Field Reports

The formation of a parliamentary majority coalition and establishment of a new government ended political uncertainty since the October 2010 parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan. However, due to the deteriorating economic situation, including a huge state budget deficit and rising public discontent in the country, the fate of the newly-elected government seems predetermined.

During the international conference “Tajikistan and Russia-2010” in Dushanbe on December 9, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs representative Maksim Peshkov stated to journalists that Russian border guards are ready to return to protect the Tajik-Afghan border. The statement drew attention from both Tajik and Russian authorities and experts, as it seems that Tajikistan would rather receive Russian support in a different form.

On December 10, 2010, the Russian capital hosted two high-level gatherings at the same time – the summits of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). The participating heads of state discussed the current state of economic integration as well as the future of their military cooperation aimed at strengthening collective defense capabilities after the June 2010 tumult in Kyrgyzstan.

The 56 members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe attended the OSCE summit that was held in Astana, Kazakhstan on December 1-2. While almost all the states were represented by their presidents, Uzbekistan’s president did not attend the summit and sent the Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Norov instead. In addition, on December 2, U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton visited Tashkent as a part of her Central Asian tour, during which she also attended the OSCE summit in Astana. During both events, Uzbek representatives had an opportunity to voice the country’s positions and opinions on some of the most important issues.

Interestingly, there are two official versions regarding the affiliations of the group behind the blast and other possible terrorist acts. Whereas the KNSS leadership retains the position that the group is related to international terrorist organizations like the IMU, the Interior Minister and Marat Imankulov, Secretary of the Security Council, claim that the group is strictly local and has a “nationalist-separatist nature”. “These people are nationalist-separatists and their main aim is to discredit the democratic reforms by destabilizing the situation in the country”, the Security Council Secretary stated.

November 1 marked the beginning of electricity consumption limitations in Tajikistan. The authorities announced that from now on, the residents of the country’s cities and villages will receive no more than twelve hours of electricity in their homes. Even though limitations on energy consumption have become common practice in Tajikistan during the winter season, this year the shutdowns started earlier than usual and many residents report unequal electricity distribution. In addition, the joint stock energy holding company stated that it plans to increase tariffs on electricity in the upcoming year.

The first day of December 2010 marked the start of a long-awaited high-level event for all members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The outgoing OSCE Chairman – Kazakhstan, which is expected to pass the presidency on to Lithuania in less than a month’s time, hosted on its soil the Summit of the Heads of State and Government. There has been no such gathering in the history of the Organization since the Istanbul meeting of 1999, the conclusions of which drafted at the sunset of the previous century are widely regarded to no longer be in tune with the current political, military and economic situation in the OSCE area.

On November 17-19, Turkmenistan held its major annual Gas & Oil Conference, inviting over 400 participants including the representatives of over 160 international business companies, scientists and technical experts to seek new ways to develop the country’s gas and oil industry. 

The authorities of Tajikistan have embarked on using different tactics to quell domestic media by accusing private media outlets of ‘inaccurate’ reporting on the recent clashes between suspected militants and government forces in September. On October 4, Defense Minister Sherali Khairulloyev released a public statement, which was published by the state-run news agency Khovar. The Minister’s statement termed the media reporting on the government’s response to the earlier militant attack in Khujand, as well as the military operation in Rasht Valley, as “disloyal” and contributing to instability in Tajikistan. The U.S. State Department’s press release from November 4 noted that in mid-October, the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications sent a letter to several internet service providers, ordering them to block four of these websites in order to “protect the nation’s information security”.

The trial against former President Bakiev and his allies, who are charged with the murder of 77 people during the April unrest, has begun. While everyone agrees on bringing the guilty accountable to court, many disagree with the government’s attempts to turn it into a show trial.