Field Reports

The National Security Ministry stated on Azerbaijan's state channel AzTV that it had arrested an unspecified number of people suspected of preparing terror attacks against foreign citizens. The group was set up by Hamid, a member of the Iranian military group Sepah, also known as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Hadji Abbas, the head of “Moqavemat” (translated as Resistance), the military branch of Hezbollah. Members of the terrorist group were gathering intelligence and had acquired a large number of weapons and explosives, the ministry said. It gave no further details.

On February 7 and 8, President Nazarbayev paid an official visit to Germany. After a round of meetings with German acting and retired politicians who have played an important role in establishing the bilateral relationship between the two countries, the parties proceeded to signing more than 50 agreements in various fields. The Kazakh and German governments agreed on terms of cooperation in the area of industrial development, whereas a special accord was reached between the two Ministries of industry on the promotion of energy efficiency and wider usage of renewable energies.

Georgian tycoon and opposition politician Bidzina Ivanishvili introduced the mainstay of his planned political party to the public on February 15. The “initiative group” of his intended political party Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia involves public celebrities with different professional backgrounds. The team will be composed of lawyers, sportsmen, human rights defenders, a teacher, a writer, an actress, and a diplomat.

Recent visits of Russian high-ranking officials to Armenia aimed to demonstrate that Russia will in the near future retain its role as Armenia’s leading partner in all sectors including trade and energy. A group of Russian top officials visited Armenia in February, including Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov and Vladimir Yakunin, Chairman of the state-owned Russian Railways company. All meetings focused on the tightening bilateral economic links between the two countries. In particular, a new head of the South Caucasus Railways company, a subsidiary of the Russian Railways which runs Armenia’s railroads, was presented in Yerevan on February 15.

Tbilisi hails U.S. President Barack Obama’s position on enhanced security cooperation with Georgia, while Moscow expresses principal objections to a new stage of the U.S.-Georgia partnership.

Immediately after the early parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan brought into being a three-party system, the country’s law enforcement authorities proceeded to arresting several opposition leaders. On January 23, Vladimir Kozlov, the leader of the unregistered political party Alga, and Igor Vinyavsky, the editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper Vzlyad, were detained by officials of the National Security Committee.

Tajik authorities have apparently found a new way to discipline Islamic clerics daring to criticize state policies. The novel approach consists of mobilizing state-controlled Islamic leaders to discredit and penalize the dissidents. In December 2011, the nominally independent Council of Ulamo (CoU) accused three influential clerics, the Turajonzoda brothers, of performing “alien” Shia rituals at their mosque. This is a very serious claim given that most people in Tajikistan are Sunni Muslims. The CoU is a government-controlled body of clerics charged with regulating Islamic activities in the country.

In January, 2012 President Rahmon carried out the by now traditional reshuffle in the government and state institutions. Over 20 senior officials from national and regional government were dismissed and relocated. Among the most notable were the appointments of new Interior, Education and Justice Ministers, the Head of the Security Council and the First Deputy Prime Minister. The reshuffle has also replaced a number of mayors and regional officials, most being assigned new posts. The reshuffle occurred shortly before the wrap-up government session of January 18, meant to summarize and review the major achievements and failures of the past year’s work. The session was broadcasted on the major national television channels and showed government officials of various ranks, including the Prime Minister, the heads of major ministries and chiefs of provinces, districts as well as large national enterprises awkwardly bowing their heads and reporting to President Rahmon. The president, in turn, questioned and criticized the work of some officials, sparingly complimenting others, and issuing numerous pompous orders and statements on the future work to be done.

Iranian-Azerbaijani relations have not been smooth since Azerbaijan’s independence, and recently deteriorated even further after cyber-attacks on the official sites of Azerbaijan’s governmental agencies and the disclosure of a terrorist group related to the Iranian intelligence services. The two cases are closely related to the fact that Azerbaijan is a key Muslim ally of Israel, considered a sworn enemy by official Tehran.

On January 17, Kazakhstan’s Central Electoral Commission made public the official results of the early parliamentary contest which took place two days earlier. As expected, the governing party Nur Otan received wide support from the country’s population, scoring almost 81 percent and obtaining 83 seats out of 107. The two other parties that managed to overcome the 7-percent barrier in order to qualify for entry into the Parliament’s lower chamber, the Majilis, include the Democratic Party “Ak Zhol” (7.47 percent and 8 seats) and the Communist People’s Party of Kazakhstan (7.19 percent and 7 seats). The overall turnout is estimated at around 75 percent. At the same time, Central Electoral Commission officials stated that more than 70 percent of the adult citizens living in the town of Zhanaozen, which was recently the scene of violent clashes between oil industry workers and police forces, gave their votes to Nur Otan.