Field Reports

On November 17, a railway bridge between the Galaba and Amuzang stations in Uzbekistan exploded. The location of the explosion is in Surkhandarya oblast, between the Uzbek city of Termez and the Tajik city Kurgan-Tyube, not far from Uzbekistan’s borders with Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Due to the destruction of the bridge, a large number of wagons carrying goods headed for Tajikistan are stuck in Uzbekistan. A governmental committee has been organized to investigate the causes of the incident. According to local mass media, the explosion is considered to be a terrorist act. However, some local observers have doubts about this version as Uzbek authorities keep the site closed to the public and make little progress in restoring the bridge and the operation of the railway.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and North Atlantic Council (NAC) diplomats visited Georgia on November 9-10. The visit incited Tbilisi’s hopes that the next Alliance summit will bring Georgia closer to NATO. Although Rasmussen appraised the NATO-Georgia partnership as “very special” and “solid,” he could not specify when Georgia may expect membership in the organization.

On November 22, a court in Tajikistan released two foreign pilots, including a Russian citizen, who two weeks earlier had been sentenced to lengthy terms in jail. The release of Vladimir Sadovnichy, a Russian citizen, and Alexei Rudenko, an Estonian citizen, has been prompted by an unusually strong backlash from Moscow that threatened to ruin Tajikistan’s economy.

Although Armenia has no energy resources of its own, it is rich in electricity-producing capacities and other energy infrastructure and is therefore anxious to become a regional hub in the operation of energy transmission and transportation, as well as in transportation of goods. In energy programs, it enjoys the support of two major energy producers, Russia and Iran.

On November 16, Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a decree dissolving the lower chamber of the country’s Parliament, thus responding to the request of a group of 53 Majilis deputies submitted a week earlier. As the representatives of this initiative group explained during a press conference, such a move had become inevitable in order to adjust to current international circumstances, with the second wave of the economic crisis threatening to bring down Kazakhstan’s financial system and cause irreparable damage to its economic prospects. The deputies believe that the dissolution of the Majilis will enable the entry into Parliament of a second party whose role would be to reinvigorate political debate and present original solutions that the presidential party might have previously missed or ignored. Finally, those who signed the petition are convinced that only a refreshed Majilis will be up to the task of bringing about necessary changes provided for in the Program for industrial and innovative development whose implementation is to be finalized by 2014.

Georgia and Russia signed a bilateral agreement finalizing Russia’s entry terms in the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva on November 9. Tbilisi labeled the deal as a “diplomatic victory” for Georgia. Moscow also hailed the agreement, terming it a “huge success” driving Georgia in the “right direction.”

The Mayor of Osh City has expressed the intention to create his own municipal police, including a special task force. While some consider the initiative an attempt to strengthen his position in a long-lasting confrontation with the central government, others contend that it is a game of politics in light of the upcoming local elections.  

In the first days of November, residents of several cities and villages in Uzbekistan started experiencing serious gas shortages. Meanwhile, representatives of the local authorities have not provided any comprehensive explanations to the anxious population, other than warning that the winter will be cold and advising to store alternative fuels to keep their houses warm and businesses running. Experts state that Uzbekistan’s large natural gas export is one of the main reasons for the increasing domestic gas supply crisis, as this provides significant income to the state budget but does not consider the needs of the local population. In any case, many experts predict social unrest if the situation does not change during the cold winter months.

Two Tajik journalists who were recently convicted in separate trials on charges related to their professional activities have appealed their verdicts. On October 14, reporters Urunboy Usmonov and Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov were handed guilty verdicts by Tajik courts in the northern town of Khujand, but were freed following the verdicts. Despite their release, the two journalists have refused to accept the verdicts and vowed to push for full exoneration in higher courts.

For the first time in its history, Azerbaijan has become a member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) after winning the final vacancy on the 15-member body. Analysts speculate on how Baku will use this opportunity to settle the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh which remains unsolved after over 20 years. Azerbaijan claimed the non-permanent seat, awarded to an Eastern European country, on the 17th round of balloting after it scored 155 votes from UN member states in the General Assembly – well above the required two-third majority of states present and voting. The country’s victory occurred after Slovenia withdrew its bid at the end of the 16th round. In that round Azerbaijan had obtained 116 votes to Slovenia’s 77. A representative of Slovenia told the General Assembly that while his country believed it would be a good fit for the Council, it was withdrawing its candidacy as the will of the Assembly was clear.