TALIBAN TAKES BLAME FOR AFGHAN RAIDS
May 3
The Taliban said Thursday that at least 12 Afghan security personnel and 14 international troops were killed during the start of their spring offensive. The Taliban, in a statement, said "at least" seven "invading terrorists" were killed in overnight attacks on Ghazni province. "As any as seven NATO invading terrorists and their puppets" were killed in Kapisa province during Thursday morning attacks. However, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, in its Thursday operational update, made no mention of Taliban or coalition casualties. The Taliban announced the start of their spring offensive, dubbed al-Farooq, hours after U.S. President Barack Obama left the country following meetings with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Obama and Karzai signed a strategic agreement that outlines the U.S. military engagement in Afghanistan after 2014, when international forces are expected to leave the country. Some U.S. troops will stay behind in order to train Afghan forces. The Taliban, in a series of statements documenting their offensive, added that six members of the Afghan national army in overnight attacks in Paktika province and another six members of an Afghan security team were killed Thursday morning in Ghazni province. International forces have praised the ability of Afghan forces to take responsibility over some security operations in the country. U.S. and NATO-led forces been accused, however, of overstating the success of their Afghan counterparts. (UPI)
CONSTRUCTION OF TURKMENISTAN-CHINA GAS PIPELINE VIA KYRGYZSTAN TO BRING TASHKENT AND BISHKEK TOGETHER
May 3
Construction of a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to China via Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan will facilitate the convergence of Tashkent and Bishkek, an independent Kyrgyz economic expert, doctor of economic sciences, professor Ayilchi Saribayev believes. Kyrgyz officials speak about possible construction of a new gas pipeline to China via Kyrgyzstan. China now receives gas from Turkmenistan through a pipeline, running through the territory of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. There are no specific agreements on this issue yet, but the expert believes that such project is needed not only economically but also politically. "Our alleged strained relation with Uzbekistan is a temporary phenomenon," Saribayev said. He believes that over time Kyrgyzstan's relations with Uzbekistan will be no worse than with other neighboring countries. "It's not necessary to dramatize and seek some sort of political overtone in this matter, on the contrary, we must strive to find ways for further convergence and development of economic relations between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan," Saribayev said. Therefore laying a pipeline from Turkmenistan through Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan to China, would contribute to the improvement and strengthening of relations between the two countries. "I am a supporter of open borders with neighboring countries, as the Central Asian countries should live in harmony, and have an open economic space," he said. (Trend)
RUSSIA TO SET UP MILITARY MAINTENANCE CENTERS IN KAZAKHSTAN
May 4
Russia is planning to establish maintenance centers for Russian arms and military equipment in service with the Kazakh Armed Forces in Kazakhstan, the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) said on Friday. FSMTC deputy chief Konstantin Biryulin said he had discussed the matter with Kazakh Deputy Defense Minister Sergei Gromov. Russia is ready to transfer the relevant technology to Kazakhstan, he added. An aircraft maintenance center will be the first such facility, he said. The Kazakh military has mainly Russian arms and military equipment, including up to 1,000 main battle tanks (T-80, T-72 and ?-62), some 2,500 infantry fighting vehicles (BMP-1 and BMP-2) and armored personnel carriers (BTR-80A and BTR-82A), around 200 self-propelled artillery systems, and at least 150 Uragan and Grad multiple rocket launchers. The Kazakh Air Force has 40 MiG-29 fighters, 14 Su-25 fighter bombers, 25 Su-24 fighter bombers, 14 Su-27 fighters, 43 MiG-31 and 16 MiG-25 interceptors and 100 air defense missile launchers. The army has more than 120 Russian manufactured helicopters (Mi-24, Mi-8 and Mi-26). (RIA Novosti)
BESIEGED AFGHAN MEDIA APPEALS TO KARZAI FOR PROTECTION
May 4
Despite media freedom being protected by the constitution, the relatively large, often Western-backed press corps can face intimidation, abduction or even death for reporting on issues such as corruption and other government failings. A journalist said he had received several threatening phone calls from unidentified men in what he believes was a response to his articles revealing corruption and drug-running by officials. Many Afghans view the government as deeply corrupt. Some media hold back from publishing stories they know will attract the government's ire. Reporters at Afghan news agency Pajhwok are resorting to self-censorship to avoid the fate of colleagues who have been beaten and detained; three have been killed over the last decade. New York-based watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in its annual report that while Afghanistan has experienced a slowdown in targeted killings, it had made no progress in prosecuting the killers of journalists. Increased insecurity in the face of intensifying violence as most Western combat troops prepare to leave by 2014 has also led to greater impunity surrounding threats against reporters, said Abdul Mujeeb Khalvatgar, executive director of the Afghan media development group Nai. Khalvatgar even suggested the government could be cracking down on the press in order to send a signal to the Taliban, that it was serious about reconciliation talks and was willing to restrict the meddlesome media to prove it. President Hamid Karzai defended the state of Afghan media on Thursday, telling reporters: "Freedom of the press is one of the Afghan government's major achievements. We will firmly support it and respect it". (Reuters)
ARMENIA PRESIDENT'S PARTY WINS ELECTION-EARLY RESULTS
May 7
Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan's Republican Party won a parliamentary election, in a poll that was seen as a test of democracy in Russia's main ally in the South Caucasus region. The Republican Party took 44 percent of votes in Sunday's election. Voting ended without any of the violence that marred the 2008 presidential election. International monitors have a mixed assessment, praising Armenia for conducting a peaceful vote but criticizing violations of campaign law and interference by political parties. The Republican Party is likely to seek coalition partners, possibly the Prosperous Armenia party - its main partner in the last government, which finished second with 30 percent of votes on Sunday. "There are signs that Sarksyan will consolidate his hold on the Republican Party in preparation for his presidential bid in 2013," said Richard Giragosian, director of the Regional Studies Centre in Yerevan. Three other parties won the 5 percent of votes needed to enter parliament and the opposition Armenian National Congress, led by former President Levon Ter-Petrosyan, crossed the 7 percent threshold for party blocs to take up seats. "Armenia deserves recognition for its electoral reforms and its open and peaceful campaign environment," the international observers from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said in a statement. But it added that several unnamed "stakeholders" had too often failed to comply with the law, and the election commissions had "too often failed to enforce it". Police received 129 complaints of ballot stuffing, attempts to bribe voters and other irregularities although the force said some proved to be false. (Reuters)
ANKARA TO SIGN MAJOR GAS PIPELINE MOU SOON
May 7
A memorandum of understanding for the 1,240-mile Trans-Anatolian Pipeline should be ratified by the Turkish Parliament in a matter of days, an official said. Both sides in December signed a memorandum of understanding for the 1,240-mile Trans-Anatolian Pipeline. It will eventually carry natural gas from the BP-controlled Shah Deniz field in the Azeri waters of the Caspian Sea. A source in the Turkish Legislature told the region's Trend news service Monday that "the exact date is unknown yet, but in the coming days, a memorandum will be approved by the Parliament." The project, dubbed TANAP, could eventually link to Nabucco West, a scaled-down version of the larger $10.4 billion proposal, or BP's planned South East Europe Pipeline from the Turkish border. Project partners expect to have TANAP built before Shah Deniz starts production by 2017. Shah Deniz partners will choose between SEEP and Nabucco West by the end of June. A 5.8-magnitude earthquake was reported Monday in Azerbaijan. Azeri officials said there were few reports of damage to energy infrastructure in the area, including the 1,099-mile long Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. (UPI)
CENTRAL ASIAN COUNTRIES APPROVE PLAN FOR COOPERATION IN WATER QUALITY
May 8
Representatives of the five Central Asian states approved of the first comprehensive plan for cooperation in the field of water quality at a meeting in Almaty, the UN Economic Commission for Europe said on Tuesday. A plan, entitled "Development of regional cooperation on ensuring water quality in Central Asia" has been developed under the project "Water quality in Central Asia", which is implemented by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia. The plan provides for three strategic areas of work, including information exchange and harmonization of national policies on water quality, co-operation on water quality monitoring and data sharing, as well as the establishment of a regional body of experts on the subject. Plan for future cooperation has been approved by 12 agencies of five states of Central Asia. Discussion and approval of it by regional organizations on cooperation is planned as the next step. Representatives of the States have agreed to continue the work of the Regional Working Group on Water Quality after project completion. Other achievements include a demonstration coordinated project of water quality monitoring, including the exchange of information among participating countries and the training of experts on key issues of water quality management. Under the project, laboratories in the Central Asian countries receive the necessary equipment that will improve the water quality monitoring. (Trend)
ARMENIAN OPPOSITION SAYS ELECTION MARRED BY FRAUD
May 8
A leading opposition group in Armenia said on Tuesday a parliamentary election won by the president's party had been marred by fraud, and vowed to ask a top court to overturn the results. Two days after Sunday's election in the former Soviet Republic, about 5,000 supporters of former president Levon Ter-Petrosyan's Armenian National Congress took to the streets in central Yerevan. The Republican Party of President Serzh Sarksyan won about 68 seats, a majority in the 131-seat parliament, according to results released on Monday. The Armenian National Congress won seven seats, but its leaders argue the election should be thrown out altogether, saying widespread vote-buying and other violations had taken place. "We took a decision to appeal to the Constitutional Court to annul the results of the election," said Aram Manukyan, a leader of the congress. "Each election is worse than the last," Ter-Petrosyan said. International monitors have given a mixed assessment of the vote in Russia's main ally in the strategic South Caucasus. They praised Armenia for electoral reforms and a peaceful vote but criticized what they said were violations of the campaign law and interference by parties. Republican Party officials said the election was democratic. The Armenian National Congress, which had no seats in the previous parliament, said, however, that it would not refuse the parliament seats it had won. "The bloc's participation in the work of parliament will give new impulse to our struggle," said another congress leader, Stepan Demirchyan. (Reuters)
U.N. TORTURE ENVOY HEADS TO TAJIKISTAN
May 9
There are "significant gaps" in Tajikistan's legislation regarding a prohibition of torture, a U.N. special envoy declared Wednesday. Juan Mendez, U.N. special envoy on torture, announced plans to a start weeklong tour of Tajikistan beginning Thursday. He said the purpose of his visit is to assess steps taken by the government to bring anti-torture legislation in line with international standards. He said he was encouraged by steps taken so far but had concerns about how the country was complying with its obligations to provide remedies for victims of torture.´"(T)here remain significant gaps in legislation, policies and law enforcement practices and I stand ready to assist the authorities," he said in a statement. Amnesty International, in a report published last week, said it had particular concerns about the alleged abuses of prisoners in the country and called for an impartial and independent investigation into allegations of torture. "Amnesty International's research shows that torture is an ongoing problem in Tajikistan, particularly in pre-trial detention where detainees are at particular risk of torture and other ill-treatment by law enforcement officers in order to get them to confess to crimes," the organization said. Mendez will provide a report on his visit May 18. (UPI)
STOLEN BRIDES COUNTED IN KYRGYZSTAN
May 10
About 24,000 women were kidnapped and forced into marriage in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan over the past three years, the country’s ombudsman said on Thursday. Two-thirds of such marriages later fell apart, Tursunbek Akun said in his annual report to the Kyrgyz parliament. The ombudsman’s office managed to prevent seven forced marriages in the first three months of 2012, with five of the victims returned to their families, Akun said. He did not specify what happened to the other two. Akun’s figure is less than the data voiced by then-acting President Rosa Otunbayeva last fall, when she said 15,000 females are kidnapped and forced into a marriage every year, many of them later committing suicide. A national anti-bride-stealing month was declared in Kyrgyzstan in November, but apparently failed to end the practice. About 20 percent of all marriages in Kyrgyzstan are forced, according to rights activist Alexandra Yefrenko. Most marriages of the sort are sealed by Islamist clerics, not civil registrars. The local parliament has pushed in recent months to make civil registration mandatory for cleric-sanctioned matrimonial unions, effectively outlawing forced marriages. However, the legislature declined the bill in January. Legislator Asiya Sasykbayeva said at the time that her colleagues were looking to protect polygamy, an Islamic tradition formally banned, but de-facto present in Kyrgyzstan. Many lawmakers have several wives, Sasykbayeva said. (RIA Novosti)
RUSSIA FOILS ALLEGED PLOT ON SOCHI OLYMPICS
May 10
Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC) said the special services had confiscated arms, ammunition and explosives - including surface-to-air missiles and a flamethrower - in the breakaway Abkhazia region of Georgia, the South Caucasus country with which Russia went to war in 2008. "Russia's FSB (security service) was able to establish that the fighters planned to move the weapons to Sochi from 2012 to 2014 and use them to carry out terrorist acts before and during the Olympic Games," NAC said in a statement. The NAC blamed the plot on the Caucasus Emirate, one of the leading groups in an insurgency against Russian rule in the volatile North Caucasus. It suggested the group's leader, Doku Umarov, had been cooperating with Georgian special services but did not give any details to support this allegation and the NAC report could not be independently verified. The insurgents want to create an Islamic state and say they were behind a suicide bombing at Moscow's Domodedovo airport that killed 37 people in January 2011 and twin bombings that killed 40 people on Moscow's metro in 2010. The International Olympic Committee has said it is confident Russia will provide a safe Games and Russia is working hard to prevent its image being tarnished by security problems at an events that will be watched around the world. (Reuters)
GEORGIA RESPONDS TO RUSSIA'S 'TERROR PLOT LINK' ALLEGATIONS
May 10
Tbilisi said Russia’s allegation about Georgia’s links with Chechen warlord’s alleged terror plot in Sochi is “utterly absurd”, and a part of Moscow’s anti-Georgian propaganda aimed at “escalating situation in the region”. “This is utterly absurd statement, which is completely groundless; it has nothing to do with the reality,” Sergi Kapanadze, the Georgian deputy foreign minister said. The Interior Ministry said that “Russian special services are responsible for attempting to stage terrorist and subversive acts on the territory of Georgia, most of which were successfully foiled.” In the most recent case, the Georgian police said it had foiled an attempt of terrorist act outside the local prosecutor’s office in Zugdidi with an explosive device smuggled from breakaway Abkhazia. “The Russian side has never raised this or related issue during the Geneva talks, where such issues are discussed,” the Georgian Foreign Ministry said. It also said that unlike Russia, Georgian negotiators had been regularly raising the issue of Russian military intelligence’s role in masterminding terrorist acts on the Georgian soil and in addition had handed over to Moscow “concrete evidence” and offered cooperation in the investigation. “Russia’s has never shown any interest towards such cooperation,” the Georgian Foreign Ministry said. “Adequate international reaction is important to the insinuations of this kind in order to prevent Russia’s attempt to carry out destructive actions against Georgia and trigger destabilization in the Caucasus and in the entire Black Sea region,” it added. (Civil)
ENI ACCUSED OF CORRUPTION IN KAZAKHSTAN
May 11
A subsidiary of Italian energy company Eni is suspected of giving bribes to people close to the president of Kazakhstan, prosecutors said. Italian prosecutors say Eni subsidiary Agip Kco is suspected of offering bribes to Timur Kulibayev, son-in-law of the Kazakh president, through 2007, Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti reports. As a result, the Milan court said Eni might be banned from work in the Kashagan oil field in the former Soviet republic. Bribes through 2007 may have totaled at least $20 million, though the news service suggests they were meant for investment purposes. The Russian news service said Eni Chief Executive Officer Paolo Scaroni might be charged with backing international corruption if the allegations are found to be correct. Mario Reali, the former head of Eni offices in Russia, told investigators in June about alleged payoffs related to contracts in Kazakhstan. This led investigators in Milan to look into similar allegations related to the Jurassic oil field in Kuwait and the Zubair oil field in Iraq, for which Eni landed contracts in 2010. Eni is also under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for alleged corruption in Libya. The Kashagan oil field is one of the largest in the world. (UPI)
TAJIKS NAB REBEL UZBEK COMMANDER
May 11
A suspected leader of the insurgent Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and two of his allies were arrested in Tajikistan, government officials said. The Tajik government said IMU commander Zilmurod Eshonkhonov and two of his close associates were detained in a southern province of the Central Asian country, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports. All three men were reportedly detained on evidence taken from Pakistan intelligence, the report said. The U.S. State Department in January designated brothers Yassin and Monir Chouka as terrorists for their role in 2010 and 2011 attacks on civilians in Afghanistan. They were classified as "fighters, recruiters, facilitators and propagandists for the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan," a designated foreign terrorist organization. Early last year, Washington said it had information that suggested terrorist groups were plotting against U.S. interests in Uzbekistan and called on citizens to exercise caution when traveling in the region. The warning mentioned al-Qaida, IMU, the Islamic Jihad Union and the East Turkistan Islamic Movement as groups active in the region. The IMU was named by the State Department as the movement responsible for the October deaths of 18 people, including five Americans. (UPI)
TAJIK JAN-APR ALUMINIUM OUTPUT FALLS 11.6 PCT YR/YR -SOURCE
May 11
Tajikistan's state-owned aluminium smelter, the largest in former Soviet Central Asia, hopes a resumption of gas supplies from Uzbekistan will allow it to meet its 2012 output target despite a near-12 percent decline in the first four months. Tajikistan Aluminium Company, or TALCO, produced 97,863 tonnes of the metal in January-April 2012, or 11.6 percent less than in the same four months last year. The main reason for the decline was lower monthly production rates in early 2012 as the smelter ramped up output following a modernisation programme completed toward the end of last year. Production was also affected in April when neighbouring Uzbekistan cut off natural gas supplies for 15 days. Tajikistan signed a deal to resume supplies from April 16 until the end of the year. "The signing of the contract until the end of the current year gives us hope that we will meet our plans," said the TALCO source. TALCO is sticking to its plan to produce 332,500 tonnes of primary aluminium this year, the source said, which would restore production approximately to 2010 levels after a 20 percent decline to 277,584 tonnes in 2011. The smelter's production is crucial to the economy of Tajikistan, the poorest of 15 former Soviet republics. The metal accounted for 45.1 percent of Tajikistan's export revenues in the first quarter of 2012. (Reuters)
PUTIN MEETS SOUTH OSSETIAN LEADER IN SOCHI
May 12
A day after meeting with leader of breakaway Abkhazia, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin met with Leonid Tibilov, the new leader of South Ossetia in Sochi. “We all know what has preceded to your election,” Putin told Tibilov. “I very much hope that situation will be improving.” Tibilov became South Ossetian leader as a result of two rounds of repeat elections in March and April. “There are too many economic and social problems in the republic,” Putin told Tibilov. “Russia has been beside the Ossetian people in the most difficult times in the recent history of South Ossetia. We will be standing beside in the peacetime too, when there is a need for rapid economic and social recovery.” Tibilov thanked Putin for his and Russia’s support to Tskhinvali and mentioned that Putin has massive support in South Ossetia. “Thank you for what you are doing, for what the great Russia is doing for South Ossetia,” Tibilov told Putin. “We will stick to the principle, which has been historically chosen by our people: forever with Russia.” A decree on “measures of carrying out foreign policy course of the Russian Federation”, signed by Putin on May 7, orders the Foreign Ministry and other state agencies “to actively facilitate establishment of Republic of Abkhazia and Republic of South Ossetia as modern democratic states, strengthening of their international positions, providing reliable security and social-economic rehabilitation of these republics.” (Civil)
KARZAI ANNOUNCES NEXT TRANSITION STEP
May 13
Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced the next phase of the transition of national security responsibilities from NATO to Afghan forces. Once Tranche Three is completed, 75 percent of Afghanistan will be under Afghan control. The phase could be completed as quickly as six months. Successful completion of Tranche Three would allow France to pull out its 4,000-plus troops by the end of the year, as French President-elect Francois Hollande has stated is his goal. U.S. President Barack Obama issued a statement welcoming Karzai's announcement, calling it "an important step forward in our effort to achieve our objectives in Afghanistan.” Obama continued, “The Afghan National Security Forces are strengthening their capacity as we remain on track to meet our goal of having the Afghan government fully responsible for security across the country by the end of 2014 … A week from now, world leaders will gather at the NATO Summit in Chicago to discuss how we can effectively advance the transition process as our forces move from combat to a support role, and demonstrate our enduring support for the Afghan Government and Afghan National Security Forces. I look forward to meeting with President Karzai and my fellow leaders in Chicago to discuss these critical steps that will strengthen Afghan sovereignty while responsibly winding down the war." ABC said the upbeat announcement was offset by word that a key member of Karzai's High Peace Council, which is seeking reconciliation with the Taliban, had been gunned down while his car was stopped in traffic on the way to work. (UPI)
MILITARY EQUIPMENT SUPPLIES FROM RUSSIA TO KAZAKHSTAN INCREASED 70-FOLD SINCE 2010
May 14
In spite of the fact that Astana pursues a multiple-vector policy Russia still remains the priority partner for Kazakhstan in military and technical cooperation. The volume of military supplies has gone up multiple times in the last several years, according to Essen Topoyev, RosoboronExport executive director’s adviser. During the two past years RosoboronExport company supplied Kazakhstan with BTR-82A armored fighting vehicles, BMPT tank support combat vehicles and TOS-1A heavy flame systems. Military equipment supply has increased by 70 times since 2010, Topoyev said. He added that the modernization of earlier supplied Soviet (Russian) weaponry and military equipment is a vital aspect of Kazakhstan-Russia military and technical cooperation. “Modernization is the fastest and the most feasible way to update the equipment that was purchased years ago. It will bring the equipment to the level of the modern armament that meets the most sophisticated demands,” Topoyev said. He continues that only Russian revamp techniques could provide the highest level of modernization. “The revamp and modernization could be made in specially created joint service centers at the territory of Kazakhstan,” Topoyev said. According to him,RosoboronExport is ready to offer a package modernization of BMP-2M infantry combat vehicles. It will include equipment of the gun control system with up-to-date multiple rifle scope gunner, new weapons stabilizer and ballistic computer with firing condition sensor. (Tengrinews)
PUTIN PLEDGES TO DEVELOP TIES WITH UZBEKISTAN
May 15
Russia will develop its ties with Uzbekistan, a key Central Asian country, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday at a meeting with his Uzbekistan counterpart Islam Karimov. “We esteem the potential of Uzbekistan's people, economy and natural resources. We’ve always treated and will treat Uzbekistan as one of the key countries in the region,” Putin said. Karimov congratulated Putin on his return to presidency and said Russia could always lean on Uzbekistan. On Tuesday Putin visited a summit of the post-Soviet Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) with the presidents of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. They discussed military and technological cooperation and discussed efforts to coordinate the foreign policy of the regional security organization’s member states. A new CSTO declaration was adopted. The meeting was Putin’s first multilateral international event since his May 7 inauguration as Russian president. (RIA Novosti)
ANGLO ASIAN GETS PERMIT FOR AZERBAIJAN GOLD MINE
May 15
Anglo Asian Mining said on Tuesday it got an approval from authorities in Azerbaijan to go ahead with its development plans at the Gosha mine aimed at production of 10,000-15,000 ounces of gold per year. The company said it was required to commence development and production of Gosha within one year, as from April 25, 2012, but requested the government in Azerbaijan to delay it until the first half of 2013 due to plans to construct an agitation leaching plant at the neighbouring Gedabek mine. "Receiving approval to push ahead with the development of Gosha is the next step towards fulfilling our strategy to build a multiple gold mine company and unlock the intrinsic value of our large portfolio in Azerbaijan," CEO Reza Vaziri said in a statement. Anglo Asian Mining's gold production in Azerbaijan fell by 15 percent in 2011 to 57,068 ounces from 67,267 in 2010. The company envisages exploration of seven mines in western Azerbaijan with estimated gold reserves of 430 tonnes and plans to increase gold production in Azerbaijan to 300,000 ounces per year by 2015. The AIM-listed company is controlled by R.V. Investment Group Services. The Azeri government owns 49 percent. It began gold production at the Gedabek gold and copper mine, 350 km west of the capital Baku, in July 2009. (Reuters)
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TAILORED TO IVANISHVILI
May 15
Parliament passed with its second reading on May 15 a constitutional amendment, which will allow leader of opposition coalition Georgian Dream, Bidzina Ivanishvili, to vote and be elected in parliamentary elections, as well as in next year’s presidential election without becoming a Georgian citizen. The draft was amended to make it tailored specifically to Ivanishvili. The draft now specifies that political rights will be given to a Georgian-born citizen of EU-member state, who “has permanently lived in Georgia for the last 5 years”, instead of 10 years. After the draft, containing wording “last 10 years”, was passed with its first hearing on May 8, Ivanishvili said that it would not apply him because he had lived permanently in Georgia since 2004, after which the draft was amended. In this ongoing process of constitutional amendment Ivanishvili, who is a French citizen, and his Georgian Dream opposition coalition was trying to distance themselves from the process, saying that they do not support such amendment, but Ivanishvili will make use of this amendment if approved. Ivanishvili and his allies have said for number of times that President Saakashvili created such situation by his refusal to give Ivanishvili citizenship through naturalization and now it was up to Saakashvili’s allies in the parliament to resolve this situation. “Not a single political force will face obstacles,” senior ruling party MP Giorgi Gabashvili said. “We are not a country where political players are kicked out of the political scene.” (Civil)
KYRGYZSTAN WILL PAY GAS DEBTS TO KAZAKHSTAN BY END OF SPRING
May 16
Kyrgyzstan is promising to pay all current gas debts to Kazakhstan and hoping for a new fuel supplies contract, Interfax-Kazakhstan reports. “Kyrgyzgas will pay the current debts to Kazakhstan amounting to $2 million by May 25,” Sapar Issakov, head of foreign policy and deputy head of Kyrgyzstan's Presidential Administration said. He also said that Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan authorities will be discussing possibilities of new gas supplies. For new supplies talks the countries have to define the amount of gas required for the coming season and set the price of the fuel. Issakov did not exclude that Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan could sign a new contract with the price of future supplies not exceeding the current level of $233 per 1,000 cubic meters. According to preliminary information, Kyrgyzstan will negotiate supplies of up to 300 million cubic meters of gas from Kazakhstan. As for Kyrgyzstan’s multi-million debts to Kazakhstan for unauthorized gas extraction, Issakov said that “a bilateral commission was created to perform its own investigation and present its results to the governments of both countries”. Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan to Kazakhstan Essengul Omuraliyev told the journalists that “there is a so-called delayed debt of $11.6 million between the countries. According to Kazakhstan party, these were the investments into a joint Kazakh-Kyrgyz company KyrKazGas, but Kyrgyzstan party stated that the money was never invested”. “A joint commission was made of law-enforcement authorities to investigate into this fact,” Omuraliyev said. (Tengrinews)
U.S. URGED TO 'NAME NAMES' IN SUPPORT OF CENTRAL ASIA'S POLITICAL PRISONERS
May 16
Civil liberties advocates and a former political prisoner from Uzbekistan have urged the United States to continue "naming names" in support of Central Asia's jailed opposition leaders, religious figures, and journalists. "For every case like mine there are thousands of other prisoners who die as a direct result of abuse and torture by investigators, prison guards, and administrators," said Sanjar Umarov, the exiled founder of Uzbekistan's opposition Sunshine Coalition, who led the call at a May 15 hearing of the U.S. Helsinki Commission in Washington. Umarov's call comes amid concern by some rights groups that the scale has tipped too far in the direction of political expediency in current relations between Washington and Central Asia. U.S. leaders maintain that they consistently raise the issue of rights transgressions, and mention individual cases, in private discussions with leaders of Central Asian countries. Catherine Cosman, of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, also told the commission's lawmakers that Washington should "shine a light" on Central Asia's thousands of prisoners of conscience, for whom "publicity is a lifeline." She argued that increased U.S. relations with Central Asia because of its role in the Northern Distribution Network (NDN) could be a chance to exert more leverage on human rights transgressions. U.S. Congressman Stephen Cohen (Democrat-Tennessee), a member of the Helsinki Commission, said Washington at times "accepts or ignorantly adjusts" to Central Asia's authoritarian presidents in return for their cooperation on Afghanistan; however, it must not ignore the "moral cost." (RFE/RL)
TURKMEN PRESIDENT: WORK ON KAZAKHSTAN-TURKMENISTAN-IRAN RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY AT HIGH PACE
May 16
At present, work on the construction of the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway is underway at a high pace, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhammadov said in his address to participants of International Conference "Prospects of development of transport and transit in Central Asian and Caspian region", in Ashgabat. "This transcontinental railway will be a bridge connecting Asia with Europe," the Turkmen leader said. "This railway will be of great importance not only for the countries involved in the agreement, but also for the development of broader cooperation," the message says. The North-South project is implemented based on the intergovernmental agreement signed in 2007 between Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran. The projected volume of traffic on this route is up to 10 million tons per year. The new route will open the European and Asian countries access to Central Asia and the Gulf by the shortest and economically advantageous route. On the other hand, a similar opportunity will appear for transit of goods from of in South and Southeast Asia, from the shores of the Indian Ocean to the countries of Northern and Eastern Europe - through Iran, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Russia. This route is three times shorter than the route through the Suez Canal. The new railway will play a significant role in creating new social infrastructure in the desert regions near the Caspian Sea and the northern territories, from Bereket to the border with Kazakhstan. (Trend)
NABUCCO GROUP SUBMITS SMALLER PROJECT FOR AZERI GAS
May 16
The Nabucco Consortium has now submitted a proposal for the smaller Nabucco West version of its pipeline project to the Shah Deniz 2 group that plans to ship 16 billion cubic metres (bcm) of Azeri natural gas to Europe. The Nabucco West option would mean that the pipeline only begins at Turkey's western border, significantly reducing its length and cost, but leaving the transport through Turkey to another pipeline or existing infrastructure. "We are convinced that we have submitted a competitive and comprehensive proposal to the Shah Deniz 2 Consortium, and that this proposal represents a win-win situation for our shareholders and for suppliers alike," said Reinhard Mitschek, Managing Director of Nabucco Gas Pipeline International. The Shah Deniz 2 group is expected to announce the winning pipeline project this summer, with a final investment decision planned for 2013. "The (Nabucco West) concept foresees the construction of a 1,300 km pipeline that will run from the Bulgarian/Turkish border to the Central European Gas Hub (in Austria)," the group said. "The pipeline is designed to transport gas initially from Azerbaijan and is fully scalable to meet future gas transport demand from the Caspian Region and Middle-East to the European markets." Nabucco's six shareholders are Austria's OMV, Germany's RWE, Hungary's MOL, Turkey's Botas, BEH of Bulgaria and Romania's Transgaz. MOL and RWE set off a debate over the feasibility of Nabucco's original size earlier this year and threatened to leave the group. (Reuters)
AZERI OPPOSITION INMATES ON HUNGER STRIKE
May 16
Twelve jailed Azerbaijani opposition activists have started a hunger strike to coincide with the upcoming Eurovision song contest, Azerbaijan’s Public Chamber opposition movement said on Wednesday. The protesters are demanding freedom for all "political prisoners" in Azerbaijan who they say have been illegally arrested or convicted. Eurovision will begin on May 22 and the finals will be held on May 26 in Azerbaijan's capital Baku. The prisoners chose to make their protest during the event to draw attention to their campaign. The jailed activists were convicted for participation in an unsanctioned opposition meeting in Baku on April 2, 2011. The protesters, from several opposition parties and movements, demanded democratic reforms and new parliamentary elections in the country. The meeting was violently dispersed by local riot police. Amnesty International rights group has called the twelve inmates "prisoners of conscience." Public Chamber also plan to stage protest campaigns during Eurovision in a bid to attract public attention to human rights violation in Azerbaijan. (RIA Novosti)