Azerbaijan Islamic Party head accused of coup attempt
21 January
The leader of Islamic Party of Azerbaijan Movsum Samadov has been accused of coup attempt, the agency reports. According to Lenta.ru, Movsum Samedov have been accused of coup attempt. The court sentenced M. Samedov to a three-month arrest. Head of Islamic Party of Azerbaijan Movsum Samadov was arrested on January 7 after a video of a speech he had made denouncing President Ilham Aliyev was posted on the video-sharing website YouTube. The deputy head of the party, Vagif Abdullayev, party activist Elchin Hasanov, and Samadov's driver, Mir-Husseyn Kazimov, were also detained, Hurriyet Daily News reported. Hurriyet Daily News also informed the Interior Ministry said Samadov was actively planning to put his espoused beliefs into action while police have said they found "three combat grenades" in a shop owned by the IPA leader's father, and "seven gun cartridges" in a cousin's apartment. Samadov has been charged with conspiracy to commit terrorism and planning "public disorder." (Kazakhstan Today)
Turkmen president says necessary to have multi-party system
21 January
Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov has ordered the country’s parliament to speed up the work on the political parties bill. “The right to organise political parties is a basic civil right,” he said. It is necessary to “speed up the work on the bill on political parties and to unify the principles of formation of civil society’s election institutions.” Over 20 years of Turkmenistan’s independence, which is celebrated in the country this year, there has been only one party – the Democratic Party, which was organised in 1991 as the Communist Party ceased to exist. Berdimuhamedov said for the first time in February of 2010 about the necessity of having a multi-party system. “Turkmenistan develops democratically and should anybody initiate a new political party, we, in compliance with the Constitution, will register it the same year,” he said adding that “it may be an agricultural or any other political party.” “It is only natural that new parties will take part in the social and political life and will compete with the Democratic Party,” he said. “They must serve one common purpose – to provide that Turkmenistan gains a decent place in the international community and becomes a well-developed country.” (Itar-Tass)
Saakashvili Visits Armenia
22 January
Georgia and Armenia are “old allies” and the two countries “will be lost” without close cooperation, President Saakashvili said in Yerevan. He started two-day working visit to Armenia on January 22. Speaking at a ceremony of awarding winners of Armenian-Georgian school students’ competition in Yerevan, Saakashvili described his Armenian counterpart, Serzh Sargsyan, who was also present, as his “friend and brother”. “He deserves my respect and admiration,” Saakashvili added. He also said that Georgia would provide ten presidential scholarships for the Armenian students for studying in Georgia. The Armenian President said on January 22, that his Georgian counterpart’s visit would be “one more step towards strengthening of our relations.” (Civil Georgia)
EU pressed on talks with Uzbekistan
25 January
European leaders weren't tough enough when they pressed the president of Uzbekistan on human rights issue, Human Rights Watch alleges. Uzbek President Islam Karimov [1] during meetings with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso [2] was pressed to free political prisoners and expand military cooperation with the European community, London's The Independent newspaper reports. Human Rights Watch in its annual report, however, criticized what it described as habitual support for regimes that it considers repressive. The European Union was criticized for lifting sanctions on Uzbekistan after state security forces fired on protesters in Andijan in 2005, killing at least 187 people. Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth said it was hard to find a "more ruthless" leader in the world than Karimov. "For him to be received warmly by Mr. Barroso is in a sense a culmination of this gradual capitulation to Uzbekistan," he was quoted by The Independent as saying. Barroso, however, defended his actions, describing support of Uzbekistan as "conditional." (UPI)
Kyrgyzstan row over plan to name mountain after Vladimir Putin
26 January
The leading opposition party in the former Soviet republic has accused the new pro-Russian [3] leader of making the country a "laughing stock" with the plan, and of making the offer without realising that it is illegal under Kyrgyz [4] law. Almazbek Atambayev, Kyrgyzstan's prime minister, earlier this month signed a bill to give the name Peak Vladimir Putin to a 14,587 foot summit in the country's Tian Shan range. The country already boasts a Peak Yeltsin and a Peak Lenin. "We will become a laughing stock," said Joomart Saparbayev, an MP with the opposition Ata Meken party. "Unfortunately some politicians in the government, in trying to build good relations with Russia, are doing pretty stupid, foolish things." To Mr Atambayev's embarrassment, he made the offer without realising a 1995 Kyrgyz law makes it illegal to name a mountain, or indeed any geographical feature, after a living person. (The Telegraph)
Car bomb kills at least three in Russia's Dagestan
26 January
At least three people have been killed by a car bomb in the North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, say reports. Police say at least three other people were injured when the bomb went off by a cafe in the town of Khasavyurt. Islamist separatists in Dagestan have been fighting the Moscow-backed authorities for years. The militants are suspected of being behind this week's attack on Moscow's Domodedovo airport which killed 35 people and injured more than 100. Police spokesman Magomed Tagirov said all those killed in Khasavyurt had been inside the Karavan cafe when the blast struck, the Associated Press news agency reports. A spokesperson for the town's main hospital told Russia's Interfax news agency that the dead were all civilians. The Ria-Novosti agency quoted a medical official as saying a fourth person had died while undergoing surgery.The Dagestan region experiences almost daily attacks from militants wanting to set up an independent Islamic state. The attacks mostly target security forces and police. The militants have increasingly focused their operations on Dagestan, since neighbouring Chechnya - where Moscow has fought two bloody wars with separatists since the fall of the USSR - has been gradually pacified. (BBC)
Georgian President warns against violence in the region after Moscow attack
27 January
Mikheil Saakashvili, the President of Georgia, told The Independent yesterday that attacks like Monday's suicide bombing at a Moscow airport were "payback" for Russia's policies in the North Caucasus, as he compared the country to a "crocodile ready to swallow you up". Mr Saakashvili and the Russian leadership have exchanged regular insults since the 2008 war between the countries over the breakaway territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, but his comments are likely to enrage Moscow, coming so soon after the blast at Domodedovo Airport that killed 35 people. Speaking in the Georgian capital last night, President Saakashvili – whose country's two breakaway regions are recognised by Moscow as independent states – accused Russia of trying to destabilise neighbouring countries by encouraging secessionist movements. "I discussed this personally with Vladimir Putin a while ago. I said to him that the payback for his country for supporting separatists would be that violence would come back to hit them as well," Mr Saakashvili said. "Putin said, 'No, if anyone tries anything against us, we shall crush them like cockroaches,' while jabbing and twisting his thumb on the table in front him." He said “I do not know who carried out this bombing but I totally condemn this kind of terrorism. The Georgian people have nothing but sympathy for those who have suffered losses in this attack. We must be very careful and try to stop this type of violence. It is certainly not in our interest for the region to be destabilised and all responsible powers must try to avoid policies which could lead to such things.” Before his interview with The Independent, the Georgian President made similar comments in a televised question-and-answer session. "Russia has a political mentality which is on the level of a reptile, like a crocodile ready to swallow you up," Mr Saakashvili said. There is a well-documented personal enmity between Mr Saakashvili and Mr Putin. The Georgian President once said that talking to Mr Putin was "like somebody standing with an axe at your head and saying: "Don't worry, everything's OK, close your eyes and relax.'" Mr Putin, meanwhile, has made fun of the time that BBC cameras caught Mr Saakashvili chewing the end of his tie. He also reportedly told French President Nicolas Sarkozy that he wanted to "hang" Mr Saakashvili "by the balls". Critics of Mr Saakashvili, who came to power in the Rose Revolution of 2003 promising democratic reforms, worry that the Georgian President is aiming to become a powerful prime minister when his second presidential term ends in 2013, just as Mr Putin did in 2008. Yesterday, Mr Putin said preliminary investigations into Monday's blast suggested that the bomber did not come from Chechnya. It was unclear whether he meant he had no links to the North Caucasus, or was from a neighbouring republic such as Dagestan. He also ruled out negotiation with terrorist groups. (The Independent)
Suicide attack kills eight at Kabul supermarket
28 January
Afghan police say a suicide bomber has killed eight people and injured six in a grocery store in Kabul frequented by foreigners. Kabul police chief Mohammad Ayub Salangi said three foreigners and a child were among the dead. The store is situated in the heavily guarded Wazir-Akbar Khan district, an area favored by foreigners and wealthy Afghans. In a text message sent to reporters, the Taliban claimed responsibility, saying the attack was against the chief of a U.S.-based security contractor, Xe Services, formerly known as Blackwater. (RFE/RL)
Chechen muftis introduce HIV tests for future newlyweds [5]
28 January
Muslim spiritual leaders in the southern Russian republic of Chechnya have made it obligatory for young people who want to get married to pass an HIV test. Muftis justify the move by citing increasing numbers of HIV-positive young people in the republic. The idea has widespread public support. "The spiritual leadership of the Moslems has drawn up special marriage certificates with a special line devoted to HIV results," a spokesman said. Couples have to show officials their test results before they can receive a marriage certificate. The local Anti-AIDS center has registered 1,140 HIV patients in the republic, mostly drug addicts. (RIA Novosti)
US warns of terrorist threat in Azerbaijan
29 January
The State Department [6] is warning Americans of a terrorist threat to Western targets in Azerbaijan and urging U.S. citizens to be vigilant in the oil-rich former Soviet republic on the Caspian Sea. In a security alert issued Saturday, the U.S. Embassy in Baku said there was a "potential for attacks in Azerbaijan, including against American interests." It said the warning was "based on terrorist threat information." It added that that U.S. citizens in Azerbaijan "should remain vigilant, particularly in public places associated with the Western community." The alert did not elaborate on the nature of the threat or who might be behind it. (AP)
U.S. “concerned” about fairness of Kyrgyz murder appeal
31 January
The U.S. Embassy in Bishkek says it is concerned about the fairness of an appeal hearing in a murder case related to last year's ethnic violence in the south, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. The Supreme Court on January 26 began hearing the appeal of Azimjan Askarov, a well-known human rights defender, and seven other ethnic Uzbeks convicted of murdering a police officer during the clashes in June. Askarov and four others received life sentences, two were given 20-year prison terms, and one was sentenced to nine years in a case that has been criticized by rights groups in Kyrgyzstan and abroad. In a statement today, the U.S. Embassy said it was encouraged by the court’s decision to allow the inclusion of previously disallowed documents on behalf of the defense. But it also said it was "troubled" by some of the court's reported actions, saying the court's refusal to allow Askarov and other defendants to attend the hearing and make their own statements "could call into question the impartiality of the hearing." The embassy urged the court to exercise impartiality, saying a fair, impartial hearing "will send a solid message to the world that Kyrgyzstan is clearly on the path to becoming the free and democratic society its citizens desire." The international campaign group Human Rights Watch said last week the case against the eight has been a "miscarriage of justice from the very beginning" and urged the Supreme Court to order a retrial and probe into allegations of torture. Clashes between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz last June in Osh and the nearby Jalal-Abad regions left more than 400 people dead. (RFE/RL)
Kazakhstan's president calls for early elections
1 February
Kazakhstan's long-serving leader called Monday for early presidential elections, hours after the constitutional court ruled against a proposed referendum on extending his term. President Nursultan Nazarbayev had the right to challenge the ruling, but said he elected not to do so because of "the will of our people for the trustworthiness of the democratic processes," according to official news agency Kazinform. Elections were to be held in 2012, but Nazarbayev said he was calling for an early vote, the agency said. It was not clear whether he proposed a date. Nazarbayev, who has ruled Kazakhstan since it declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 has tried to project a democratic image despite detractors accusing him of corruption and undemocratic practices _ Parliament has no members from opposition parties and Kazakhstan has never held an election deemed free and fair by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which the country chaired in 2010. Parliament last year proposed extending Nazarbayev's term, but he swiftly rejected the proposal. A petition drive was then started by a university rector to hold a referendum that would have allowed him to extend his term for at least a decade. Petition organizers said they had collected signatures from about half the electorate, and parliament voted in January to change the constitution to allow the referendum. However, the constitutional council ruled against the move on Monday. If Nazarbayev were to run for another term, he'd be almost certain to win. Despite the misgivings of his critics, he is generally held in high esteem by the population, and supporters credit him with ensuring stability and rising prosperity. Kazakh authorities have in recent years been steadily installing what has been described by some as a cult of personality. Most notably, parliament voted last year to name Nazarbayev "leader of the nation" – a title that gives him the right to approve important national and foreign policies after he retires and grants him lifetime immunity from prosecution for acts committed during his rule. Kazakhstan is rich in oil and natural gas and is of additional strategic interest because it borders both Russia and China. The U.S. State Department said last week that the proposed term-extension referendum would be a step backward for democracy. There was no immediate reaction from Washington to the announcement of early elections. (AP)
Turkish PM Erdogan to talk trade, economy in Kyrgyzstan [7]
1 February
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will discuss the development of trade and economic relations between his country and Kyrgyzstan, where he arrives for an official visit on Tuesday, a senior Kyrgyz government official said. "I believe that the visit will yield weighty and positive results. A business forum involving some 300 businessmen from both countries will be held during the visit," Sapar Isakov, the head of the foreign policy department with the Presidential Administration, said. Contracts on the export of Kyrgyz agricultural products to Turkey are expected to be signed during the business forum, he said. Isakov added that it would be the first visit of the Turkish prime minister to Kyrgyzstan over the past eight years. "We want to verify our earlier reached agreements, to improve relations in the perspective and to synchronize our steps regarding Turkish investments into economy of our country," he said. The diplomat also recalled that Turkey helped his country by giving $21 million in aid last year, when Kyrgyzstan was embroiled in a political turmoil. Kyrgyzstan saw large-scale opposition riots in April of 2010 that overturned President Kurmanbek Bakiyev and brought the opposition to power. The political situation in the country [8] stabilized after the country elected a new parliament and approved Roza Otunbayeva, the former opposition leader, as president for a transitional period until 2012. (RIA Novosti)
Four injured in explosion in Kizlyar, Dagestan
2 February
An explosion at a food stop on the first floor of a private house in the town of Kizlyar, Dagestan injured the house owner, his wife, daughter and niece, the press service of the republic's Interior Ministry told Itar-Tass on Wednesday. Earlier reports said three people had been injured in the blast. The incident occurred in Bagration Street at 22:15, Moscow time, on Tuesday. "An unidentified person entered the premises of the shop and set off a homemade pipe bomb there," police said. The explosion ruined the roof, several walls and smashed the windows. It is not the first bomb explosion in Kizlyar. Some time later, an unidentified person smashed a window of the cafe in Korotky Lane at around 23:05, Moscow time. Nobody was hurt. (Itar-Tass)
Deputy minister: Azerbaijan prepares new state program in youth policy
2 February
Azerbaijan is working to prepare a new state program in youth policy. "Azerbaijan is carrying out work on the preparation of a new state program in the sphere of youth policy, which will cover 2011-2015," Azerbaijani Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Intigam Babayev [9] told Trend. In 1997, Azerbaijani national leader Heydar Aliyev signed a decree declaring Feb. 2 the Day of Azerbaijani Youth. "The state program on youth policy was designed until 2010, and we have started to create a new program to increase the achievements that we made over the past years. The program will be submitted for public discussion," Babayev said. Babayev added that there is also a need to improve the legislative framework in youth policy, and work is underway. In 2002, Azerbaijan adopted a law on youth. It was amended in 2007. Babayev considers the preservation of youth achievements as the ministry's main task. "It is necessary to create conditions for the comprehensive development of youth to help them attain an education at the highest qualitative level," Babayev said. According to him, it is also necessary to make greater efforts in patriotic youth education. (Trend)
Greece expects Azerbaijan to become major gas supplier
2 February
Greece [10]expects that Azerbaijan [11]will become a major gas supplier, Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Spyros Kouvelis [12]said today in Baku during the third meeting of an Azerbaijani-Greek intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation. He said Greece attaches great importance to pipeline projects such as Turkey-Greece-Ital [13]y and Turkey-Greece-Bulgaria [14]. Azerbaijan's role is of great importance for the implementation of these projects, he said. Also, according to Kouvelis, these countries can cooperate in areas such as oil refining in addition to oil and gas. In particular, the Greek side is ready to share its experience in the field of alternative energy sources, energy facility and highway construction, and tourism, health and education. Kouvelis said the development of transport communication between the sides is also vital. As the head of the commission from the Azerbaijani side, Industry and Energy Minister Natig Aliyev [15] said relations between Azerbaijan and Greece in the political and diplomatic spheres, as well as inter-parliamentary relations, are at a high level. He also highlighted the high level of relations in the economic sector. Aliyev stressed that, in a short period of time, the trade turnover between the two countries has reached $160 million. According to the minister, in addition to cooperation in the energy sector, high level relations have also been observed in culture, health and agriculture. (Trend)
Turkey to introduce visa-free travel for Kyrgyzstan
2 February
Turkey will introduce visa-free travel for nationals of Kyrgyzstan till the end of year 2011, Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev said at press-conference on the results of visit of Turkey Republic Prime Minister Recep Erdogan [16], news agency "24.kg" [17] reported. "We had meaningful negotiations. We reached agreements we did not expect. Now we will be able to visit Turkey and stay there as long as we need. This decision also applies to citizens of Turkey," said Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic. (Trend)
Afghanistan president to visit India
2 February
Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai is leaving for a two-day visit to India where he is to meet with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other senior officials, his spokesman said Wednesday. 'President Karzai's visit is aimed to discuss regional economic capacity development with the Indian authorities,' Seyamak Herawi said. 'He will also meet with the Indian president and the prime minister.' Karzai is also scheduled to deliver a speech at a conference on sustainable economic, political and social development in New Delhi to be held Feb 3-5. India has invested heavily in infrastructure and reconstruction aid, and remains the fifth-largest donor for the war-torn country. Pakistan remains wary of growing Indian influence in Afghanistan and views India's aid work as a front for spying and making trouble for Islamabad. After India, Karzai is to visit Germany for two days to attend the Munich Security Conference, his spokesman said. (DPA)
Afghan, Pakistani troops exchange fire, one killed
2 February
Officials say one Pakistani soldier was killed when Afghan and Pakistani troops exchanged fire across the border today. In Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar, a senior military official said Afghan forces fired on Pakistani military checkpoints, killing one Pakistani soldier and injuring three. A border police commander in Afghanistan's eastern province of Khost confirmed the exchange of fire and accused Pakistan of starting the battle. It was the most serious cross-border clash between Afghan and Pakistani troops since May 2007, when three civilians and a policeman were killed. (RFE/RL)
Kazakhstan parliament passes bill on early elections
2 February
Kazakhstan's parliament today approved amendments to the constitution allowing President Nursultan Nazarbaev to call an early presidential election. Nazarbaev, whose current term expires in 2012, on January 31 rejected a plan to hold a referendum to extend his rule until 2020, saying that he would instead call an early election. The planned referendum had been strongly criticized by both the United States and the European Union. The bill amending the constitution was unanimously approved by the parliament's two houses today and now has to be signed into law by the president. The 70-year-old Nazarbaev has ruled Kazakhstan for more than 20 years. Nazarbaev -- as the first president of the country -- has the exclusive right to run for the presidency an unlimited number of times. (RFE/RL)