Field Reports

On December 14, 2009, the presidents of China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan officially launched the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline, which will pump five billion cubic meters (bcm) of blue fuel annually with a planned increase of up to 40 bcm by 2012. While the Russian gas giant Gazprom has been reluctant to reach a price agreement with Ashgabat, China is overtaking a large portion of the energy market in Central Asia and breaking Russia’s monopoly over Turkmenistan’s gas export routes.

Two rounds of parliamentary elections took place in Uzbekistan on December 27, 2009, and January 10, 2010. About 87.8 percent of the electorate voted in the first round, and 80 percent in the second. President Islam Karimov stated that these elections were “significantly different” from previous polls. In line with the President, official media reports that “the elections were obvious proof of President Islam Karimov’s effective initiation of transition from strong state to strong society.” The results of the elections, however, did not show much progress.

The Government of Tajikistan has adopted a new decree that will come into effect on January 1, 2010. According to the decree, all state institutions will be able to charge fees for providing any kind of information to media representatives and ordinary citizens. The decree states that one page of information provided should cost up to 35 somoni (ca US$8). Many observers in the country already interpret the decree as yet another impediment to accessing information for the citizens of Tajikistan.

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has offered an alternative delegation of power in case of his death or incapacity to execute his duties. The initiative was put forward within the framework of recent reforms of state institutions. President Bakiyev’s unexpected proposal became the topic of heated discussions in the public and is generally considered a deliberate step towards a “father-to-son” power succession.

Abkhazia’s Central Election Commission declared the validity of the breakaway region’s presidential elections held on December 12 with a voter turnout of 73 percent. Sergei Bagapsh, the incumbent and long-standing Moscow protégé, won the elections in the first round with nearly 60 percent of the votes, thus defeating his main rival – former vice-president Raul Khajimba – who received slightly more than 15 percent of the votes. The other three competitors, the head of the state-owned Abkhaz Shipping Company Zaur Ardzinba, the businessman Beslan Butba, and university professor Vitaly Bganba, garnered 10, 8 and 1 percent respectively.

On December 3, the Armenian government decided to place a Russian-manufactured block in Armenia’s planned new nuclear power plant (NPP). The government also decided to create a joint venture for constructing the block, with equal shares for the Armenian government and the Russian company Rosatomstroieksport.

On December 1-3, the seventeenth Ministerial Council of the OSCE was held in Athens, with the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh settlement as one of the principal points on the agenda. Despite many efforts by the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as international mediators in the form of the OSCE Minsk group, the problem still seems far from a solution. The conflicting parties have not displayed any visible progress in reconciling their views about the Basic Principles for a Peaceful Settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, proposed in Madrid in November, 2007. Nevertheless, each of the numerous meetings between their leaders, including the latest one held on November 27 in Munich, have been followed by optimistic statements about “progress”.

The dramatic rise of prices for public utilities as electricity, heating and hot water supply has been a cause of heated discussions in Kyrgyzstan. The new government seems firm on the decision to increase rates despite a decidedly negative reaction from the masses.

Despite loud objections from several opposition parties over the threshold for the Tbilisi mayor elections, the Georgian parliament approved the amendments to the electoral code in a first hearing last week.

The recent charges against two youth leaders and bloggers provoked international concerns over the freedom of speech in oil-rich Azerbaijan. Observers considered the court decision to be politically motivated and aimed at censoring young activists critical of the government.