16 April 2008 News Digest
KYRGYZ PRESIDENT REJECTS PLANS TO SWITCH TO LATIN-BASED SCRIPT
3 April
At a meeting with Kyrgyz Education and Science Minister Ishengul Boljurova in Bishkek, President Kurmanbek Bakiev said on April 3 that he has decided to reject plans to switch from the Cyrillic script to a new Latin-based one.
Bakiev explained that his decision stems from the financial costs of such a switch, but added that he was also concerned that such a move would pose "a risk that the quality of education will worsen sharply in our country." Several prominent politicians, including the head of the state commission on developing the Kyrgyz language, Tashboo Jumagulova, have strongly advocated switching the Kyrgyz language to the Latin script, noting that Kyrgyzstan is in danger of becoming the only Turkic country in the world that uses Cyrillic. According to preliminary estimates by the Education and Science Ministry, the initial cost of a language switch would be about 5 billion soms ($140 million). The ministry also argued that Kyrgyzstan "must switch over" from Cyrillic to Latin "gradually," however. (Itar-Tass)
TURKMEN, UZBEK PRESIDENTS ATTEND NATO SUMMIT
4 April
Speaking on April 3 at the NATO summit meeting in Bucharest, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov stressed Turkmenistan's deepening ties with NATO, Turkmen Television reported. He also highlighted his country's "neutral role" but noted its "partnership" with NATO, pointing to cooperation in the areas of civil defense, counterterrorism, border security, and combating drug trafficking. Berdymukhammedov also hailed Turkmenistan's contributions to establishing "peace and security" in Afghanistan. Uzbek President Islam Karimov also addressed the NATO summit on April 3, praising "NATO's progressive transformation into a political structure," which he said provided an "impetus to the further development and strengthening of Euro-Atlantic partnership," the Uzbek state-owned National News Agency reported. Karimov also noted that Uzbekistan is increasingly engaged in several "promising areas of constructive cooperation with NATO" and called for bolstering efforts to help stabilize Afghanistan, which he identified as "still a locus of threat to the world community." Uzbekistan has been working with NATO since 1994 within the framework of the Partnership for Peace program. (RFE/RL)
Uzbekistan cuts gas supplies to Tajikistan over unpaid debt
7 April
Uzbekistan has begun cutting gas supplies to Tajikistan over unpaid debts. "Tajikistan's gas debt is $7 million. Repeated requests to repay it have brought no result so he have begun to reduce supply in stages," a source in Uztransgaz told Interfax on Monday. Supply been slashed from 2 million cubic meters per day to 1.3
million cubic meters, the source said. During yesterday's talks with the leadership of Tajikgaz, Uzbekistan refused to increase gas supply before the redemption of the debt. "It was the same in January. We have been forced to resort to extreme measures, namely to cut supply. Only after that, our partners start paying," the source said. Under a bilateral gas agreement for 2008, Uzbekistan is to supply Tajikistan with 650 million cubic meters of gas at $145 per 1,000 cbm. Last year the price was $100. (Interfax)
KAZAKH PUBLIC FOUNDATION OPENS ANTICORRUPTION CENTER
7 April
The Kazakh public foundation Transparency Kazakhstan opened on April 7 a new anticorruption center in Almaty, intended to provide legal advice to citizens and consumers. Speaking at a press conference in Almaty, the chairman of the foundation's board of directors, Vitaly Voronov, said the new center "will receive reports from citizens about cases of corruption and provide them with legal consultations, protect their rights and interests," and he stressed that its services will also be provided to "corporate bodies and entrepreneurs." (Interfax-Kazakhstan)
Kazakhstan approves $109.9/tonne oil export duty
8 April
Kazakhstan's government has decided to impose an oil export duty of $109.91 per tonne. "The proposed export duty is set at $109.91 per tonne, based on a global oil price of $714.9 dollars per tonne in the first quarter of
2008," Industry and Trade Minister Vladimir Shkolnik said at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting. "Imposing the export duty on crude oil will boost budget revenues by $1 billion by the end of this year, provided that this export duty
comes into effect a month after the official publication of the government's decision," Shkolnik said.(Interfax)
China begins to supply drilling rigs to Uzbekneftegaz
9 April
Chinese companies have begun to supply drilling rigs and seismic exploration equipment to enterprises of Uzbekneftegaz national holding company, a source in the ruling circles told Interfax. "This year, six ZJ DB320 drilling rigs have been supplied to Uzbekneftegaz, three of these have been launched," he said. Two drilling rigs are working in the bore holes on the Kokdumalak field and one is used for exploration work on the Chilkuvar gas condensate field. Uzbekistan will get an additional 12 drilling rigs by late 2008 and five drilling rigs in the first half-year of 2009. According to earlier reports, in 2007-2011 Uzbekneftegaz will buy drilling rigs and 3D seismic exploration equipment for a total of $274.2 million. In particular, in mid 2007, Uzgeoburneftegaz (Uzbekneftegaz subsidiary) signed a contract with China Petroleum Technology & Development Corp (CNPC subsidiary) to supply 23 drilling rigs in 2007- 2008 and special equipment for $203 million, as well as with China National Machinery Industry Corporation to supply 10 cementers for $6.1 million. The funding of the contracts with Chinese companies will be implemented at the account of the Chinese Eximbank loan for $177.6 million and Uzbekneftegaz own funds of $31.5 million. Chinese Eximbank extended its loan in July 2006 for 15 years including a five-year preferential period with 3.5% yearly interest. In terms of the project, Uzbekneftegaz will also purchase an extended range of equipment for 3D seismic exploration work for $65 million. It is planned to purchase ten digital telemetric seismic stations for seismic exploration. The purchases will be funded with Uzbekneftegaz own funds. One drilling rig's yearly boring will make 5,500 meters, the average seismic work for one unit of seismic exploration equipment is 252 square meters. Uzbekneftegaz plans to increase the reserves of hydrocarbons in Uzbekistan by 512 million tonnes of equivalent fuel. Uzbekneftegaz is a monopoly operator of Uzbek oil and gas sector, it was created in 1998 and includes six share-holding companies. In 2007, Uzbekneftegaz reduced production of liquid hydrocarbons by 9% to 4.928 million tonnes as compared with 2006. (Interfax)
ARMENIAN PRESIDENT-ELECT CONFIRMS CHOICE OF NEW PREMIER
9 April
In an announcement in Yerevan, Armenian President-elect Serzh Sarkisian officially confirmed on April
8 his plan to appoint Armenian Central Bank Chairman Tigran Sarkisian (no relation) as the country's next prime minister, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported. The candidacy of the prospective prime minister was approved earlier the same day by the governing council of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), according to party spokesman Eduard Sharmazanov, who added that the vote was unanimous. The 48-year-old Sarkisian has served as the head of the Central Bank since 1998 and is widely seen as a strong proponent of free-market policies, lending credence to his reputation as a favorite of the West and international financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. According to the terms of recent amendments to the Armenian Constitution, the prime minister is presidentially appointed but must be confirmed by the parliament. The confirmation comes a day after Gagik Tsarukian, the leader of the pro-government Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK), disclosed the planned nomination. (RFE/RL)
ARMENIAN PRESIDENT GIVES NATIONALLY TELEVISED FAREWELL ADDRESS
9 April
Speaking in a nationally televised address, Armenian President Robert Kocharian bid farewell on April 8, the last day of his second and final term as president, according to RFE/RL's Armenian Service. Kocharian hailed the last several years of double-digit economic growth, asserting that "progress in the country's modernization is obvious, and the life of citizens has improved considerably." He claimed that "few countries in the world" could match Armenia's "pace of development," but went to "apologize to those whose life has not improved during these years" and to "those whose expectations have not been lived up to, whose dreams have not been realized." In a reference to President-elect and outgoing Prime Minister Sarkisian, the 53-year-old president said he trusts in his successor's "ability to govern the country effectively." Earlier in the day, presidential spokesman Victor Soghomonian revealed that the country's April 9 presidential inauguration will open with a special official ceremony before the
Armenia parliament before moving to a public ceremony. (RFE/RL)
NEW ARMENIAN PRESIDENT INAUGURATED
10 April
In a formal inauguration ceremony held amid tight security in Yerevan, Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian was on April 9 formally sworn in as the new Armenian president, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported. In his inaugural address, Sarkisian vowed to strengthen democracy "where everyone is equal before the law" and called for national reconciliation and unity, referring to the "wounds" from a postelection crisis that culminated in a violent March 1 clash between opposition demonstrators and riot police in Yerevan. As part of his appeal for national reconciliation, Sarkisian reached out to all citizens by saying that "a part of our people supported other candidates, and I now appeal to them: it was your right to vote for someone other than me, but I do not have the right not to be your president," adding that "even if a wall of misunderstanding stands between us, I urge you to join us in eliminating that wall." Immediately following the ceremony, the authorities opened a large military parade as several thousand baton-wielding police blocked major streets to prevent opposition supporters from staging demonstrations. Instead, a group of nearly 1,000 protesters skirted police units and held a spontaneous demonstration about a kilometer from the city center and voiced demands for a rerun of the February 19 presidential election controversially won by Sarkisian. (RFE/RL)
Russia bans Nurjular international religious organization
10 April
The Russian Supreme Court has banned the activity of the Nurjular international religious organization on Russian territory and pronounced the organization extremist, by request and of the Prosecutor General's Office. The court held the meeting in camera, and the media was allowed to listen only to the judgment. Nurjular, which is not registered in Russia, spreads the ideas of Turkish thinker Said Nursi. The Moscow Koptevo District Court called extremist the Russian translation of 14 books from Nursi's collection named Risale-i Nur in May 2007. The Moscow City Court upheld the verdict in September. The books were banned. Nursi (1876-1960) is an Islamic theologian from Turkey. He lived in Russia for several years and was the imam of a Kostroma mosque. He wrote
Risale-i Nur in prison, where he was put over a conflict with Turkish authorities. (Interfax)
FORMER ARMENIAN PRESIDENT CALLS FOR END TO HUNGER STRIKE
11 April
In a statement released in Yerevan, former Armenian President and opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrossian called on April 10 for an end to an ongoing hunger strike by a group of about two dozen of his supporters, appealing to them to spare themselves for a "further struggle," RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported. The former president added that while he recognizes "the importance of this extreme means of political struggle" and "deeply appreciates the feat of those who resorted to hunger strikes," they must end their strikes because their "health, unbending will, and determination will be required for a more effective contribution to the popular struggle at later stages." According to Arsen Babayan, a spokesman for the Justice Ministry's Department of Penitentiaries, some 23 people in custody are currently on hunger strike, including parliamentarian Hakob Hakobian, former Deputy Speaker of Parliament Karapet Rubinian, former customs chief Yerjanik Abgarian, and former Deputy National Security Minister of National Gurgen Yeghiazarian, among others. (RFE/RL)
Tbilisi outraged by priest's deportation from Abkhazia
13 April
Tbilisi has announced that the Abkhaz authorities detained Georgian priest Father Pimen (Roman
Kardava), after which he was deported from the Gali district. "We cannot leave this just like that. We are urging all international organizations, which usually promptly react to such violations, to be quick with their response in this case as well, so that such arbitrariness be stopped once and for all," Georgian State
Minister for Reintegration Temur Yakobashvili said at a news briefing on Friday. Georgia views the forcible deportation of Father Pimen from Abkhazia as an outrageous violation of all international conventions, laws, and the constitution, he said. Yakobashvili also blamed Russian peacekeepers for not preventing the deportation. "If they cannot even prevent violence against a priest, then this format does not work, and in this case the peacekeepers must be either withdrawn, or their format should be changed," he said. Father Pimen belongs to the clergy of the St. Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi. He has served in Abkhazia since March 2008. Before being
ordained, he regularly traveled to Abkhazia to visit his frail mother living in the Gali district. (Interfax)
Taleban attack kills 11 policemen
14 April
Taleban insurgents have attacked a police post in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, killing at least 11 policemen, an official has said. The attack took place in the Arghandab district on Sunday night. Police vehicles and weapons were also seized by the attackers, the senior police officer said. In a separate incident, two British members of the Nato force have been killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan. The blast happened on Sunday, said a spokesman from the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), and two other soldiers were injured. Also during the weekend, a suicide bomber struck a road construction crew in the Khashrod district of the south-western Urozgan Province, killing two Indian engineers and their Afghan driver. Taleban insurgents in Kandahar have been fighting some of their fiercest battles against international and Afghan forces. Hundreds of policemen have been killed by militants in the province in the last year. Analysts say police are often easy targets because they have less training and weaponry, and work in smaller teams than Afghan or Nato soldiers. Violence involving the Taleban and other armed groups is having an impact on the humanitarian situation in the south of the country, according to the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross. (BBC)
Uzbekistan, China team up for gas pipeline construction
14 April
Uzbekistan and China have established a joint venture to build a gas pipeline from the Central Asian state to its eastern neighbor, Uzbekistan's national oil and gas company Uzbekneftegaz said Monday. The joint venture, Asia Trans Gas, established by Uzbekneftegaz and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), will be responsible for the design, construction and operation of the Uzbekistan-China gas pipeline, a spokesman for Uzbekneftegaz said. The route of the pipeline, intended to pump gas from energy-rich Uzbekistan to energy-hungry China, will be approved by April 20 while project funding will be determined by June 1, the spokesman said. The first leg of the pipeline is expected to be built by December 31, 2009 and put into operation in January 2010. The second stage is planned for completion by December 31, 2011, the spokesman said. Tenders for the delivery of equipment and contractual work for the pipeline construction are scheduled to be announced in April. (RIA Novosti)
KYRGYZ OFFICIAL ANNOUNCES PLANNED ELECTRICITY RATIONING
14 April
In an announcement to reporters in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Deputy Minister of Energy and Industry Akylbek Tyumenbaev said on April 14 that a new electricity-rationing regime will be introduced for at least six months. He added that the regime will impose new restrictions on electricity for homes and "places of entertainment," cutting all electricity for seven hours every night. A less restrictive electricity-rationing regime was introduced last month that reduced the daily supply of electricity to consumers, and cut off all electricity to consumers who have incurred debts for power supplies, as well as to saunas and some other businesses. The rationing is intended to offset a dramatic decrease in the water level of the Toktogul reservoir, which provides 40 percent of Kyrgyzstan's hydroelectric energy, and to deal with the effects of record cold weather. Over the longer term, the government intends to supplement hydroelectric power with electricity generated from coal and oil to meet domestic energy needs. (AFP)
Kazakhstan implements RFID tech at borders
14 April
Kazakhstan-based Science Technical Center says it will implement radio frequency identification cargo monitoring technology at Kazakhstan border checkpoints. Science Technical Center, or NTC, has been contracted to install the cargo monitoring technology based on a platform designed by Maryland-based RFID sensing and control solutions developer Hi-G-Tek. NTC officials will implement the Automatic Delivery Control System, incorporating Hi-G-Tek outdoor data readers, handheld readers and reusable Hi-G-Locks, at several Kazakhstan border checkpoints between China and Russia. The RFID cargo monitoring instillation is an effort by the Customs Control Agency of Kazakhstan to crack down on black market theft. The security initiative is also an attempt to increase commercial cargo traffic through the checkpoints and reap revenues through associated tariffs. With $2 billion in goods passing through the country each year, Kazakhstan is becoming a major commercial trade route between China and Europe.
"To expedite cargo traffic between China and points west, Kazakhstan understood that it needed to streamline the customs process, while securing the trade routes against black market theft to attract additional commercial traffic," Rashid Abderzakov, an NTC spokesman, said in a statement. "After evaluating several RFID solutions, only Hi-G-Tek met the requirements set forth by the Customs Control Agency. With its advanced wireless trade lane security solutions, Hi-G-Tek and NTC were able to deliver a solution that has led to cargo-related crime reduction in the region." (UPI)
Azeri serviceman detained in Nagorno-Karabakh
14 April
The state commission of the self-proclaimed republic of Nagorno-Karabakh for POWs and missing in action has reported that an Azeri serviceman was detained in the territory of the republic. "Servicemen of the Nagorno-Karabakh army detained an Azeri serviceman entering the territory of Karabakh near the village of
Yusifjanly on April 11," Interfax was told at the commission on Monday. "The detainee did not carry any ID and introduced himself as a serviceman of the 190th brigade of the Azeri army born in 1989 in the village of Kholmani, Shemakha district," a commission spokesman said. "The relevant authorities are looking into the motives and circumstances of defection of the Azeri serviceman," he added. The offices of the OSCE and the International Committee of the Red Cross in Karabakh have been notified about the incident, the spokesman
said. (Interfax)
Kazakhstan: the Government took decision to introduce the prohibition for wheat export
15 April
According to the Press-Service of the Prime-Minister of Kazakhstan, on the today's meeting of the Government they took decision about introduction of the prohibition for wheat export for the period till September 1, 2008, that is till the first harvest, without limitation of flour export. The reason for this decision is necessity of providing food safety for the country, non-admission of the negative consequences for the local market due to the prices growth on the world grain market and deficit of milling grain in the world. According to the report of the Press-Service, the rates of the Kazakh grain export reached the record level - over 1.1-1.4 mln tonnes monthly. From the yield of 2007 Kazakhstan has already exported 8 mln tonnes of grain including flour in grain equivalent and the volumes of shipments almost reached the level of the initially planned export possibilities of the country in the volume of 9 mln tonnes. As for April 10, 2008, the grain stocks totaled 8.1 mln tonnes, including milling grain - 4.7 mln tonnes. According to estimates, deducting grain volumes necessary for the local use (taking into account the carry-over stocks), currently, the export potential totals about 1.2 mln tonnes of milling grain, that at the current rates of shipping can be exported within a month. Under these circumstances, the acceptance of the urgent measures on regulation of the foreign trade of wheat was necessary. At that, free volumes of grain can be exported in the form of flour that is economically expedient as allows loading the capacities of the flour-milling enterprises as well as saving markets of the Kazakh wheat. (agrimarket.info)
Azerbaijan announces 53 pct rise in army spending
15 April
Ex-Soviet Azerbaijan, in a tense armed standoff with neighbour Armenia, is to increase military spending by 53 percent this year, state media quoted President Ilham Aliyev as saying on Tuesday. Azerbaijan fought a war in the 1990s with Armenia over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. The two countries have never signed a peace treaty and Azerbaijan has not ruled out using force to restore its control over Nagorno-Karabakh. "In the past 4-5 years the military and defence budget of the country has risen from $150 million to $1.3 billion. However Azerbaijan's state budget over this period has risen ten-fold," the Azerbaijan newspaper quoted Aliyev as saying. "I believe that in the context of an overall increase in government spending, defence spending should be increased from $1.3 billion to $2 billion in 2008. Azerbaijan has great military potential and must strengthen this," he said. Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally-recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Since the war it and surrounding districts have been controlled by ethnic Armenian separatists who receive assistance from Armenia. The International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank, said in a report last year the fragile truce could be under threat, in part because Azerbaijan is using cash from energy exports to beef up its military. Azerbaijan reported gross domestic product growth in 2007 of 25 percent, driven by revenues from the export of oil and gas. BP is a major investor in Azerbaijan's energy sector. Up to 16 people were killed last month in fighting between Azeri troops and Armenian forces along the heavily-militarised ceasefire line that separates the two sides, the biggest loss of life in a single clash for several years. (Reuters)
SHOOT-OUT REPORTED BETWEEN RIVAL CHECHEN MILITIAS
15 April
Members of Chechen Republic head Ramzan Kadyrov's bodyguard and the Vostok battalion headed by Sulim
Yamadayev engaged in a protracted shoot-out on April 14 following a collision between their respective columns of vehicles in the town of Gudermes, Russian media reported. Both sides summoned reinforcements. Regnum.ru described the clash as verging on an all-out battle, but Russian media failed to report any casualties. The Chechen resistance website kavkazcenter.com, by contrast, cited unconfirmed reports that two Vostok members were killed in the car crash and four more in the shoot-out, together with six of Kadyrov's bodyguards and an unspecified number of passers-by. It claimed that up to 27 people were injured. Kadyrov, who was in Moscow on April 14 to attend the Unified Russia congress, has called several times in recent months for the Vostok battalion, which is
subordinate to Russian Military Intelligence, to be disbanded on the grounds that its members routinely defy police and engage in human rights violations. (RFE/RL)
Nato troops killed in Afghanistan
16 April
Two Nato soldiers have been killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan, the alliance said in a statement. Two soldiers have also been wounded in the attack which took place on Wednesday morning, it said. The statement did not reveal the names or nationalities of the soldiers, who were killed in Kandahar province. Large numbers of Afghan and foreign troops are fighting the Taleban in the volatile south of Afghanistan and they are often targeted by the insurgents. At least 24 international soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan this year. (BBC)
KAZAKH BANK TO BORROW $1.2 BLN DESPITE CREDIT WOES
16 April
Kazakhstan's Halyk Bank plans to borrow up to $1.2 billion this year on the global debt markets, its chief executive said on Wednesday, dismissing fears surrounding a global liquidity squeeze. A conservative borrowing strategy has helped Halyk emerge relatively unscathed from the global credit crisis which hit other Kazakh banks hard in mid-2007, leaving many short of cash and raising concerns about their ability to repay debt. Halyk Chief Executive Grigory Marchenko said he believed the regional credit situation was improving gradually, reopening opportunities to borrow abroad and branch into new markets beyond Europe and the United States. "I think we can talk about a certain improvement in the markets. At least for companies from our regions," he told reporters. "We plan one syndicated loan, one deal in Islamic funding." "Theoretically in the autumn there might be something on the east Asian markets, either samurai bonds or kimchi bonds," he added, referring to debt denominated in the Japanese yen and the South Korean won. Marchenko said he saw total borrowing this year at around $1.0-$1.2 billion, including a $500 million, 5-1/2-year Eurobond which Halyk, Kazakhstan's third-largest bank, placed earlier this month. "If we get one big syndicate then we will not need further deals," Marchenko said. He gave no further details of the funding plans. Halyk's net income jumped 49 percent last year to $336 million, but the bank has said it sees slower growth of 30 percent this year. Some of its rivals like Kazkommertsbank and Alliance have bleaker outlooks for this year, projecting no growth or even a decline in assets and loans due to the need to repay foreign debt. Marchenko said he sought to diversify his bank's investor base gradually by forging closer relations with players in new and relatively insulated credit markets such as east Asia and the Middle East. "We intend to develop relations with potential investors in east Asia and the Middle East because there is a lot of money there," he said. "We need ... to diversify our investor base and attract investors from these two regions on top of our traditional investors from Europe and North America." (Reuters)
