Third anniversary of Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan
24 March
The third anniversary of the “Tulip Revolution” will be marked in Kyrgyzstan on Monday. The republic’s parliament recently decided to turn March 24 into a People’s Revolution Day Holiday. A festive meeting will be held on the occasion at the Bishkek Philharmonic Society and a salute will be fired in the central square of the capital on Monday evening. Prior to this, March 24 was marked in Kyrgyzstan only in compliance with a presidential decree, which lacks the power of a law. However, not all the population of Kyrgyzstan are pleased with the decision to turn March 24 into a nation-wide holiday. The public opinion polls, carried out by the local mass media among the citizens of Bishkek, show that only fifty per cent of the capital’s population acclaim this novelty. Three years ago, a crowd of several thousand people stormed and seized the Government House here. Soldiers and policemen had not put up any notable resistance to the opposition. They simply gave up their weapons and went home. President Askar Akayev was forced to leave the country. Seizure of Government house was preceded by several arsons and by a successful attack of opposition supporters on some administrative buildings and also on offices of prosecutors and of home affairs in the regional centre of Jalal-Abad. (Itar-Tass)
ARMENIAN OPPOSITION RESUMES PROTESTS AFTER STATE OF EMERGENCY EXPIRES
25 March
Some 2,000 supporters of former President Levon Ter-Petrossian congregated in central Yerevan on March 21 to pay their respects to the eight people killed during clashes on March 1-2 between police and security officials and Ter-Petrossian supporters. Police sought again on March 21 to prevent the protesters marching through the city center and detained several of them, but minor scuffles did not escalate into major violence. Outgoing Armenian President Robert Kocharian told journalists on March 20 that he would not extend the state of emergency he imposed following the March 1 clashes, and which expired on March 20, but he warned at the same time that he has ordered police to take "strict measures" to prevent further mass demonstrations, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported. Kocharian again rejected international calls for an independent investigation into the March 1 violence, which was the culmination of 10 days protests by Ter-Petrossian supporters against the official results of the February 19 presidential ballot that identified Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian as the winner with 52.8 percent of the vote, followed by Ter-Petrossian with 21.51 percent. Ter-Petrossian claims to have polled 65 percent of the vote. (RFE/RL)
Tbilisi denies involvement in terror attack in S. Osetia
24 March
Georgian State Minister for Reintegration Temur Yakobashvili has dismissed Tskhinvali's accusations that Georgia was involved in the car explosion incident the day before, which injured a North Ossetian peacekeeper and a local resident. Tskhinvali officials earlier stated that the explosive device that was disguised as a household item was given to the Ossetian peacekeeper by a Georgian national in the village of Okona in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone and detonated several minutes later. The peacekeeper and the local resident who were injured in the explosion in South Ossetian are in critical condition, both are being treated at local hospital for severe injuries. Tskhinvali blamed Georgian security forces for the terror attack. "The de-facto authorities in Tskhinvali are trying every method to draw the Georgian authorities into their provocations. Georgia has never resorted to terror attacks," State Minister Yakobashili told journalists on Monday. This is not the first case when Tskhinvali is trying to accuse Georgia of terrorism, he said. "Several days ago Ossetian militants opened fire on Georgian posts in the conflict zone from the positions of Russian peacekeepers in order to cause return fire and draw them into a confrontation," Yakobashvili said. The Georgian authorities want to settle the conflict in the Tskhinvali region peacefully, he said. (Interfax)
TRILATERAL MINISTERIAL SUMMIT ENDS IN TAJIKISTAN
25 March
At the conclusion of a two-day summit in Dushanbe, the foreign ministers of Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Iran signed on March 25 a joint 12-point communique pledging tripartite cooperation in the energy and transport sectors and vowing to expand economic cooperation, Avesta reported. The three hailed the meeting as an important step toward "economic integration" and greater regional cooperation, adding that they also agreed to establish a new Dushanbe-based Persian-language television channel to broadcast in each country. Addressing reporters following the signing, Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi added that they confirmed their readiness "to intensify economic and humanitarian cooperation," but stressed that the trilateral summit was not directed against any third party. The trilateral summit was intended to bolster new efforts at "trilateral cooperation" and establishing a Tajik-Iranian-Afghan "economic council." Iran is actively engaged in developing several hydroelectric power plants in Tajikistan and is also working to complete construction of a planned Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Iran highway. A related project envisions the construction of a new railway link connecting Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and China, aimed at boosting trade, increasing exports, and easing transit costs in the region, as well as expanding passenger traffic. (ITAR-TASS)
Kazakh, Russian special services stop arms smuggling channel
25 March
According to a press release issued in Astana, a joint Kazakh-Russian operation on March 25 targeted an arms-trafficking network. The operation involved units from the West Kazakhstan Oblast branch of the Interior Ministry, the Kazakh National Security Committee, and the Russian Saratov Oblast branch of the Interior Ministry and "liquidated an underground workshop and international channel for the illicit production, smuggling, and trade of military weapons in Uralsk," the administrative capital of West Kazakhstan Oblast. The release added that the operation also resulted in the arrests of an unspecified number of suspects in both Uralsk and Saratov. In a separate operation the same day, Kazakh police launched a sweep aimed at rounding up illegal labor migrants, arresting 135 laborers without legal work permits, 60 of whom were Uzbek citizens, 40 were from Kyrgyzstan, and another 35 were from Turkey. Kazakh police have conducted regular sweeps of major urban centers aimed at stemming the influx of illegal laborers, resulting in the deportation of 476 foreign workers since the beginning of the year. (Interfax-Kazakhstan)
DAGHESTAN BROADCASTING HEAD ASSASSINATED
25 March
Unidentified gunmen opened fire on and killed Gadji Abashilov, chairman of Daghestan State Television and Radio, in the evening of March 21 as he was getting into his car in Makhachkala after buying groceries in a local supermarket, "Kommersant" reported. His driver was seriously injured. A former editor of the weekly "Molodyozh Dagestana," Abashilov was named to head the state broadcasting company in January 2007 by President Mukhu Aliyev, with whom he was close. A reward of 10 million rubles ($420,221) has been offered for "reliable information" about the identity of those who ordered and carried out the killing. Just hours before his death, Abashilov conveyed his condolences to the family of another journalist from Daghestan, Ilyas Shurpayev, who was found stabbed to death earlier on March 21 in his apartment in Moscow, where he worked for Channel One television. Moscow police do not suspect any link between Shurpayev's killing and his work as a journalist, according to kavkaz-uzel.ru. Lenta.ru on March 22 quoted Andrei Melamedov, former editor in chief of the Daghestan paper "Nastoyashchee vremya" as saying that the names of both Shurpayev and Abashilov figured on a "blacklist" given to him by the paper's general director, Rizvan Rizvanov, of people whose names were not under any account to be mentioned in that paper. Melamedov quit the paper on March 13 after a major falling out with Rizvanov. Shortly before his murder, Shurpayev reportedly noted in his blog his amazement at discovering that his name was on Rizvanov's blacklist. On March 18, kavkaz-uzel.ru reported that Rizvanov, a Lezgin, had issued orders to the paper's journalists to exercise no restraint in their criticism of the republic's leaders, and of President Aliyev in particular. (RFE/RL)
Kazakh president's former son-in-law sentenced to 20 years in prison in absentia
26 March
A court has found the Kazakh president's former son-in-law Rakhat Aliyev and former National Security Committee chief Alnur Musayev guilty of planning a coup and sentenced them to 20 years in prison in absentia, an official from the Kazakh Prosecutor General's Office said at a news briefing on Wednesday. It was reported earlier that the trial of Aliyev, Musayev and other people, which had been taking place at the military court of the Akmola garrison since January 23, was closed to public to prevent the disclosure of classified information released during the proceedings. (Interfax)
FORMER ARMENIAN PRIME MINISTER CHARGED
26 March
Opposition Hanrapetutiun party leader Aram Sargsian, who served as Armenian prime minister from November 1999-May 2000, was summoned on March 25 to the Prosecutor-General's Office and formally charged with organizing mass unrest and seeking to seize power. He was not taken into custody, but signed an undertaking not to leave Armenia. He told RFE/RL that he refused to testify. Sargsian backed the presidential bid of former President Levon Ter-Petrossian and played a key role in organizing the protests by Ter-Petrossian's supporters against the perceived falsification of the results of the February 19 presidential ballot. The official results proclaimed Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian the winner with 52.8 percent of the vote, followed by Ter-Petrossian with 21.51 percent. Also on March 25, police arrested Arshak Banuchian, a deputy director of the Matenadaran institute of ancient manuscripts and likewise a committed Ter-Petrossian supporter, after searching his Yerevan apartment the previous evening. On March 24 and 25, residents of a village near the town of Hrazdan in central Armenia staged protest to demand the release from custody of local parliamentarian Sasun Mikaelian, a third prominent Ter-Petrossian supporter arrested in the wake of the March 1-2 violent clashes in Yerevan between police and Ter-Petrossian supporters, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported. Opposition journalists who sought to cover that protest were harassed by police who desisted only after the journalists telephoned the Yerevan office of human rights ombudsman Armen Harutiunian, whose staff came to their assistance. (RFE/RL)
VOLUNTEERS RALLY TO PAY FINE IMPOSED ON INDEPENDENT ARMENIAN TV STATION
26 March
The Giumri-based independent GALA television channel has succeeded over the past week in raising almost 27 million drams ($87,700) to pay a fine imposed on it on March 19 for alleged tax evasion, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported. Up to 10,000 residents of Giumri and the surrounding Shirak region donated money to enable the channel to avoid closure. One donor gave 5,000 drams, one-fifth of his monthly pension, while a second told RFE/RL: "GALA is the only Armenian TV station that had the courage to be independent of the government. I want my kids to grow up in a free country and to be able to freely express their views." GALA fell foul of the authorities last fall after it ignored instructions not to air footage of Ter-Petrossian's September 21 indictment of the Armenian leadership. (RFE/RL)
ARMENIAN POLICE STEP UP EFFORTS TO DETAIN PROTESTERS
27 March
In the wake of the expiration of a 20-day state of emergency in Armenia, police units stepped up on March 26 efforts to deter and detain daily public gatherings of demonstrators and opposition supporters in central Yerevan. The municipal police force adopted obvious measures of heightened security and reasserted control over public places with aim of preventing spontaneous gatherings and nearly daily silent walks by groups of people. A number of people were subject to an almost random series of arrests, with many people detained for hours before being released after simply walking through public areas and main thoroughfares. Defending the new police tactics, Artyom Babayan, the head of the Yerevan police force's criminal investigations unit, told reporters that such measures were necessary "to clear things up" and claimed that the detainees were all opposition supporters who "may commit crimes," adding that the police believed that there could be "wanted criminals" among them. Nearly 50 people were arrested on March 26 in the latest police roundup of people walking in public. Opposition legislator and former human rights ombudsman Larisa Alaverdian warned that "with such steps, the authorities further escalate the situation." (RFE/RL)
U.S. urges Uzbekistan to open up for dialogue
27 March
The United States urged Uzbekistan on Thursday to engage in a dialogue which it says would benefit the Central Asian nation long at odds with the West over human rights issues. Uzbekistan's relations with Washington have been chilly since 2005 when the United States and other Western nations condemned its deadly crackdown on a protest in the eastern town of Andizhan. But, in a possible sign of political relaxation in a country the West says tolerates little dissent, the government has pardoned six jailed human rights activists this year. President Islam Karimov, ruling Central Asia's most populous nation since 1989, has also promised to liberalize Uzbekistan's rigid financial system and he has softened his critical stance towards the West. Some Tashkent diplomats have linked the shift in Uzbekistan's stance to Karimov's bid to emerge from global isolation. Uzbekistan has large gas and oil reserves and is also among the world's top 10 gold producers and the No. 2 cotton exporter. Acting U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Central Asia Pamela Spratlen was due to arrive in the Uzbek capital Tashkent for talks later on Thursday, an embassy statement said. "We are convinced that the involvement of the Uzbek government in a discussion on a broad range of topics that are on our bilateral agenda," the statement quoted U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan Richard Norland as saying. He listed potential topics as regional safety, trade and investment, cultural exchange and human rights. "We can see now that, unlike calls for isolation, international interest and interaction with the Uzbek authorities can lead to positive steps." Uzbekistan, previously a U.S. ally in its so-called war on terror, evicted U.S. troops from a local military airbase after Washington strongly criticized the violence in Andizhan, which President Karimov blamed on Islamist rebels. (Reuters)
Tbilisi court sentences Okruashvili in absentia to 11 years
28 March
The Tbilisi city court on Friday sentenced former Georgian defence minister Irakly Okruashvili in absentia to eleven years' imprisonment. Okruashvili, 35, is found guilty of massive bribe taking committed by an organised group with extortion when he was defence minister (2005-2006). The ex-minister was arrested in Tbilisi on September 27, 2007. He faced charges of power abuse, negligence at the post of defence minister, bribe-taking committed by an organised group with extortion and money laundering. On October 9, he was released on bail. He flew out for Munich on November 1. On November 28, Okruashvili was arrested in Berlin, and on January 9 he was conveyed to Paris, since he entered Germany with a Schengen visa granted by France to him. On January 30, the Paris court of appeal satisfied the appeal of French lawyers and released him on a French family's bail. Okruashvili's attorneys and supporters hope France will give a positive answer to his application for political asylum and would not extradite him to Georgia. Okruashvili, who is in Paris at present, denies the accusations brought against him. (Itar-Tass)
No one may tear away Abkhazia from rest of Georgia – Saakashvili
28 March
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said Friday, “No one may ever tear away Abkhazia from the rest of Georgia.” “Let everybody know, including in Moscow, that no forces can separate the Abkhazian region from the remaining part of Georgia,” Saakashvili said at a conference in the Georgian foundation of strategic and international studies. “I state with responsibility that any attempts of certain forces in Moscow to blackmail Georgia that if our country enters NATO, Georgia will allegedly lose control fully over the Abkhazian region, are destined to failure,” the Georgian president said. (Itar-Tass)
People from Central Asia most frequent targets for ethnic crimes in Russia - human rights activist
29 March
People from Central Asia are the most frequent victims of attacks by radical nationalists in Russia, Moscow Human Rights Bureau Director Alexander Brod told Interfax on Saturday. "From January to March 2008, 86 attacks motivated by aggressive xenophobia were recorded in Russia, in which 49 people were killed and at least 80 others injured," Brod said. The most frequent victims of these attacks were natives of Kyrgyzstan (9 dead and 4 injured), Tajikistan (6 dead and 22 injured), and Uzbekistan (8 dead and 1 injured), he said. Most of these ethnically-based crimes happened in Moscow and the Moscow region (28 killed and at least 57 injured) and St. Petersburg (8 killed and 6 injured), he said. Law enforcement agencies have stepped up their actions against xenophobia and ethnically-based crimes of late, Brod said. Several dozen people were convicted for such crimes in January-March 2008, he said. According to human rights activists' estimates, there are up to 70,000 skinheads in Russia, Brod said. (Interfax)
PRESIDENT TERMS AZERBAIJAN A 'ZONE OF TOLERANCE.'
30 March
In his address to the nation to mark March 31, which is observed in Azerbaijan as the "Day Of The Genocide Of The Azerbaijanis," Ilham Aliyev used the term "Armenian nationalists" or "aggressive Armenian nationalists" four times, but stressed that "we have no intention of using the fact of the genocide to fuel enmity and hatred toward other peoples." Aliyev described Azerbaijan as "a zone of cooperation and tolerance" where "social and national-religious harmony reign." Aliyev further claimed that "by its aggressive policy Armenia has isolated itself from all regional economic and energy projects." Aliyev concluded by assuring the people of Azerbaijan that "we shall achieve our goals, including restoring our territorial integrity and sovereignty and revealing those who committed genocide and who sow enmity and hatred" between peoples. (day.az)
Azerbaijan offers national coaching job to Berti Vogts
31 March
Azerbaijan has offered Berti Vogts the job as coach of its national soccer team. Azerbaijan soccer federation spokesman Mikail Narimanoglu said Monday that he expects the 61-year-old German to sign a contract in the next few days. Vogts, who led Germany to the 1996 European Championship title, resigned as coach of Nigeria last month because of differences with the country's top soccer official during the African Cup of Nations.
Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia discuss north-south transport corridor
31 March
The heads of railroads in Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia were meeting in Tehran to discuss the North-South international transport corridor project, the press service of Azerbaijan State Railway Department (ASRD) said. The three countries signed a trilateral memorandum on construction of Rasht-Gazvin- Astara (Iran) Astara (Azerbaijan) railroad within the project. Russia will conduct a feasibility study of the project within six months to report the results to Azerbaijan and Iran. (Asia Pulse)
ABKHAZIA REJECTS GEORGIAN OFFER OF 'UNLIMITED AUTONOMY'
31 March
Speaking in Tbilisi on March 28, Georgian President Saakashvili unveiled the new peace proposal for Abkhazia he announced 10 days earlier. The proposal largely duplicates one that Saakashvili floated two years ago, but in addition to granting Abkhazia "unlimited autonomy" within Georgia and introducing the position, to be held by an Abkhaz, of vice president, it also entails establishing a Georgian-Abkhaz free economic zone in the Gali and Ochamchira raions of Abkhazia. It would, however, require that the Abkhaz police force lose its autonomy and be subsumed into the Georgian police. Abkhaz President Sergei Bagapsh rejected Saakashvili's offer the same day as "unacceptable" and "propaganda" in the run-up to the April 2-4 NATO summit in Bucharest, apsny.ru reported. Bagapsh pointed out that Abkhazia had autonomy within Georgia prior to the 1992-93 war, and that when the Abkhaz proposed a federation, Georgia responded by invading Abkhaz territory. The very term "autonomy" is anathema to the leaders of unrecognized republics because under the Soviet territorial-administrative system it was devoid of any substance. Abkhaz Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba for his part told kavkaz-uzel.ru on March 29 that Abkhazia has no intention of embarking on any talks with Tbilisi on "political issues," and ruled out talks on other issues "until the last Georgian soldier leaves the territory of the Kodori Gorge." Tbilisi deployed additional forces to Kodori in July 2006 to suppress a threatened insurrection by renegade local governor Emzar Kvitsiani. (RFE/RL)
Moscow Calls anti-Islamic film Fitna provocative
31 March
Russia condemns the anti-Islamic film Fitna as provocative. "Russia invariably supports dialog between civilizations, mutual respect and account of traditions and customs of various religions and strongly condemns the film as a provocation that may have negative consequences, similar with those of the Prophet Muhammad cartoons published by certain European media," the Foreign Ministry said on Monday. "Moscow is worried about the anti-Islamic film Fitna, which actually presents Islam as a synonym of terrorism, produced by Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders known for his ultra-right views. The film was shown despite numerous appeals and warnings," the ministry said. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the European Union, the Council of Europe, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Dutch authorities have criticized the film and its producer, the ministry said. "We regret that a number of Western representatives have tried to defend the Dutchman with references to the inadequately interpreted 'freedom of speech and self-expression'," the ministry said. (Interfax)
Uzbek Traders Mount Rare Protest
1 April
A big demonstration has taken place in Uzbekistan - the first since huge protests were suppressed by government forces three years ago. Hundreds of market traders took to the streets on Monday to oppose a decision to relocate a local bazaar in the western town of Urgench. A government official denied many people were involved in the protest. In 2005, troops opened fire on crowds of anti-government protesters in the town of Andijan, killing more than 100. The government said Andijan was an attempted uprising by Islamic radicals and said 187 people were killed. But those who escaped the crackdown say troops opened fire on innocent civilians, and rights group put the death toll nearer to 1,000. Since then protests of any sort have been unheard of in Uzbekistan. But reports say hundreds of traders - mainly women - took to the streets on Monday, annoyed at the decision to move their market stalls from the centre of town to the outskirts. Russian news agency Ferghana reported that the traders were also unhappy at the distribution of stalls at the new location. Officials said the move was necessary as the old market needed rebuilding. The protesters made their way to a nearby council building in Urgench. But Ferghana reported that they were stopped by soldiers wearing helmets and bullet-proof vests, and the protest eventually fizzled out. (BBC)
Kyrgyz Opposition asks Bakiyev to help organize its congress
1 April
The For Justice opposition movement has asked Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to help organize its national congress. "We ask you as a guarantor of the Constitution to stop pressure and remove barriers created by local officials and the central authorities and to assist the people's congress on April 12," an opposition letter sent to Bakiyev, which was published on Tuesday, says. "It would be good if you and members of the government, as well as other central and local authorities take part in the congress," the document says. The national congress of the opposition movement was postponed from March 29 to April 12. "Given that you [Bakiyev] were on vacation outside the country and given that one lacked timely, accurate and authentic information, which prompted rumors about your health, we postponed the congress because we did not want to exacerbate the political situation while you were outside the country," the letter says. The For Justice movement is going to hold a congress entitled Kyrgyzstan: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow on April 12. Initially the movement spoke for the resignation of Bakiyev. It has given up this demand recently; however, it has continued to criticize the government. One of the leaders of the movement Alikbek Dzhekshenkulov states that the opposition has its own economic development program and is ready to voice it within the framework of the congress. (Interfax)
TWO NATO soldiers killed in Afghanistan
2 April
A blast struck a NATO patrol in southern Afghanistan, killing two soldiers, the alliance said in a statement Monday. The troops were caught in an explosion during a routine patrol Sunday in the volatile region, where Taliban fighters are active, the statement said. The two soldiers were airlifted to a military hospital where both died of their injuries, NATO said. The nationalities of the soldiers and further details on the location of the blast were not revealed. More than 8,000 people were killed in the insurgency in 2007, the deadliest year since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. (AP)
Turkish president says no plans to boost Afghanistan force
2 April
Turkey has no plans to send combat troops to Afghanistan despite a US call for NATO allies to beef up their military presence there, President Abdullah Gul said Wednesday. "We have no intention to send a combat force" to Afghanistan, Gul told reporters before flying to Romania for a NATO summit, the Anatolia news agency reported. "However, our policy of expanding our relations with Afghanistan ... and increasing our assistance will continue," he said. Mounting instability in southern Afghanistan, where Canadian, British and US troops have suffered significant casualties against the Taliban, is high on the agenda of a NATO summit in Bucharest. US President George W. Bush warned earlier Wednesday that "innocent civilians will pay the price" if NATO fails to send more troops to the country. Turkey, which has had historically close ties with Afghanistan, has twice led the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force there. It increased the number of its soldiers, stationed in Kabul, to 1,150 last year. The contingent is involved only in peacekeeping missions. General Yasar Buyukanit, the Turkish chief of general staff, has said he is against sending combat troops to Afghanistan because the army is already busy fighting separatist Kurdish rebels in southeast Turkey. (TurkishPress.com)
Police: Iran most successful country in drugs campaign
2 April
An Iranian police official said here Tuesday that Iran has been the most successful country in fighting drugs. "Iran is the most successful country on earth in terms of campaign against narcotic drugs. It has lost 13,000 of its citizens in the way," Deputy Police Chief for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs General Mehdi Mohammadifard told IRNA here on Tuesday. Mohammadifard said other countries want to share experience with Iran in the anti-drug campaign. He added that other countries now take Iran's drugs campaign strategy as the model and example. In terms of preventing and curing addiction too Iran has acted successfully, said the police official. "In a matter of few years, 15,000 addicts have received medicare coverage and about 4,000 to 5,000 of whom have gained full recovery and reunited with their family," he concluded. (IRNA)