31 August 2011 News Digest

Turkmen leader wages war on satellite dishes

17 August

The leader of the isolated desert state of Turkmenistan on Tuesday ordered that the country get rid of its ubiquitous satellite dishes, state-run media said Tuesday. "Dozens of satellite dishes erected on top of every house spoil the appearance of buildings," Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov complained during a government meeting broadcast on state-run television. The president, who has ruled the ex-Soviet state since 2007, called for "limiting the number of satellite dishes to two or three per building." Apartment blocks and detached houses bristle with satellite dishes in a country where state media is tightly controlled and broadband Internet access is hugely expensive. Most Turkmens tune into Russian, Turkish and Arabic satellite television channels to escape relentless government propaganda on the five state-owned national channels. Turkmenistan is the only former Soviet republic without any privately-owned newspapers, magazines, television or news agencies. Berdymukhamedov began his campaign against satellite dishes in 2008, when he charged the government with removing the dishes and replacing them with cable television in the capital Ashgabat. However, the authorities only installed cable television in a small number of apartment buildings along the main avenues, whose residents can watch around 500 channels. Turkmenistan until 2006 was ruled by eccentric president Saparmurat Niyazov, who developed a bizarre personality cult that included erecting a giant gold statue of himself and renaming the months of the year after members of his family. His successor Berdymukhamedov had taken gradual steps to remove some of the more eccentric features of the despot's rule. (AFP)

Former top Kazakh official under investigation
19 August
  Kazakh financial police have launched a criminal investigation against a former top official who is currently living in Switzerland, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. Zhandos Omiraliev, spokesman for the Kazakh Prosecutor-General's Office, told RFE/RL that police are investigating the activities of Viktor Khrapunov, who was mayor of Almaty from 1997-2004. Omiraliev said he could not provide any details into the case. Financial police officials were not available to comment. After leaving the Almaty mayoral post, Khrapunov worked as governor of his native East Kazkahstan Oblast before serving briefly as Kazakhstan's emergency situations minister. He was sacked from that post in 2007 in the wake of a scandal surrounding land parcels allegedly distributed illegally by Khrapunov when he was mayor of Almaty. In 2008, Khrapunov and several of his family members immigrated to Switzerland. (RFE/RL)

Georgian FM Meets WTO Head

22 August

Georgian Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze met with WTO Director General Pascal Lamy in Salzburg on August 20, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said on Monday. During the meeting on a sideline of an international conference Salzburg Trilogue 2011 Vashadze discussed the Swiss-mediated WTO talks between Georgia and Russia.

The next round of talks between Tbilisi and Moscow on Russia’s WTO entry terms is planned for mid-September. (Civil Georgia)

Two Germans missing, feared kidnapped in Afghanistan
23 August
German and Afghan officials said two Germans have gone missing while hiking in Afghanistan and there were fears they may have been kidnapped. The two men vanished two days ago while hiking near the Salang Pass, a major route through the Hindu Kush mountains connecting the capital, Kabul, to northern Afghanistan. The Taliban are not active in the area where they vanished and a local official said they may have been abducted by ethnic Pashtun nomads. Westerners have occasionally been kidnapped by criminal gangs not associated with the Taliban but most have been released unharmed, often after the payment of ransom. (RFE/RL)

Moscow Accuses Tbilisi of Plotting 'Large-Scale Provocation'

23 August

Moscow accused Tbilisi on Tuesday of preparing “a large-scale provocation” on the breakaway South Ossetia’s administrative border on August 26, marking third anniversary of recognition of Georgia’s two breakaway regions by Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on August 23, that the Georgian authorities plan an event dubbed as “peace march” during which about 3,000 Georgians, residents of Tserovani settlement for IDPs, as well as Chechen refugees living in Akhmeta district in eastern Georgia would march from the village of Odzisi to a checkpoint at Akhalgori district on the South Ossetian administrative border. “Scenario of this event envisages an attempt of mass illegal penetration into the territory of South Ossetia under the slogan of return of refugees to their homes,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said. It was first reported about the allegedly planned event on July 30 by the foreign ministry of breakaway South Ossetia; last week authorities in the breakaway region again raised the issue and informed about the alleged event EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM); but the latter said it had checked the report with the Georgian authorities, which had denied it. Asked if monitors from EUMM on the ground observed any signs of preparation for the alleged event, EUMM spokesman, Steve Bird, told Civil.ge on August 23: “We have not seen anything”. In its August 23 statement the Russian Foreign Ministry also said: “This new irresponsible and provocative intention of Tbilisi is extremely dangerous.” “It is fraught with destabilization of already fragile situation in the region,” it said and added that the planned event demonstrated “cynicism” of the Georgian authorities as showed mistreatment of refugees for political goals. “We strongly warn the Georgian side against any attempts to carry out a new adventure in the region. We hope that the appropriate unambiguous signals towards Tbilisi will also come from other members of the international community,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said. (Civil Georgia)

Abkhazia to hold democratic election August 26 – acting president
25 August
The speaker of the Parliament of Abkhazia, Nugzar Ashuba, the acting president of the republic, has said that August 26 will see democratic elections. "We have witnessed true competition by three politicians in our country. All three candidates are worthy people," said Ashuba at a meeting with observers from several European countries, Venezuela, Latvia, Nauru, the Dominican Republic, Armenia, the Dniester Moldovan Republic and also the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization. According to Ashuba, Raul Khadzhimba is an experienced man, who did much for the country. Sergei Shamba in modern history is one of the founders of the struggle for the independence of the Abkhazian people, who did much for his country, including fight for its defense with weapons in hand. Alexander Ankvab is a worthy man, who has extended great services to the country and the people." The presidential candidates, according to Ashuba, have been fulfilling their obligations under the agreement signed in July, For Honest and Clean Elections. "They have had every chance to quietly stay in Sukhumi, and communicate with their voters using modern technology, but they daily meet with them, going around every town and personally presenting their programs. This is a serious contest of ideas, not a physical confrontation between the candidates," said the acting president. Ashuba advised observers to study the local election legislation and see for themselves how democratic it is. "We try to make presidential elections as transparent as possible," he stressed. On August 26 Abkhazia will hold early presidential elections. Three candidates are contesting the post – Vice-President Alexander Ankvab, opposition leader Raul Khadzhimba and Prime Minister Sergei Shamba. In the 35 constituencies there have been established 172 polling stations, which will be open on the election day from 08:00 to 20:00 Moscow time. According to CEC Chairman Batal Tabagua, this time Abkhazia will not open any polling stations at military units, contrary to the previous practice. "The CEC decided that the military should vote at ordinary civilian polling stations. We believe that this is more democratic," said Tabagua. According to preliminary statistics, 143,735 voters will be able to cast their ballots. A group of over 100 monitors will observe the elections. (RFE/RL)

Azeri activists detained in Iran for environmental protests
26 August
Iran's Intelligence Ministry has detained over 30 ethnic Azeris in recent days over environmental protests, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports. The activists in Tabriz were protesting the Iranian government's failure to take measures to save Lake Urmia, a salt lake situated between Iran's East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan provinces that is drying up. Members of the activists' families told RFE/RL that over 30 people were detained on August 24 during an iftar evening meal when Muslims observing Ramadan break their fast. On August 25, several more activists were detained before and after a soccer match in Tabriz between the Azerbaijani Trakhtorsazi team and local team Shahrdari Tabriz. Thousands of Azerbaijani fans chanted "Lake Urmia is dying, the Majlis orders its execution" during the match. Several more activists were reportedly detained in Ardabil and other cities. Iran's parliament recently voted against allocating funds to channel water from the Araz River to raise the level of the lake. Instead, they proposed relocating Azerbaijanis living around Lake Urmia. Turan Kheyri, the wife of detained activist Mustafa Avazpur, told RFE/RL that he has been detained twice before for demanding the protection of Azeri rights. She says Avazpur was released from jail last year. Asgar Sadiqi, the brother of detained activist Abdullah Sadiqi said Abdullah telephoned them to say he was being held at an Intelligence Ministry facility in Tabriz. He said the ministry did not inform the family why Abdullah was arrested. Vahid Qaradagli, an Azeri human rights activist in Iran, told RFE/RL on August that Azeri activists are enraged at the Iranian government's failure to take measures to prevent Lake Urmia from drying up. "The activists were planning more protests on August 27, and the government is arresting activists to avert the wave of protests," he said. Qaradagli says the government has built a fence around the lake, but no steps have been taken to preserve it. He says if the lake dries up, some 10 million tons of salt will remain which will damage the environment and may cause illness among people living in the vicinity. (RFE/RL) 

Medvedev Congratulates Ankvab on Victory

27 August

Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev congratulated Alexander Ankvab on “convincing victory” in the Friday’s presidential election in the breakaway region, according to the Kremlin. Kremlin said in a statement released less than a couple of hours after the breakaway region’s central election commission announced election results, that Medvedev spoke with Ankvab by the phone and “wished him success.” “Medvedev and Ankvab spoke in favor of further strengthening of the Russian-Abkhaz partnership,” the Kremlin said. Ankvab said at a news conference in Sokhumi on Saturday, that he would continue course of late Abkhaz leader, Sergey Bagapsh, “who was keen supporter of relations with Russia and we will further develop those ties.” “We will demonstrate to the world, that Russia made a right decision by recognizing our independence,” Ankvab said. (Civil Georgia)

Azerbaijan sends note to German Foreign Ministry

27 August

Azerbaijan has sent a note to the German Foreign Ministry demanding to prevent holding of a concert dedicated to the Nagorno-Karabakh separatist regime in the German city of Stuttgart, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said.

Within the Days of Armenian Culture in Stuttgart, a concert "20th anniversary of Artsakh" dedicated to the so-called "20th anniversary of independence" of the puppet regime in Nagorno-Karabakh is scheduled for Sept.16-22.

At the same time, the Azerbaijani Embassy in Germany has sent a letter to Stuttgart mayor asking not to allow this Armenian provocation on political propaganda of the occupation regime and prevent deceiving the German public.

Azerbaijan Embassy continues working to stop the Armenian provocations. (Trend)

Afghan President sends would-be child suicide bombers home
30 August
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has ordered that eight would-be child suicide bombers be sent back to their families. The group, which contains a 7-year-old, are the youngest among some 20 children who authorities said were detained before conducting suicide attacks across the country. Karzai, speaking as he marked the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, said the children had been deceived by the Taliban. "We repeatedly ask the Taliban and those who have guns on their shoulders to put their guns down and join the reconstruction process of their country," he said, "and not force or deceive the children into destroying their country." Karzai met the eight children last week in Kabul before ordering that they be sent home. Officials had said the remaining 12 children, all under 18, would be returned to their homes after education and reintegration programs. (RFE/RL)

Security officer killed in Ingushetia
30 August
An officer with the Russian Federal Security Service died Tuesday in a car bombing as violence continued in the North Caucasus.  The killing occurred in Nazran, the largest city in the Russian republic of Ingushetia, RIA Novosti reported. A police officer was killed Saturday in Ingushetia and a police station in neighboring Dagestan was attacked Friday. Dagestan, Ingushetia and Chechnya, all between the Black and Caspian seas and bordered on the south by Georgia and Azerbaijan, have large Muslim populations. While Russia plays up violence perpetrated by nationalists and extremist Muslims in the North Caucasus, peaceful opposition leaders and human rights advocates have also been killed. In June, Maksud Sadikov, the rector of Dagestan's Institute of Theology, was shot in his car in Makhachkala, and last year Maksharip Aushev, an Ingush opposition leader, was found dead in his bullet-riddled car, a Foreign Policy blogger reported. (UPI)

U.S. reiterates that it does not recognize elections in Abkhazia
30 August
U.S. Administration does not recognize the results of Friday's presidential election in the Republic of Abkhazia, a senior spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of State told a daily press briefing Monday.“ [..] the United States does not recognize the legitimacy or the results of the August 26 so-called elections,” said Victoria Nuland, the spokeswoman. She referred to Abkhazia as a “region of Georgia.” “We reiterate our support for Georgia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders,” Nuland said. “We urge Russia to fulfill all of its obligations under the 2008 ceasefire agreement, including withdrawal of forces to pre-conflict positions and free access for humanitarian assistance to the territories,” she said. Russia recognized the state sovereignty and independence of two former regions of Georgia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, at the end of August 2008. (Itar-Tass)

Afghanistan Joins Tajikistan, Kyrgyz Republic Cross-Border Transport Accord

30 August

Afghanistan, Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan have finalized an agreement that will allow Afghanistan to take part in a cross-border transport accord recently ratified by the two Central Asian countries.The CBTA, signed under the framework of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) program, will ease the movement of goods, vehicles, and people across international borders, said a press statement received here from Asian Development Bank, Associated Press of Pakistan reported. Vehicles and goods from participating countries will be able to cross designated borders faster, thanks to streamlined customs inspections and reduced requirements to transfer shipments between vehicles. Established in 2001, CAREC brings together Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. It promotes the implementation of regional projects in energy, transport, and trade facilitation.

Senior officials from the Central Asian neighbors agreed on Afghanistan’s accession to the Cross-Border Transport Agreement (CBTA) at a meeting in Bangkok, Thailand.Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan signed the CBTA in December 2010. To date, member governments, ADB, and other international financial institutions have approved over 100 CAREC-related projects worth about $16 billion. These projects include six land transport corridors that cover 3,600 km of roads and 2,000 km of railway while they traverse the CAREC region north-south and east-west, linking Europe, East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and beyond. Officials from Afghanistan, Kyrgyz Republic, and Tajikistan will sign a protocol on Afghanistan’s accession to the CBTA at the 10th CAREC Ministerial Conference to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan in November 2011. The CBTA will ultimately connect East Asia and the Arabian Sea through Central Asia, specifically along the route of CAREC Corridor 5. In Afghanistan, the Corridor starts at Torkham at the border with Pakistan, continuing through Jalalabad to Kabul, Kunduz, and Shirkhan Bandar.

From the Tajikistan border crossing of Nizhni Pianj, Corridor 5 passes through Kurgan Tyube, Dushanbe, and Karamik. In the Kyrgyz Republic, it runs to the PRC border via Karamik, Sary Tash, and Irkeshtan. (Trend)

Monument to Chingiz Aitmatov was put up

30 August

"Aitmatov’s creativity said the rule of conscience. We can not say that the economy is primary in the life of the state and the culture is secondary after Aitmatov. Seek for the figure equivalent Aitmatov in today’s Kyrgyzstan," said the President for transitional period of the Kyrgyz Republic Roza Otunbayeva, 24.kg reported. According to her, Chingiz Aitmatov is a global spiritual phenomenon that has had impact on the lives of Kyrgyz people. "We have to protect our cultural heritage, where the works of Aitmatov shine as a star of the first magnitude. His Literary masterpieces opened Kyrgyzstan to the world. And today we call eye at that time when were admired Aitmatov’s heroes- ordinary working people of our land," said Roza Otunbayeva. "Today our people does not need high moral abutments but the heroes of Aitmatov lived by. Two great figures determine our political scale today - the Generous Manas and Chingiz Aitmatov. They define the extent of our responsibility to the homeland," concluded the President. (24.kg)

 

 

Kazakhstan says detains extremists, foils "terror"

31 August

Kazakhstan's security forces have detained a group of extremists who had planned "acts of terror" in the oil-producing region of Atyrau, local prosecutors said in a report on Wednesday. The report is a rare official admission of such threats in Kazakhstan, Central Asia's largest and most successful economy which has always stressed its stability contrasting the volatility of its regional ex-Soviet neighbours. "On August 29, security forces disrupted the activity of a terrorist group, and 18 people were detained," the prosecutor's office in Atyrau in western Kazakhstan said in a statement e-mailed to Reuters. "During the detention, one of the members of this gang put up staunch resistance and was destroyed." Kazakhstan, where 70 percent of the 16.5 million population are Muslim, has so far avoided the militant Islamist violence that has hit other parts of Central Asia, a region that borders Afghanistan.

But a recent series of unexplained explosions and shootouts with well-armed gunmen in various parts of the country have unnerved the authorities of Kazakhstan, run by strongman President Nursultan Nazarbayev for more than 20 years. Interfax news agency quoted Atyrau Prosecutor Sayfulla Kamalov as telling a news briefing earlier on Wednesday that the detainees were all men living in the region who had also planned attacks in other parts of the country. Kamalov said that components of an explosive device, religious literature and firearms had been found at the house of the man who had been shot dead. "To date, the above-mentioned 18 persons have been charged with 'creating, leading and taking part in the activities of a terrorist group'," the statement said. It gave no further details . "The criminal situation in the region remains stable, and all institutions, organisations and enterprises work as usual," the report said. "Security bodies are taking all necessary measures to safeguard public security."

Earlier this month, Kazakhstan temporarily blocked access to a number of foreign Internet sites, including the popular blogging space LiveJournal, after a court ruled they were propagating terrorism and inciting religious hatred. (Reuters)

 

8 dead, including 7 police, in Chechnya suicide bombings

31 August

Russia's top investigative body says eight people including seven policeman have died after suicide bombings in the capital of Chechnya. A statement from the Investigative Committee says three perpetrators of the Tuesday evening blasts in Grozny have been identified, but did not specify how many explosions there were. Some Russian news reports said there were two blasts. According to the Wednesday statement, the bombers blew themselves up when police stopped them during a search operation. A further 22 people were wounded, the committee said. The blasts were the bloodiest recent incident of violence in Chechnya, where an Islamic insurgency has diminished after two full-scale wars with Russian forces over the past two decades. The neighbouring republic of Dagestan is plagued by near-daily insurgent violence and clashes with police. (AP)

Ambassador: Azerbaijani-Turkish Strategic Partnership Council Summit to be held soon

30 August

The Azerbaijani-Turkish Strategic Partnership Council Summit is scheduled for October-November, Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Hulusi Kilic told reporters on Tuesday.  "The council meeting will be held either in October or November," said Kilic.  The agreement on strategic partnership and mutual assistance between Azerbaijan and Turkey was signed by the presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey Ilham Aliyev and Abdullah Gul on Aug. 16, 2010.  The ambassador said that after Azerbaijan regained its independence, military cooperation between the two countries strengthened day-by-day. "The Azerbaijani army is becoming the most powerful army in the region," said Kilic. The ambassador said Azerbaijan and Turkey have always supported peace. (Trend)

Two Chechnya suicide bombers identified
31 August
Investigators established the identities of two suicide bombers who blasted themselves in Grozny's Lenin district on Tuesday. "One of them is Magamed Dashayev, 22, a native of Urus Martan, and the other is resident of the village of Starye Atagi, student of the Oil Institute Adlan Khamidov, aged 21," Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin told Itar-Tass. The explosions occurred in Bogdan Khmelnitsky Street on Tuesday evening. Seven people were killed outright, and another 23 were injured. Several hours later, the eighth victim died in hospital despite the provided medical assistance. The press service of the Chechen leader reported that there were six police officers, one employee of the Emergency Situations Ministry and one local resident among the fatalities. "Twenty-two people remain in hospitals; of those, five are in a critical condition," the press service said. According to Markin, an SK investigator was injured in one of the explosions. He was not far from the scene when he was returning from work, and was injured in a new explosion when he tried to render assistance to victims, he said. Chechen police said there had been three explosions. The first bomb was set off, when a police patrol tried to detain a suspicious man. When more police and local residents gathered at the scene, another two suicide bombers blew themselves up in the crowd. The criminal case was opened under five articles of Russia's Criminal Code: "attempted murder of law-enforcement personnel," "murder," "attempted murder," "Illegal turnover of weapons," and "illegal manufacturing of weapons." The case will be handled by the SK's department for the North Caucasus Federal District. (Itar-Tass)