the importance of increasing of share of products of agrarian sector in export of the country.
Kyrgyz Voters Will Have Their Left Thumb Marked
Interfax
Bishkek, October 25: Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev has signed a law obliging all voters to have their left thumbs marked to minimize violations in elections, the presidential press service told Interfax on Monday. `The law is controversial and has had its opponents and supporters all along, which can be seen from media reports and discussions in the periphery. But following an all-round analysis, the president has signed the law and it will take effect the day it is published,` the press service said.
People`s Council Rejects Niyazov`s Proposal On Elections
Interfax
Ashgabat, October 25: The 15th meeting of the People`s Council, Turkmenistan`s supreme authority, has rejected President Saparmurat Niyazov`s decision to hold presidential elections in 2008-09. In response to the president`s proposal, a group of delegates seated in the presidium rushed to the rostrum, pushing one another, and said they were categorically against this idea. The protest was supported by the other 2,500 delegates. `God has given you to us. You are our life-long president and must govern as long as you live,` said Turkmenneft concern`s chairman Saparmamed Valiyev. The head of the nation`s farmers association Muradberdy Sopiyev said `there can be no talk about elections.` `The people will not allow you to hold presidential elections,` he said. He chanted `No!` in unison with the other members of the council.
Kazakhstan Celebrates Republic Day
Itar-Tass
Astana, October 24: Kazakhstan celebrates the Republic Day on Monday, October 25, in commemoration of the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty by the Supreme Soviet of Kazakhstan on that day in 1990, which marked the beginning of Kazakhstan`s regaining its independence from the USSR. Kazakhstan gained full independence on December 16, 1991. December 16 is being celebrated as the national holiday in Kazakhstan, while the Republic Day is celebrated as a state holiday. Numerous political parties operate in the republic.
Niyazov Denies Plans To Build Islamic State
Interfax
Ashgabat, October 24: Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov has denied he has any plans to reorganize his country into an Islamic republic. `No Islamic state will be built in Turkmenistan, but Islam is our religion,` Niyazov said at the 15th session of the People`s Council, the country`s supreme body, on Monday. `Turkmens treat their religion as peace-loving people, and the faith of the Turkmen people is special,` he said. Addressing religious leaders, the president said that `Turkmenistan is a secular state, in which religion is separated from bodies of power.` The main task of clergymen is `not to interfere in politics,` he said. Speaking at a ceremony last Friday to open a new mosque, the president said that `we will only believe in one Allah, we will appeal to him with our wishes and abide by our obligations set out in the Koran. But this should not harm any other person.` Clergymen who serve in Turkmenistan will study only in the country, Niyazov said.
Former Georgian Interior Minister Detained
Interfax
Tbilisi, October 24: Georgian security officers Sunday evening in Tbilisi detained Koba Narchemashvili who headed the Georgian Interior Ministry as of 2000 and until the revolution of roses. Deputy Prosecutor General Giorgy Janashia told reporters that a criminal case against Narchemashvili was opened a year ago. The former minister is suspected of abuse of power and the violation of customs rules. Janashia said that when Narchemashvili was in office a faulty practice of registering vehicles with the traffic police was approved which resulted in the state coffers losing millions of lari and thousands of drivers being afflicted. It is also believed that at the time of the revolution of roses Narchemashvili authorized the delivery of Cheryomukha toxic gas from Azerbaijan that was supposedly used against civilians.
U.S. Sees Kazakhstan As Strategic Defense Partner
Interfax
Astana, October 29: Kazakhstan is a strategic partner of the United States in defense and security, said U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage as quoted in a Kazakh Defense Ministry press release on the results of a meeting between Armitage and Defense Minister Mukhtar Altynbayev in Astana on Friday. Armitage `noted Kazakhstan`s leading role in the region in building professional armed forces and the strategic character of the partnership of the two countries in the sphere of defense and security,` the press release said.
Georgia For Joint Control With Russia Over Abkhaz Border Section
Itar-Tass
Sochi, October 29: Georgia is coming out in favour of joint control with Russia over the Abkhazian section of the state border between the two countries, head of the Georgian State Border Guard Department Major-General Badri Bitsadze told Itar-Tass on Friday. Bitsadze headed the Georgian delegation at the 52nd meeting of the Council of Border Troops Commanders of CIS countries held in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi. `We have proposed to the Russian side to exercise joint control over this border section between our countries, including over the movement of waterborne vehicles in the Black Sea,` Bitsadze said.
Peacekeepers Start Taking South Ossetian Army Positions On Dominant Hills
Interfax
Moscow, October 29: South Ossetian army units have started the transfer of their positions at dominant hills near Tskhinvali and other localities to peacekeepers, Major General Anatoly Barankevich, defense minister of the self-proclaimed republic, said on Friday. `Our army has started transferring to the peacekeepers the positions that we took in response to Georgia`s aggressive actions during the summer crisis in the conflict zone,` Barankevich told Interfax-Military News Agency by phone. The transfer is taking place as planned and will end in a few days, he stressed. `In particular, our positions abandoned the positions at heights near the Bolshoi Liakhvi gorge, and servicemen of the Ossetian battalion within the Joint Peacekeeping Forces have already taken them,` the general said. Barankevich refuted Georgia`s accusations that Ossetian military prevent peacekeepers from taking the dominant hills.
NATO Secretary General, Armenian Leadership To Discuss Cooperation
Interfax
Yerevan, October 28: NATO General Secretary Jaap de Hoop Scheffer will meet with the Armenian administration in Yerevan to discuss the development of Armenian-NATO cooperation, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy Jean Fournet told reporters in Yerevan on Thursday. Among the issues to be addressed during this visit are issues relating to the development and intensification of Armenia`s participation in the NATO Partnership for Peace program, Fournet said. Scheffer is scheduled to visit Yerevan on November 5. Fournet recalled that NATO has declared the Southern Caucasus an area of its strategic interests and said NATO`s relations with the countries of this region are currently experiencing a rise. NATO is currently suggesting to its partners developing plans for individuals cooperation with the Alliance, which will help each of these countries be involved in cooperation with NATO to the degree to which the administrations of these countries will want to be involved in it, Fournet said. In addition, he said that a NATO office on liaison with the countries of the Southern Caucasus will be appointed in the near future.
Kyrgyz Border Service Gives Diploma To Interfax Bureau
Interfax
Bishkek, October 28: The Kyrgyz border service awarded a number of the republic`s mass media outlets and the Interfax bureau in Bishkek with special diplomas for their intensive work in the republic. Speaking at the award ceremony, border service chief Kalmurat Sadiev said the `information agency Interfax plays an important role in covering events occurring in Kyrgyzstan, as well as in the CIS as a whole, providing accurate and objective coverage.` `Awarding the special diploma to the agency`s Kyrgyzstan bureau, the republic`s border patrol service is sure that cooperation, which started two years ago, since the border patrol structure was created, will be even more productive and effective,` Sadiev said. The award ceremony has been timed to Border Servicemen`s Day, which is celebrated in Kyrgyzstan on October 29.
NATO Seminar Opens In Armenia
Radio Free Europe
Yerevan, October 28: Representatives from over two dozen countries participated in the opening of a NATO conference on security in Yerevan on 28 October, Mediamax and Noyan Tapan reported. The two-day conference, organized by NATO`s Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, seeks to promote greater dialogue between countries in the region and to develop mechanisms designed to forge public awareness of member states` participation in the NATO alliance. The conference chairman, NATO Assistant Secretary-General for Public Diplomacy Jean Fournet, urged the participants to recognize the importance of public opinion and called on them to focus on the need to involve civil society in the process of developing national security.
4 Unrecognized Republics To Hold Exercises In S. Ossetia
Interfax
Moscow, October 28: The Defense Ministries of four unrecognized republics - Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Transdniestria - will train in the response to armed attacks before the end of the year, a source in the Abkhaz Defense Ministry told Interfax by telephone on Thursday. `Task groups from the defense ministries will hold joint training in the response to armed incursions before the end of this year,` the source said. `Sukhumi, Tskhinvali, Stepanakert and Tiraspol do not rule out that the armed forces of countries to which our republics used to belong may try to restore control by force. The most apparent danger exists for South Ossetia and Abkhazia,` he said.
Kyrgyz Border Service Head Wary Of Tajik - Afghan Border Handover
Radio Free Europe
Bishkek, October 27: Kyrgyz Border Service head Kalmurat Sadiev said on 27 October that the situation along the Tajik-Afghan border could deteriorate with the withdrawal of Russian border guards, Kabar news agency reported. Noting that a single power should be responsible for border security, Sadiev expressed the hope that Tajikistan will be able to allocate forces to replace outgoing Russian guards. Russia is set to transfer jurisdiction over the Tajik-Afghan border to Tajikistan by 2006.
Moscow Deems Caspian Demilitarisation Inexpedient
RIA Novosti
Moscow, October 27: Moscow finds the Caspian`s demilitarisation to be inexpedient in modern conditions, Andrei Urnov, head of the Russian working group for the Caspian and ambassador at large, has told RIA Novosti. `This is our position of principle. In modern conditions and particularly in the face of international terrorism, it would be weird to speak about the Caspian`s demilitarisation,` said Urnov. He emphasised that Moscow also opposed the expansion of military potential of any of the Caspian countries. `We advocate reasonable sufficiency. At present, the sides are looking for an acceptable formula for military activities on the Caspian,` he said. According to him, the military activities on the Caspian and the division of the Caspian, as well as the laying down of main oil pipelines remain stumbling blocks on the way to a consolidated draft convention on the Caspian`s status. (Earlier, Viktor Kalyuzhny, the Russian president`s envoy for the Caspian, made it clear that Russia denied demilitarisation of the Caspian because `the region is quite complicated and active, therefore its current status should be preserved.` At the same time, Kalyuzhny said that the balance of forces at sea had to be established. A year ago, all the five littoral states - Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan - unanimously spoke about the need to demilitarise the Caspian. However, this idea seems to have faded gradually. The countries concerned began consolidating their fleets and conducting military exercises. The situation is now like this: Russia has the largest fleet on the Caspian. After the USSR`s disintegration, all the new independent littoral states agreed that the naval flotilla based in the region would be divided between Russia and Azerbaijan. In this informal rating, Azerbaijan is next in line in terms of military potential. Iran that, until recently, regarded the Caspian as the second important region (after the Persian Gulf) has also started to build up its military presence. Turkmenistan does not forget about its naval forces either. Kazakhstan that has never had any naval ambitions looked like a black sheep against this background. However, Astana has recently begun to consolidate its `mailed fist` too. Kazakh Defence Minister Mukhtar Altynbayev has said that the Kazakh Fleet can be formed by 2010-2015, while First Deputy Foreign Minister Kairat Abuseitov explained the formation of the fleet as defence against the terrorist threat, illegal arms and drugs smuggling, and also illegal migration in the Caspian region.)
CIS Border Troops Commanders To Discuss Cooperation Matters
Itar-Tass
Sochi, October 26: Commanders of border troops of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries will gather for a meeting in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi on Wednesday to discuss the situation on external frontiers of the Commonwealth, as well as issues of further interaction and cooperation. `In addition, the border department officials will consider the issue of carrying out of joint antiterrorist operations and the results of one of them held in the central Asian region,` Russian Border Guard Service Deputy Commander Lieutenant-General Alexander Manilov told Itar-Tass. According to him, the commanders will also hold a number of bilateral meetings. `The Russian border guard service commanders, for instance, will meet with their Georgian colleagues,` Manilov said. Besides, the meeting agenda includes summarising the results of activities of the Council of border troops commanders in 2004 and outlining plans for its future operation. All CIS countries, except Turkmenistan, will attend the Council of commanders. The Russian delegation is headed by the Russian Border Guard Service Commander Vladimir Pronichev. Alexander Manilov also said that a meeting of the Council for border issues of countries of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) will be held in Sochi. Its participants will discuss actions in crisis situations in the Central Asian region, as well as issues of fighting terrorism and drug trafficking.
Georgia Denying Visas To Russian Servicemen
Interfax
Tbilisi, October 26: Only one-tenth of the total replenishment has arrived at Russia`s 62nd military base in Akhalkalaki in Georgia`s Samtskhe-Javakheti district. `The Georgian authorities have given their go-ahead to the arrival of 40 servicemen, which is ten times less than the base needs to function normally,` Vladimir Kuparadze, spokesman for the headquarters of the Russian troops in the Trans-Caucasus told Interfax on Tuesday.
Azerbaijan Not Planning To Increase Peacekeeping Contingent In Iraq
Interfax
Baku, October 26: Azerbaijan has no plans to increase its peacekeeping contingent in Iraq, Defense Minister Elmar Mamedyarov said on Tuesday. There is a `simple` reason for that, Mamedyarov told reporters. `We have no technical possibilities to increase the contingent, i.e. we have no people who have got proper training,` he said. The Azerbaijani company numbering 150 people left for Iraq in August 2004. It is part of the coalition force under the U.S. command.
NATO Head To Visit Georgia
Interfax
Tbilisi, October 26: NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer will visit Georgia on November 4, a Georgian Foreign Ministry spokesman told Interfax on Tuesday. During his trip, `the head of the North-Atlantic Alliance is expected to meet with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and some of the country`s other senior officials, including Defense Ministry representatives,` the spokesman said. `The NATO secretary general`s visit to Georgia will come as part of his planned tour across South Caucasus countries,` he said.
Tbilisi Claims Georgian Settlements In S. Ossetia Fired On
Interfax
Tbilisi, October 26: Georgian settlements in South Ossetia have been continuously shot at during nights over the last several weeks, Georgian Defense Minister Giorgi Baramidze told journalists in Tbilisi . `This will continue until the conflict is settled,` Baramidze said. He noted that the Georgian side is doing everything possible to avoid armed conflict. `We have to show a lot of patience in order not to respond to the separatists` fire,` Baramidze said. He said that the Georgian authorities `have their own plans and tasks, aimed at settling the conflict, not at conserving it.` Representatives of the South Ossetian authorities declared that they will not allow the Georgian peacekeepers` contingent in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone to be rotated frequently. `The Georgian side has already notified the peacekeepers` command that it is planning to make a rotation of its battalion`s staff in mid- November, we are planning, however, to officially object to this in the Joint Monitoring Commission on the settlement of the conflict,` South Ossetia`s co-chairman in the Committee told Interfax on Tuesday.
OSCE Trains Uzbek Border Guards On Intercepting Illegal Guns
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, October 25:A training course aimed at improving Uzbekistan`s border management, focusing on the problems of arms smuggling and the use of fake travel documents, was launched on 25 November by the OSCE Centre in Tashkent. The main objective of this four-week programme is to enhance the professional abilities of mid-level border guards and customs officials. Participants will receive training in searching, tracing and seizing illegally-trafficked small arms and light weapons (SALW) in the region, as well as in examining falsified travel and customs documents. The sessions will help to further combat illicit trafficking in SALW between Uzbekistan and neighbouring countries, and ultimately reduce the destabilising accumulation and uncontrolled spread of these weapons in Central Asia. The programme is also aimed at raising the law enforcers` awareness of internationally accepted rules and regulations on border management. A team of two experienced trainers will conduct the sessions for customs officials and border guards in three regions of Uzbekistan - Nukus, Bukhara and Tashkent. In Tashkent, for the first time, Kazakh border guards and customs officials will also be participating. These sessions will be followed by four-days of training focusing on risk assessment and risk management for high-level customs officials, conducted by the OSCE Centre`s trainers, as well as by experts from the OSCE Secretariat. This programme, the final one in a series, will end on 22 November. However, the project will enhance border management in Uzbekistan with a view to developing longer-term regional programmes for all relevant border authorities.
Tajik Foreign Minister Denies Report On Troops To Afghanistan
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, October 25: Tajikistan`s Foreign Ministry denied on 25 October a report that the country is planning to send troops to Afghanistan, RFE/RL`s Tajik Service reported. Deputy Foreign Minister Salohiddin Nasriddinov told RFE/RL`s Tajik Service, `There are no Tajik military forces in Afghanistan and Tajikistan has no plans or intentions to send forces to Afghanistan.` The remarks came in response to a report on an Afghan website that NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov had allegedly agreed that Tajikistan will send troops to Afghanistan.
SCTO Exercise Rubezh 2005 To Be Held In Tajikistan Next Spring
RIA Novosti
Moscow, October 25: Next spring Tajikistan will host the Rubezh 2005 exercise of states members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha said Monday after signing a protocol of cooperation between the secretariats of the CSTO and the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC). `Exercises are to be held in Tajikistan in spring 2005, expectedly by the same scheme as the exercise that was held in Kyrgyzstan this year,` said Mr. Bordyuzha. He recalled that the exercise in Kyrgyzstan involved all units of the CSTO armed forces. Commenting on the signing of the Russia-Tajikistan documents on the creation of a Russian military base in Tajikistan, the secretary general described it as `a major step to the creation of a common system of collective security in Central Asia.` For his part, EurAsEC General Secretary Grigory Rapota stated that the creation of a Russian base in Tajikistan became possible in view of the settlement of the republic`s debts to Russia. `This is a fresh example of a close connection between the EurAsEC and the CSTO,` said Rapota.
US Troops Hand Over Humanitarian Aid To Uzbek Orphans
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, October 24: After cruising through the gates of a Karshi City orphanage, US airmen and soldiers, stationed in Uzbekistan, stepped out of their convoy vehicles. They were deployed on a special mission: to bring smiles and a bit of joy into the lives of the children who live there. The `house of mercy` is a home for orphans and poor children whose families are unable to take proper care of them. `It means a lot to me to do this,` said Staff Sgt. Jason Morris, of the 416th Air Expeditionary Group`s civil engineer flight. `I`ve seen things like this on TV, and I thought this would be a great opportunity to put a smile on the faces of these kids.` The airmen and soldiers came loaded with a wide array of personal and school supplies, such as pencils, paper and clothes. They also brought some toys and games for the children to play with. After passing out the tokens, the servicemembers began spending a little quality time with each child, United States Air Force press release said.
Georgia-NATO Individual Partnership Action Plan To Take Effect This Week
Interfax
Tbilisi, October 24: The Individual Partnership Action Plan between NATO and Georgia, which has been approved by NATO members, will enter into force at the end of this week, Georgian military representative at the NATO headquarters Irakly Batkuashvili told Interfax-Military News Agency on Monday. `Georgia is the first partner of the alliance which has had the plan approved within the framework of integration with NATO. NATO representatives think that the Individual Partnership Action Plan can be a model for other partners who wish to have closer rapprochement with the alliance,` he said.
SCO RATS Holds Session In Tashkent
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, October 29: Session of the Board of Regional Antiterrorist Structure of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation was held in Tashkent on 28 October, UzA reported. Representatives of Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan took part in the meeting. The participants considered the course of implementation of decisions proposed at the second board session on 30 April, as well as issues of SCO RATS`s current performance. The board emphasiszed that terrorism was representing a serious threat to security and stability in the region. In this context, the board noted that further development of cooperation in the framework of SCO RATS in the sphere of fight against terrorism would be extremely important. Director of SCO RATS Executive Committee Vyacheslav Kasymov made a report on the work done to fight the threats of terrorism, separatism and extremism on the territory of SCO member states. The board developed a number of important solutions targeted at developing cooperation in the framework of SCO and delegated a group of experts of SCO member states to consider documents aimed at development of the legal base in the sphere of terrorism, separatism and extremism. A representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan was elected to serve as a Chairman of SCO RATS Board for 2005.
Kyrgyz Security Head Warns Of Extremism
Radio Free Europe
Bishkek, October 27: Kalyk Imankulov, head of Kyrgyzstan`s National Security Service, told Interfax on 27 October that extremists could pose a threat to parliamentary elections planned for February 2005 and the presidential election planned for October 2005. Kyrgyzinfo quoted him as saying, `It cannot be ruled out that politicians with radical views might make contact with representatives of extremist movements in order to advance their personal interests during the election campaign.` Imankulov specifically mentioned the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and Hizb ut-Tahrir. His concerns are not unique. On 22 October, the U.S. State Department issued a public announcement stating, `Extremist groups such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a terrorist organization with ties to Al-Qaeda, may be planning terrorist acts targeting U.S. government facilities, Americans, or American interests in the Kyrgyz Republic.`
Chinese Legislature Approves Anti-terrorism Agreement With Tajikistan
Kabar Agency
Beijing, October 27: Chinese legislature Wednesday approved an agreement on fighting terrorism, separatism and extremism between China and Tajikistan, completing the document approval of bilateral agreements on the issue with four Central Asian Countries. Since last April, the Standing Committee of the National People`s Congress (NPC) has approved the four agreements on fighting against terrorism, separatism and extremism, or `the three vices`, between China and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan,Tajikistan, respectively. China itself is a victim of terrorism. The `East Turkistan` terrorist group, which has plotted many attacks on Chinese diplomats, delegations and citizens, is one of the major threats to China in Central Asia, said Zhou Wenzhong, China`s vice foreignminister when briefing the NPC Standing Committee deputies. It is a pressing task of the Chinese government to cooperate with Central Asian countries against `three vices` so as to safeguard the national security, Zhou said. According to the agreements, China and the four countries will take substantial measures to beef up cooperation against `the three vices,` including hearing of relevant cases, joint criminal detection, regular meeting and information exchange system, and technical cooperation among police forces.
Kyrgyzstan`s Strategic Sites Under Close Eye Of International Terrroists - Kyrgyz President
RIA Novosti
Bishkek, October 24: Kyrgyzstan`s strategic infrastructure and economically vital sites have been under a close eye of terrorist networks, Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev said at a meeting of the Security Council of the country. `The Government should pay as much attention as possible to the upgrade of the defenses [of these sites]. We ought to strengthen the anti-extremist legislation, reveal the sources of cash for these groups, and neutralize drug traffickers and organized crime,` the Kyrgyz President urged. Kyrgyzstan is facing a major challenge of recently intensified extremist and criminal activity, he said. `In the past two years they have switched to murders, arsons, and assaults upon officials. This is a barefaced criminal challenge,` he went on. According to Mr. Akayev, banned religious party Hizb-ut Tahrir al-Islami`s activity was a major concern. `Its religious fanatics openly speak about a need for establishing an Islamic state across the Fergana Valley [part of which belongs to Uzbekistan, part to Tajikistan, and the rest to Kyrgyzstan], and they have declared an ideological Jihad throughout Central Asia,` the Kyrgyz President said. According to Mr. Akayev, this party has not only international sponsors, but also local Kyrgyz supporters. `As they are brought to justice for criminal offenses, they immediately cry out about dissenters being persecuted, though everyone knows there are no people in this country, imprisoned for what they think,` Mr. Akayev underscored. The Kyrgyz President went on to say some opposition non-governmental organizations and media posed a threat of a forced coup. `What we are dealing with is not harmless propaganda; this is purposeful preparation for a coup. Some print media outlets use a slightest pretext to turn their pages into instructions how to destabilize the country,` he said. He argued that such challenges as international terrorism, extremism, information warfare, drug trafficking, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and organized crime severely undermined Kyrgyzstan`s national security. All these factors, to an extent, are a matter of fact in the republic, he said.
Armenian Defence Ministry Denies Rumoured Arrest Of Chechen Terrorists
Radio Free Europe
Yerevan, October 23: Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Colonel Seiran Shakhsuvarian denied on 23 October media reports the previous day that three Chechens had been apprehended in Yerevan on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act, Arminfo reported, as cited by Groong.
Tajikistan Conference To Consider Banking System In CA Region
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, October 29: International conference on development of the banking system in Central Asian states will be held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. According to RIA Novosti, the decision was taken at the Tajik government session on Friday. The government also approved decisions of the Council of CIS heads of states on this year`s financing of the main events of the Intergovernmental complex programme of rehabilitation of veterans of wars, participants of local conflicts and victims of terrorism in 2001-2005 and on the order of development, implementation and financing intergovernmental target programmes of the CIS.
Development Of Uzbek Regions In Jan-Sep 2004
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, October 28: Tashkent city`s industrial output increased by 5.1 per cent in the first nine months of 2004, UzA reported. Foreign trade turnover rose by 34.4 per cent compared to the similar period of the previous year, while export supply and services increased by 38.5 per cent. Retail turnover grew by 13.7 per cent. Regional output in Bukhara increased by 9.2 per cent, while agricultural production grew by 16 per cent. GDP of Jizzakh region increased by 10 per cent in the reporting period, production of consumer goods by 20.5 per cent and farm production by 17 per cent. GDP in Navoi region rose by 8.7 per cent compared to the same period in 2003, industry grew by 7.7 per cent, agricultural production by 14,7 per cent and public paid services by 19.3 per cent Growth in Tashkent city`s GDP in the first nine months made up 9 per cent, industry grew by 9.2 per cent and agricultural production by 11 per cent. Export turnover rose by 43.7 per cent. Industrial output in Kashkadarya regions grew by 9.9 per cent, agricultural production by 19.6 per cent and production of consumer goods increased 15.2 per cent. GDP in Khorezm region increased by more than 10 per cent in the nine months, while growth in agriculture made up about 11 per cent. Commodity production in Syrdarya region grew by 15.5 per cent, consumer goods production by 14.9 per cent and agricultural production by 17.5 per cent.
Tajikistan Poorest Of CIS States - World Bank Report
Itar-Tass
Dushanbe, October 28: Tajikistan is the poorest of the CIS countries, and this fact should be recognised, said Michael Mills, a leading economist of the World Bank`s Human Development Sector for Europe and Central Asia regions. Presenting a poverty assessment report in Tajikistan`s capital Dushanbe on Thursday, Mills said un update for 2003 had shown that about two-thirds, or 64 percent, of the population of the Central Asian republic lived on 2.15 dollars a day. This is the highest level of poverty in the Eastern Europe and Central Asian regions, even though it decreased 17 percent as compared to 1999, Mills said. He cited migration as one of factors accounted for the decreased of the poverty level. About one million of Tajikistan`s citizens, or 17 percent, of the population, temporarily or permanently work outside Tajikistan, mostly in Russia`s regions.
Kyrgyz 2005 Budget Planned With Deficit Of 0.5 per cent Of GDP
Interfax
Bishkek, October 28: The Kyrgyz government submitted the draft 2005 budget to the lower house of parliament on Thursday with a deficit of 502.7 million sum, or 0.5 per cent of GDP. Budget revenue is envisioned at 15.67 billion sum, or 15.5 per cent of GDP, in 2005, Finance Minister Bolot Abildaev said at the parliamentary session. The increased revenue will be mainly supported by a growth in tax payments, which will be 12.57 billion sum, up 11.4 per cent from the plan for 2004. Budget expenditures are expected to be 16.17 billion sum. `Kyrgyz expenditure policy for 2005 will be directed towards the total and timely financing of social guarantees and creating favorable conditions for economic growth,` Abildaev said. Kyrgyz GDP is expected to grow 5 per cent to 100.8 billion sum in 2005. GDP growth is forecast at 7 per cent, excluding enterprises developing the Kumtor gold field. Inflation will be 4 per cent in 2005.
Kazakhstan Plans $3.88 Billion Petroleum Processing Expansion
Kazakhstan News
Houston, October 27: Kazakhstan plans to invest $3.88 billion in its oil refining, gas processing, and petrochemical businesses during 2004-07 as part of an accelerated development program to bring processing capacity in line with oil and gas production by 2010. Existing refineries and gas processing plants will be modernized, and a gas processing plant will be built at Aksai by 2007. Other work will include a new petrochemical complex near Kashagan oil field, plastics manufacturing plants in Aktau and Atyrau, and a plant at Jem to process gas from Zhanajol and Kenkyak oil and gas fields.
German Delegation Has Doubts About Tajik Economic Growth
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, October 26: Wolfgang Armbruster, an official with Germany`s Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development and the head of a German delegation to Tajikistan, reacted skeptically in Dushanbe on 26 October to official statistics on economic growth in Tajikistan, Avesta reported. Tajik Economy Minister Hakim Soliev recently said that his country has enjoyed annual GDP growth of no less than 10 percent since 2001. Armbruster expressed doubt, pointing to the low standard of living in the country.
Kyrgyz President Wants GDP To Grow 7-10 per cent A Year
Interfax
Bishkek, October 26: The GDP in Kyrgyzstan should grow at an annual pace of 7-10 per cent in the next few years, Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev said in his annual message to the nation and parliament on Tuesday. He put forward the task of reducing the national budget deficit to 3.5 per cent of the GDP by 2007. He also disclosed plans of boosting budget revenues and cutting spending to 20-22 per cent of the GDP. Akayev described as major sources of economic growth the effective use of government property, privatization, an increase in exports and greater competitiveness on international markets. He called the development of large-scale cooperative farming is an important reserve for speeding up GDP growth.
Tajik President Promises Wage Hike
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, October 25: President Rakhmonov told a meeting of the ruling People`s Democratic Party of Tajikistan in Dushanbe on 22 October that salaries will nearly double in 2005, Avesta reported on 25 October. Noting that Tajikistan is experiencing robust growth in gross domestic product, Rakhmonov said: `This makes it possible to increase significantly the salaries of teachers, medical personnel, pensioners, and other workers who receive their wages from the state budget. The fund for labor remuneration will be increased 80 percent as of 1 January 2005.`
Kyrgyz Opposition Protests Energy Industry Privatization
Interfax
Bishkek, October 24: Activists of the People`s Patriotic Union and the Communist Party held a picket near the Kyrgyz Parliament building on Monday to protest against privatization of the country`s energy industry. `The picket will draw attention of the Kyrgyz public to anti-people actions of the government, which has been trying to make parliament deputies vote for privatization of the energy industry for more than three weeks,` Communist Party leader Klara Azhibekova told Interfax. The Legislative Assembly lower house of the Kyrgyz Parliament is considering a bill on concession of one of the four electricity distribution companies, Severelektro, which was formed in the privatization of Kyrgyzenergo. `We support 15 deputies, who do not attend parliament sessions in protest and thus prevent the house from having the quorum,` Azhibekova said.
Turkmenistan To Have World`s Lowest Taxes
IRNA
Ashgabat, October 23: Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov has promised to cut taxes to make them the lowest in the world. Speaking at a meeting of the parliament on Saturday, Niyazov said, `Of the 17 existing taxes only four will remain`, the value added tax would be cut from 20 to 15 percent, and the income tax from 13 to 10 percent. It was proposed to amend the Criminal Code to envisage harsher punishment for those who conceal incomes or give wrong information about them. Prosecutor General Kurbanbibi Atadzhanova said this would be punished up to three years in prison.
Meeting Of Russian-Kyrgyz Intergovernmental Commission Holds In Bishkek
Kabar Agency
Bishkek, October 29: The seventh meeting of the intergovernmental Kyrgyz-Russian joint commission for trade-economic and scientific-technical cooperation holds in Bishkek. Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Nikolai Tanaev noted in his statement that solution of many problems planned at previous meetings remains open. Particularly, renewal of the republic`s agriculture technique at the expense of Russian plants through leasing supply and presenting air-liners of Russia on leasing. In this connection, he offered to finish off these problems in the frame of intergovernmental commission. Chairman of the commission on the part of Russia, head of the Russian Federal Agency on Atomic Energy Alexander Rumyantsev said that it is necessary to solve these problems at the highest level. He said that Russian side wants to introduce changes to the treaty. In particular, on supplying gas, to add the article on importing natural gas to Kyrgyzstan. A. Rumyantsev emphasized the importance of cooperation in the field of electrical energy. Fulfillment of a protocol of previous meeting of the commission and economic cooperation programme of Russia and Kyrgyzstan for 2000-2009 are considering at the meeting. Implementation of intergovernmental agreement on setting up intergovernmental scientific-research centre in Bishkek will be considered. Commodity circulation between Kyrgyzstan and Russia increased by 50 per cent on the results of 10 months. President Askar Akaev of Kyrgyzstan told during the meeting with head of the Federal Agency for Atomic Energy of Russia Alexander Rumyantsev, who is the chairman of intergovernmental Kyrgyz-Russian joint commission for trade-economic and scientific-technical cooperation on the part of Russia.
Teheran Doesn`t Want Outside Countries In Caspian Affairs
Kazakhstan News
Moscow, October 29: Teheran does not want countries that are not part of the region to be involved in Caspian affairs, the Iran Embassy said in a press release on Friday. This subject was discussed yesterday during a meeting between Iran`s Presidential Special Envoy on the Caspian Mekhdi Safari and Russian Foreign Ministry Special Envoy and Ambassador at Large Igor Savolsky. `Russia and Iran`s rejection of the presence of countries not part of the region in the Caspian Sea was stressed,` said the release.
Foreign Minister Of Uzbekistan To Visit India
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, October 28: Delegation of Uzbekistan led by Foreign Minister Sadyk Safaev will pay a three-day visit to India on 29-31 October. The main purpose of the visit is to exchange opinions on current state and perspectives of the Uzbek-Indian relation, hold consultations between foreign political departments of the two states, discuss interaction within international organisations and fight against terrorism and drug trafficking, the Foreign Ministry`s press service told UzReport.com. On 29 October, the Uzbek delegation will hold negotiations with Indian Foreign Minister Natvar Singh at Khaydarabad Palace. It is planned that the sides will sign a memorandum on cooperation between the governments of Uzbekistan and India on creation of the Information Technologies Centre in Tashkent. On the same day, the delegation will meet Defence Minister Pranab Kumar Mukerdji and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The following day, the Uzbek delegation will hold talks with Somnat Chattedji, chairman of the lower chamber of Indian parliament and business circles of India.
ADB President To Visit Central Asian States
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, October 28: The Asian Development Bank`s President Tadao Chino will begin a nine-day official mission to Central Asia on Sunday that will include visits to Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Mr Chino will meet with leaders and senior government officials in each country to discuss ADB`s assistance programs and highlight the importance of regional cooperation to the future development of Central Asia and the reduction of poverty in the region. `The Central Asian republics are moving into a new era of development. Economic growth in the region is strong and new opportunities are being created in many areas,` Mr Chino said before leaving Manila. `Central Asia holds a unique position in the world today - unique in terms of its history, its strategic location and its rich mix of natural and human resources. This combination of assets, opportunities and challenges makes regional cooperation one of the most powerful instruments available for achieving accelerated economic growth and reducing poverty in the region.` Mr Chino will deliver a keynote address to open the Third Ministerial Conference on Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation in Astana, Kazakhstan, on 1 November. The Conference will bring together Ministers and senior officials of the seven countries participating in ADB`s Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Programme to discuss ways to expand cooperation and deepen economic ties. Delegations from Azerbaijan, People`s Republic of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will participate in the conference.
Tatar President Visits Kazakhstan
Radio Free Europe
Astana, October 28: Mintimer Shaimiev, president of Russia`s Republic of Tatarstan, met with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev and Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov in Astana on 28 October, Kazakh TV reported. Akhmetov commented: `Tatarstan has a great deal of experience and excellent economic potential. This is precisely what our country`s economy can benefit from,` `Kazakhstan Today` reported. Akhmetov said that he and Shaimiev discussed Kazakh purchases from the Kazan Helicopter Factory, and how Kazakhstan might put to use Tatarstan`s experience in raising oil production.
Seoul Mayor To Visit China, Russia, Italy, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan News
Seoul, October 28: Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak will Saturday embark on a 12-day overseas trip that will take him to China, Russia, Italy and Kazakhstan, Lee`s office said Thursday. Between Oct. 30 and Nov. 10, Lee is to visit five cities in the four countries -- Shanghai, Moscow, Venice, Astana and Almaty, said the office.
Uzbekistan May Join Single Economic Zone, Says Putin
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, October 27: Uzbekistan is ready to join the Single Economic Zone (SEZ) on certain conditions, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during the television communication with the Ukrainian population. He said that during the recent meeting with Central Asian leaders, Uzbekistan`s President stated that his country was ready to join to SEZ if some of its functions were transferred to supranational level. According to Putin, SEZ member countries are capable to introduce common life standards, equal to those in Europe. Unification of economic legislation should be the first step towards this, he said. The Russian President underlined that it was necessary to create a system, which would not depend on one country only, and added that parliaments of member states should pass a large number of documents.
Azeri Foreign Minister Says Armenia Responsible For Time Out In Talks
ArC News
Baku, October 27: Time-out taken by the Armenian side in Astana is becoming too long, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has said. He added that although during a meeting with the Azerbaijani president in Astana [Kazakhstan in September] Armenian President Robert Kocharyan had asked for some time to examine several issues, there had been no news from him up to now. The [Azerbaijani] Foreign Ministry has already informed the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen about this. Even a meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries scheduled for October has been postponed.
Germany, Tajikistan Ink 2005-07 Aid Protocol
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, October 27: Tajik and German government representatives signed a protocol in Dushanbe on 27 October governing financial cooperation between the two countries in 2005-07, Asia Plus-Blitz reported the next day. Germany will provide 20 million euros ($25.5 million) to construct a new transmission grid for the Nurek hydropower station, with 7 million coming as a grant and 13 million as a low-interest loan, a Tajik Economy Ministry spokesman told the news agency. Germany will also provide two grants totaling 14 million euros -- 6 million to rehabilitate social infrastructure and 8 million for postnatal care and tuberculosis prevention.
Caspian Countries` Positions Getting Closer - Envoy
Interfax
Moscow, October 27: The positions of the Caspian countries -Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan - on the legal status of the sea are drawing closer, Russian presidential envoy on international energy cooperation Igor Yusufov told a Wednesday briefing following a session of the working group on Caspian problems. The 15th session of the special working group on the development of a convention on the sea`s legal status wrapped up in Moscow on Wednesday.
Iran Terms Caspian Sea Talks As `constructive`
IRNA
Moscow, October 26: The Caspian Sea special working group held positive and constructive talks in the 15th round of their meeting here on Wednesday, said Iran`s representative to the group Mehdi Safari. A working group of the five Caspian countries in their two-day meeting in Moscow discussed the draft convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea, added Safari. The group has made a headway towards establishing the legal status of the Caspian Sea, he said, adding that the representatives of other littoral states raised their viewpoints clearly on various Caspian Sea related issues. The group includes representatives of the littoral states of Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. The next special meeting of the group is scheduled to be held in Ashkhabad, the capital city of Turkmenistan. The date of the meeting has yet to be set through diplomatic channels.
JICA/World Vision Japan/Uzbekistan Project Launches Website
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, October 26: Website www.aids-drugs.uz was created within the framework of the partner project of JICA and World Vision Japan/Uzbekistan on HIV/AIDS prevention among risk groups and youth of Tashkent. The sections of the website carry useful information for people with HIV/AIDS and expert advices on HIV/AIDS prevention. The project conducted a survey in cooperation with Tashkent branch of Kamolot youth movement and Spectrum consulting agency in order to analyse the level of awareness among the youth on issues related to HIV/AIDS and drug abuse.
Tajiks To Need Uzbek Visas For Transit
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, October 26: Tajik citizens returning to Tajikistan by train through Uzbekistan will now need Uzbek visas, Tajik Border Protection Committee official Khalil Boboev told Avesta on 26 October. Boboev said that Tajikistan has received official notice from Uzbek authorities that `only after receiving a visa for the Republic of Uzbekistan will it be possible to make travel arrangements [through Uzbekistan back to Tajikistan].`
Germany To Grant Tajikistan EUR 10 Mln Under Intergovt Protocol
Itar-Tass
Dushanbe, October 26: Germany will provide over 10 million euros to Tajikistan for the implementation of projects in the country within the framework of the Protocol of intergovernmental talks on financial and technical cooperation for 2005-2006. The document will be signed in Dushanbe on Wednesday and will summarise the results of the two-day third meeting of the Tajikistani-German commission, sources in the Tajikistani economy and trade ministry told Itar-Tass. The German delegation is headed by the chief of the Central Asian and Caucasus Countries Department of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation Wolfgang Ambruster. Within the framework of the Protocol the German side intends to finance the project of rehabilitation of the Tajikistani primary education system, as well as invest funds to the reconstruction of the distribution station of the Nurek hydropower plant and to the development of the country`s healthcare system. The Protocol also envisages rendering assistance to Tajikistan in attracting investments to its chemical and mining industries.
Nine Documents Have Been Signed In Baku On Tuesday Following The Azeri-Moldovan Summit Talks
Itar-Tass
Baku, October 26: Nine documents have been signed here on Tuesday following the Azeri-Moldovan summit talks. They include the intergovernmental agreements on long-term economic cooperation, interaction in welfare and justice. Azerbaijan`s President Ilham Aliyev and Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin, who arrived on a two-day official visit in Baku, signed the Political declaration that sets out the priorities of cooperation of the two countries on the regional and international levels, in trade, economic, cultural and scientific areas. President Aliyev said the visit of his Moldovan counterpart to Azerbaijan `will lay down a sound foundation for the further development of good-neighbourly, friendly relations between the two countries and peoples`. He said the arrangements reached as a result of the talks would enable Azerbaijan and Moldova fuller to implement mutually-advantageous cooperation.
Russia Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev Arrives In Baku For VisitItar-TassBaku, October 26: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan must consolidate their efforts in issues of general regulation and organization of the grain market. Russian Minister of Agriculture Alexei Gordeyev said this in an interview with Itar-Tass. He arrived in Baku to take part in Wednesday`s meeting of the intergovernmental Council on issues of the CIS agro-industrial complex. According to Alexei Gordeyev, `today CIS grain producing countries, which are separately making their way in the world market, actually alienate each other.` `As a result, we lose big profits, and our competitors win,` Gordeyev believes. At the same time, the minister ascertained that `leaders of the economic bloc ministries don`t feel very much the topicality of this subject, its urgency in perspective.` In this connection, Gordeyev stressed: `I consider it necessary to speed up the solution of this issue and initiate its consideration at a future meeting of CIS heads of governments.`
Kazakhstan, Russia Discuss Joint Bank
Interfax
Astana, October 26: Kazakhstan and Russia have begun negotiating a joint bank of a new type, Kazakh Prime Minister Danial Akhmetov said on Tuesday. `Russia positively assessed [Kazakh President] Nursultan Nazarbayev`s proposal for setting up the bank of a new type and` the two countries` finance ministers are discussing the issue, Akhmetov said. The idea is consistent with the concept of creating a financial center in Almaty that the government is working out, he said. Moreover, Akhmetov tasked the pertinent agencies with drafting a state program for the national innovation system. `It`s time to move from a concept to the program and I want the program on my desk within a month,` he said. The national innovation system is aimed at developing a competitive economy based on intellectual potential and commercialization of fresh knowledge. The program is to be implemented in three stages, notably 2005-2007, 2008-2010 and 2011-2015.
Azerbaijan Says Not In Negotiations Over Use Of Its Territory For Iran Assault
Interfax
Baku, October 26: Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov denied reports that the U.S. is negotiating with Azerbaijan on the possibility of using Azerbaijan`s territory to attack Iran. `We do not have any information that Azerbaijan`s territory will be used to strike at Iran, and I can say for certain that there have been no negotiations on this,` Mamedyarov said. Earlier, the local mass media, referring to foreign press, reported that Washington may attack Iran with Azerbaijan`s support.
Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia Coordinate Power-system Synchronization Deal
Interfax
Moscow, October 26: Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia agreed a draft agreement concerning the synchronization of their respective energy systems on Tuesday, the Azerenergy press service announced. The document awaits final endorsement by their power sector chiefs. The Unified Energy System of Russia (UES) press service confirmed for Interfax that UES representatives had held talks in Iran and had taken part in the draft agreement`s preparation, but refrained from detailed comments. Synchronizing the systems will make it possible for the free flow of electricity via interstate high-tension lines. This will significantly boost reliability, as the countries` energy workers will be able to insure each other of power during winter months and in case of calamity. Chief of Iranian power company Tavanir Masoud Hojjat was cited in the Azerenergy press release as saying that after the systems are synchronized, Iran will be able to get up to 200 megawatts transiting Azerbaijan from Russia. This was the first meeting of the tripartite working group for electric power, the release says.
Turkmen President Plans Uzbekistan Visit
Radio Free Europe
Ashgabat, October 25: President Niyazov told the People`s Council that he will meet with Uzbek President Islam Karimov in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, on 19 November, Turkmen TV reported. Niyazov said: `I had two or three [telephone] discussions with Karimov this month because there are some misunderstandings between us over such issues as the Karshi pumping station, the Dostluk reservoir, and the Amu-Bukhara reservoir, as well as a minor problem with oil extraction along the border [at the Kokdumalok oil field].... We have finally reached an agreement, and it is due to be signed.`
US Ambassador To Uzbekistan Pays Visit To Khorezm Region
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, October 25: On 21-22 October, US Ambassador to Uzbekistan Jon R. Purnell made his first official visit to Urgench and Khiva in western Uzbekistan. During the visit, Ambassador Purnell met with the Regional Governor, Islam Olimovich Bobojonov, and Khivan Imam, Davronbek Abdukadyrov. The cultural portion of the Ambassador`s trip included a tour of Old Town Khiva. The purpose of the visit was to discuss issues of regional importance, to review the progress of US government funded projects and exchanges, and to become acquainted with the historic cities of Khiva and Urgench. On 21 October, Ambassador Purnell and the leader of the Basin Water Organisation (BVO) Amu Darya, Yuldash Khudaybergenov, participated in a ceremony to celebrate the transfer of heavy and transportation equipment to BVO Amu Darya. The US government through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) procured this equipment to improve inspection, maintenance, and operation of the existing facilities. The transferred equipment included an excavator, a backhoe, 12-passengers van, UAZ passenger-carrying vehicle, and a Niva passenger-carrying vehicle. Since September 2000, USAID`s Central Asia Natural Resources Management Programme (NRMP) has closely worked with BVO Amu Darya to improve water resource management of the Amudarya River and operation of the control structures within the River Basin. Ambassador Purnell also participated in an on-line chat regarding the US elections at the Internet Access and Training Programme (IATP) centre in Urgench. Colin Guard, IATP Regional Director, facilitated the chat between all 18 IATP Centers throughout Uzbekistan. IATP is a programme of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the US Department of State and administered by the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX). IATP consists of a network of Internet access sites located throughout 11 countries of Eurasia. Through these sites, thousands of individuals per month receive free-of-charge access to the Internet as well as to a wide variety of computer-related training programmes. The IATP network in Uzbekistan hosts over 600 websites and serves over 40,000 users in 18 Internet access sites located in every region of the country.
Armenian President Ends Visit To Georgia
Radio Free Europe
Yerevan, October 25: On a three-day visit to Tbilisi from 22-24 October, President Robert Kocharian met with his Georgian counterpart Mikheil Saakashvili, Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania and parliamentary speaker Nino Burdjanadze to discuss transportation and various aspects of bilateral relations, Armenian media reported. Kocharian and Saakashvili also discussed coordinating their respective countries` efforts to expand cooperation with the EU within the framework of the European Neighborhood Policy, and the potential for cooperation between the three Baltic states and the three states of the South Caucasus. At a joint news conference on 22 October, Saakashvili expressed the hope that additional funding will be found for the planned new highway from Tbilisi to the predominantly Armenian-populated region of Djavakheti in southern Georgia.
Uzbek Journalist Granted US Asylum
Radio Free Europe
Tashkent, October 25: Ruslan Sharipov, an independent Uzbek journalist whose imprisonment in 2003 sparked international outrage, arrived in the United States last week, the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) announced in a 25 October press release. `We are relieved that Mr. Sharipov is beyond the reach of the Uzbek authorities, and we hope that he can one day return to a free and democratic Uzbekistan,` said Kajsa Tornroth, director of press freedom programs for WAN. Sharipov was sentenced to four years` imprisonment in 2003 for homosexual acts; many saw the move as retaliation for his coverage of human rights violations. According to the press release, Sharipov fled Uzbekistan `in the face of serious threats to his safety,` leaving for Moscow in June and eventually arriving in California after being given asylum. S
Caspian Sea Status To Be Discussed In Moscow
Kazakhstan News
Moscow, October 25: A regular meeting of the Special Task Group for defining the legal status of the Caspian Sea will be held in Moscow on October 26-27. During the meeting, it is planned to continue discussions on specific articles of the drafted convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea. The foreign ministers of the Caspian countries supported the work of the Special Task Group at a conference in Moscow in April 2004. The ministers remarked on a serious progress in the preparation of the drafted convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea. Following the ministers` instructions, the Special Task Group will continue to make efforts to settle the outstanding questions of the Caspian Sea status and will try to reach a commonly acceptable solution.
Kazakh President Begins Sweden Visit
Radio Free Europe
Astana, October 25: President Nursultan Nazarbaev met with Swedish Prime Minister Goeran Persson in Stockholm on 25 October to begin a two-day visit to Sweden, Khabar TV reported. Their discussion focused on international affairs. Ministers from the two countries signed agreements on the protection of investments and international cargo and passenger transportation. Trade volume between Kazakhstan and Sweden was $72.3 million in 2002, Kazinform reported.
Kazakhstan, Sweden To Develop Trade
Itar-Tass
Stockholm, October 25: Kazakhstan and Sweden signed two agreements here on Monday - the agreement for the encouragement and mutual protection of investment and the agreement on international automobile transportation of passengers and cargoes. The sides believe the steps envisaged by the documents will held develop trade and economic relations between the two countries. Kazakhstan`s President Nursultan Nazarbayev told a news conference here after the signing of the documents that he wants Sweden to get interested in the Central Asian country that `has liberalized politics and the economy`. `We have huge raw material resources Sweden does not have`, he said. `But the Scandinavian kingdom has high technologies and the processing industry Kazakhstan does not have. We would like to pool the efforts to mutual advantage. And the documents such as those we have signed today are needed to develop business relations successfully`, he said. Answering a question of Itar-Tass, Nazarbayev said bilateral trade turnover is presently not large - about 130 million dollars a year, which `is not commensurate with the possibilities and the potential of our states`. Kazakhstan has worked out and embarked on the implementation of the industrialization programme till 2015, under which the volume of the economy will increase 250 percent. We have already struck contracts worth 11.5 billion dollars. As many as 30,000 jobs will be created as a result of their implementation. As many as 4 billion dollars will be utilized in the next two years. It is for this purpose that we invite Swedish companies, Kazakhstan`s president said.
Georgia Disagrees With Russia`s Assessment Of Regional Conflicts
Itar-Tass
Tbilisi, October 25: The Georgian Foreign Ministry has disagreed with Russia`s assessment of the conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. `Russia favours a political and peaceful resolution of conflicts in Georgia that became a result of violations of the rights of peoples that live there to national identity and autonomy within the sovereign Georgian state,` the Russian Foreign Ministry said. The Georgian Foreign Ministry responded by saying, `The Russian side is either not fully informed about the history of the conflicts in these regions of Georgia or does not want to recognise objective facts and the negative role of the then leadership of Russia in these conflicts.`
Moldovan President Goes To Azerbaijan On Official Visit
Interfax
Chisinau, October 25: Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin flew to Azerbaijan for an official two-day visit on Tuesday. An intergovernmental agreement on long-term economic cooperation is expected to be signed. It will cover joint investments, support for joint investment projects, the establishment of joint ventures and financial-industrial groups, and cooperation in various industries, primarily in machine-building, Voronin`s press service told Interfax. Azerbaijan and Moldova will cooperate in the processing industry and implement infrastructure, transport and cargo conveyance projects. Special emphasis will be put on cooperation in winemaking. Moldovan experts are expected to take part in large-scale projects to restore vineyards, to exchange know-how and to establish joint ventures, the press service said.
Council Of Europe`s Monitoring Committee Holds Session In Tbilisi
Interfax
Tbilisi, October 25: The Council of Europe`s Monitoring Committee opened its meeting in Tbilisi on Monday. Georgia cannot meet its commitment to take back Meskhetian Turks deported from South Georgia in 1944 because it has to feed nearly 300,000 refugees, Georgian parliament chairman Nino Burjanadze said in opening the session. The session will also take up Georgian - Russian relations. State Duma member Konstantin Kosachyov, a Russian representative on the Monitoring Committee, told reporters that he had read the Georgian report.
Turkmen-Uzbek Leaders Plan To Settle Border, Water Disputes
Interfax
Ashgabat, October 25: A number of disputes on the Turkmen- Uzbek border and outstanding water issues will be settled at a meeting between the two countries` presidents in Bukhara on November 19, Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov said at the 15th session of the People`s Council, the country`s supreme body of power. `Under our agreement with the Uzbek president, we will sign an agreement on eternal peace on the Turkmen-Uzbek border, fraternal mutually beneficial relations, using border facilities on an equal basis and preventing any steps that may cause damage to each other,` the president said. `The foreign ministries are working on [the agreement],` he said. `There should be no disagreements between us and our neighbor Uzbekistan. We will also continue our fraternal relations with Iran, Kazakhstan and Afghanistan. We will deal with all disputes through talks,` he said. `The main disputable issue in the region is the problem of water. We had certain misunderstandings regarding the Dostluk reservoir in Karshi and the Amu-Bukhara reservoir. We have settled all these problems. We reached an agreement following our negotiations,` Niyazov said.
Uzbek People For Closer Relations Between Uzbekistan, Russia
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, October 24: Majority of Uzbek population are for closer political ties between Uzbekistan and the Russian Federation. 81.2 per cent of the participants of poll held by Ijtimoiy Fikr, public opinion centre, backed closer ties of Uzbekistan and Russia. The largest share of the responders expressed their confidence that cooperation with Russia would positively affect stability and security in the region.
Armenian President Meets With Armenian Community In Tbilisi
Itar-Tass
Tbilisi, October 24: Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, currently in Georgia on an official visit, met with representatives of the Armenian community in Tbilisi on Sunday. The meeting was held behind closed doors. `Robert Kocharyan is satisfied with results of the visit and the state of bilateral relations,` Van Baiburt, co-leader of the Armenian community in Georgia and Georgian parliament member, said after the meeting. `We discussed problems of the Armenian community in Georgia, which Armenia can help to resolve, including the delivery of textbooks for Armenian schools,` he noted. Bilateral trade, economic and cultural cooperation was discussed, as well. Armenians make 5.6 per cent of the Georgian population. According to the population census of 2002, Georgia has 4.44 million population, 84 per cent of them Georgians, 6.5 per cent Azerbaijanis and 1.5 per cent Russians. Georgia has Georgian, Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani schools.
Beijing Supports Baku On Nagorno-Karabakh
Interfax
Baku, October 24: Beijing supports Baku`s position in settling the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, said Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov. Speaking at a press conference following negotiations with his Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing on Saturday, Mammadyarov said, `We touched upon the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh, and China yet again confirmed its support of Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity.` The two countries `have many common positions on regional and international problems,` he said. Li said at the same news conference that `Azerbaijan and China have common interests in political issues, and they understand, trust, and support each other.` A number of Chinese companies, particularly those engaged in the hi-tech sector, operate in Azerbaijan, and Beijing supports Azerbaijani investments in China, he said.
Kazakh President Calls For Broader UN Security Council
Radio Free Europe
Astana, October 23: Addressing the conference, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev called for the expansion of the UN Security Council, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported. He said, `We believe that the Security Council should be expanded and include states from Asia, Africa, and Latin America.` Noting that the `whole system of relations between states` is undergoing a difficult period, Nazarbaev said that Security Council reform could exert a democratizing influence. For his part, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan sent a welcome message to the conference, saying, `CICA plays an important role in defining the future structure of cooperation in Asia.`
Georgia, Armenia To Step Up Inter-parliamentary Cooperation
IRNA
Tbilisi, October 23: Armenia and Georgia have announced a new stage of enhanced inter-parliamentary cooperation between the two countries. Speaking after talks with Georgian parliament speaker Nino Burdzhanadze on Saturday, Armenian President Robert Kocharyan told journalists, `The parliaments of the two countries have experience of cooperation. Now it needs to be refreshed and enhanced.` Burdzhanadze said Georgia sought `even closer cooperation with Armenia`. In her words, `This is in the interests of both countries and the entire region. `It is important that the presidents of Georgia and Armenia have reached an agreement on many areas of cooperation. The parliaments of our countries will have to create good conditions for the implementation of these agreements,` she said.
President Of Azerbaijan Advocates Closer Ties With China
Interfax
Baku, October 23: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Saturday expressed satisfaction with the state of Azerbaijani- Chinese economic relations and voiced hopes for closer cooperation. During a meeting in Baku with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, `the president expressed satisfaction with the activity of Chinese companies in Azerbaijan, especially in the fuel and energy sector, and expressed hopes for successful cooperation in non-oil sectors as well,` the Azerbaijani presidential press service told Interfax. Aliyev and Li also discussed territorial problems. `Mutual support by Baku and Beijing was noted on the Nagorno-Karabakh and Taiwan problems,` the press service said. Li said he hopes the planned visit by Aliyev to Beijing in 2005 will strengthen relations.
Turkmenistan Amnesty For Ramadan
BBC
Ashgabat, October 23: The president of the central Asian republic of Turkmenistan has granted amnesty to about 9,000 prisoners. The prisoners will be set free on 9 November, in what has become an annual mass release to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Saparmurat Niyazov made the announcement in an address on the opening day of the annual session of the country`s legislative body. He also announced an increase in state wages and pensions. He also unveiled plans for legislation aimed at conserving water and introducing long-term leases of land. The 2,500-member People`s Council, as it is called, traditionally passes all legislation proposed by Mr Niyazov, who has made himself President for Life.
Tajikistan Gears Up To Issue More Passports
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, October 27: A source in Tajikistan`s Interior Ministry told Asia Plus-Blitz on 27 October that Tajik citizens who reside in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan will soon be able to obtain foreign passports there. More than 20 centers have been set up to issue passports in Tajikistan itself. The Interior Ministry has already used 42,600 of the 63,000 passport blanks it had on hand to issue passports; an additional 200,000 blanks have been ordered from Kazakhstan. Beginning on 1 January 2005, Tajik citizens will be required to have a valid foreign passport to travel within the Eurasian Economic Community (Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan).
Uzbek Court Leaves Internews Suspension Unchanged
Radio Free Europe
Tashkent, October 26: A court in Tashkent ruled on 26 October to leave in force an earlier court decision shutting down the Internews Tashkent NGO for six months, RFE/RL`s Uzbek Service reported. The initial decision in early September had suspended Internews Tashkent, which supports independent media, for charter violations that Internews lawyer Bakhtiyor Shohnazarov described as insignificant and easily remedied, fergana.ru reported on 27 October. USAID representative Richard Stoddard lamented the court ruling, saying, `As the grant giver for Internews Tashkent`s main projects, I am deeply saddened and disappointed by this decision.` Internews Tashkent will not be able to resume operation until 26 March 2005.
Soyuz Lands In Kazakhstan
Agence France-Presse
Astana, October 24: A Russian Soyuz spacecraft bringing back three astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS) landed Sunday in Kazakhstan, Russian space officials announced. The Soyuz TMA-4 vessel touched down near the city of Arkalyk in the Kazakh steppe at 0035 GMT with US astronaut Michael Fincke and his Russian colleagues Gennady Padalka and Yuri Shargin on board. `Everything went according to plan, they landed at the scheduled time and in the scheduled area,` mission control`s spokesman Valery Lyndin told AFP. All three were in fine health and smiling as the rescue team extracted them from the craft, Fincke taking the time to call home and talk to his daughter. The team was to undergo medical tests in the mobile hospital at the site.
Special Focus
The Surprise Of Abkhaz Elections
As the presidential election debacle that followed the October 3 voting process in Abkhazia slowly approaches a conclusion and the answer to who will take over as President of the de facto republic becomes clearer, other crucial issues, specifically Abkhazia`s relationship with both Russia and Georgia, have begun to blur. Initial reports by the Central Elections Committee (CEC) in Abkhazia claimed that the Kremlin-backed candidate, Raul Khajimba, had gathered enough votes to ensure a victory and rule out the possibility of a run-off election.
To read more, click on the link:
http://www.cacianalyst.org/view_article.php?articleid=2788
A Strong Japanese Initiative In Central Asia
Japan has long been one of the most active powers in Central Asia, allocating over $2 billion from 1992 to 2002. This year, Japan embarked on a major new initiative in the region, based on continuing its bilateral activities but launching a new dimension, a region-wide dialogue with all five regional states that will periodically consult as a group. The concrete developments of this new regional forum remain to be seen, but it certainly is aimed to put Japan at par with other regional players in the region.
To read more, click on the link:
http://www.cacianalyst.org/view_article.php?articleid=2789Russian Military Base Inaugurated In Tajikistan
Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 17 officially opened a Russian military base south of Dushanbe. The base, which houses 5000 military personnel mainly from the 201st Division of the Russian army, a special air unit and a military/technical complex, is Russia`s second permanent base in Central Asia after the one inaugurated in Kyrgyzstan last year. Against a background of growing American military presence in Central Asia and the Caucasus, the new base demonstrated Russia`s determination to reestablish its military influence in those regions of strategic importance for Russia.
To read more, click on the link:
http://www.cacianalyst.org/view_article.php?articleid=2790Georgia`s Rose Revolution Grapples With Dilemma: Do Ends Justify Means?
Revolutions - starting with France in 1789 and stretching past Russia in 1917 - invariably reach a stage where those seeking to establish a new order must face the question: Do the ends justify the means? Georgia seems to have reached this point almost a year after President Mikheil Saakashvili led the `Rose Revolution.` Civil society activists now are criticizing Saakashvili`s administration for using arbitrary methods in the attempt to establish the rule-of-law.
To read more, click on the link:
http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav102604.shtmlTashkent Mayor: Non Official Residents Threat To Security
Citing a desire to prevent possible terror attacks, the mayor of Tashkent ordered city residents without official residence permits to be dismissed from their jobs and expelled from the Uzbek capital. Since the order took effect, thousands of people have been forced out of the capital, including hundreds of highly trained specialists, sources within the mayor`s office and the Tashkent police tell EurasiaNet.
To read more, click on the link:
http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/civilsociety/articles/eav102704.shtmlRussia And Tajikistan: Friends Again
Russia has strengthened its strategic foothold in Central Asia with an unprecedented plan for military and economic cooperation with Tajikistan. A far-reaching strategic agreement allows Moscow to establish a permanent military base in Tajikistan and gives Russian companies opportunities to gain controlling interests in key Tajik economic sectors.
To read more, click on the link:
http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav102804.shtmlGeorgia: UN Security Council Concerned At Stalled Abkhaz Peace Process
The UN Security Council has expressed concern at the absence of dialogue between Georgia and its separatist Abkhaz region. Abkhaz leaders suspended talks in July to protest Georgian maritime actions and the province has since become embroiled in a dispute over its presidential elections. The Security Council issued a statement stressing the need for renewed efforts to reach a lasting political solution and signaled that there would be high-level talks soon to try to advance the process.
To read more, click on the link:
http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/pp102804.shtmlArmenia Facing Instability Ahead - Report
Armenia faces instability unless it takes quick steps to improve relations with its neighbors, and fosters the rule-of-law at home, according to a new study that examines the Caucasus nation`s political and economic prospects. The report, prepared by the International Crisis Group, urges Armenia to approach the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process `realistically.` It adds that President Robert Kocharian`s administration should `supplement economic success with robust democratization.`
To read more, click on the link:
http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav102904.shtml
Report dated 29 October 2004