Field Reports

On May 24, 2012, the leader of the Prosperous Armenia party (PA, ”Bargavach Hayastan” in Armenian) Gagik Tsarukian declared that his party, the second largest in the parliament according to the results of the vote of May 6, would not enter the governmental coalition with the Republican Party (RP) of President Serzh Sargsyan. The president later entered a coalition agreement with a smaller party, Country of Law (“Orinats Yerkir”). Thus, PA interrupted the cooperation which started in 2007, to the great surprise for Armenian politicians.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared Washington’s decision to start accepting neutral travel documents and identification cards issued by the Georgian government for the residents of breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia during her visit to Georgia on June 5-6. The decision prompted protests from the Kremlin, voiced in a statement by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs blaming Secretary of State for inducing “Tbilisi’s revanchist aspirations.”

On May 21, Muhiddin Kabiri, the leader of the opposition Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) announced that his party will reward Tajik athletes who bring home medals from the forthcoming Summer Olympic Games in London. Each medalist will receive a one-bedroom apartment in the country’s capital Dushanbe. Such an apartment can cost anything between US$ 30,000 and US$ 80,000. According to Kabiri, the move aims to support the country’s athletes who manage to achieve results at high-performance international competitions despite limited financial assistance from the government. “Our main goal in offering to reward Olympic success is to support the nation’s sportsmen and to call on other individuals, political parties, and organizations to follow suit,” he said. “Tajik athletes should receive all the support they need because they represent our country and build its image. I will be happy if this also helps to strengthen our party’s image.”

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Azerbaijan on the third day of her tour of the South Caucasian states to promote peace and democracy in the troubled region.

On June 4, 2012 President Almazbek Atambaev signed the decree “Day of remembrance of tragic events in cities of Osh, Jalalabad and separate districts of Osh and Jalalabad regions in June 2010” in Bishkek. As stated by the office of the President, June 10 serves as a day of remembrance of victims of the tragic events, help consolidating society, and promote peace and stability in Kyrgyzstan. A minute of silence was held throughout the country on June 10, 2012 at 10 am.

Kyrgyzstan and NATO have signed an agreement on the transit of land cargo through Kyrgyzstan’s territory for NATO’s International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) in Afghanistan. The agreement was signed by the Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Ruslan Kazakbaev and the NATO Deputy Secretary General Ambassador Alexander Vershbow during the NATO Summit in Chicago on May 22. While signing the document, Kazakbaev said that Kyrgyzstan will continue to support the international community and regional and international organizations, including NATO, in the efforts to ensure security, peace and stability and further socio-economic development of Afghanistan.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid an official visit to Kazakhstan coinciding with the first days of the Fifth Astana Economic Forum, which was officially launched on May 23. During his stay in Kazakhstan’s capital, the Turkish leader met with President Nursultan Nazarbayev, took part in the Kazakh-Turkish Business Forum and also attended the inaugural session of a large-scale economic gathering traditionally held in the last weeks of May.

“Euphoria,” sung by Swedish entry Loreen won the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest hosted by Azerbaijan on May 26. By singing of freedom, “where everything’s allowed,” Loreen was the only contestant to meet with Azerbaijani human rights activists on the eve of the final, which was met objections from Azerbaijani officials.

On May 4, 2012, Tajikistan’s Minister of Internal Affairs, Lieutenant-General Ramazon Rakhimov, made an appeal to the European Parliament during the second session of the Parliamentary Cooperation Committee between the EU and the Republic of Tajikistan. Repeating a proposal previously made during the conference on border management and security in Central Asia held in Vienna, the Minister proposed to buy up the opium yield from Afghan farmers for immediate destruction or for use in pharmaceutical production. According to the Minister, this would present an efficient means for fighting drug production in Afghanistan. 

On May 8, the chairman of the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) Muhiddin Kabiri sent an open letter to President Emomali Rahmon, urging him to pardon all inmates who remain in jail for crimes committed during the country’s civil war. This year, Tajikistan celebrates the 15th anniversary of the peace deal that put an end to the violent conflict which claimed an estimated 50,000 lives from 1992-1997. In his letter, Kabiri asked the Tajik leader to show mercy and to mark the anniversary by granting a full amnesty to all opposition and pro-government militants who are still in jail.