Field Reports
WHY DOES TAJIKISTAN BLOCK WEBSITES?
By Alexander Sodiqov (12/12/2012 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On November 26, Internet providers in Tajikistan cut local access to Facebook, the social-networking website, citing an order from the state-run communications agency. The organization initially suggested that the ban was imposed due to “technical problems.” On November 28, however, the agency’s head announced that he had ordered to restrict access to Facebook in response to “public pressure.
GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT ADOPTS RESOLUTION ON POLITICAL PRISONERS
By Eka Janashia (12/12/2012 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On December 5, the Georgian Parliament approved a resolution that envisages the exoneration of “political prisoners” and people “in political exile,” with 77 votes to 14. The United National Movement (UNM) lawmakers strongly denounced the document whereas the Georgian Dream (GD) parliamentary majority embraced it with standing applauses. The resolution seeks the pardon of 190 prisoners arrested and convicted on diverse criminal charges, and an additional 25 individuals who were sentenced in absentia in Georgia and are presently “in political exile.
KYRGYZSTAN HOLDS LOCAL ELECTIONS
By Aigul Kasymova (12/12/2012 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On November 25, 2012, local council elections took place in Kyrgyzstan. Polling stations opened at 8 am in 416 village districts and 25 cities around the country. Kyrgyzstan’s President Almazbek Atambaev stated that the elections will be honest and went on to add that today power in Kyrgyzstan is not held by one family or one clan, hence the election results cannot be predicted in advance, as in the past.
BAKU HOSTS INTERNET GOVERNANCE FORUM
By Mina Muradova (12/12/2012 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Officials, businesses, human rights activists, bloggers and journalists gathered on November 6-9 to discuss internet freedom at the 7th annual Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Baku. The main purpose of the forum was to bring together various stakeholders to discuss public policy issues related to the Internet.
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Joint Center Publications
Analysis Niklas Swanström and Leah Oppenheimer, "Invisible Ink: Looking for the Lost Trade between China, Russia, and Central Asia", ISDP Policy Brief, 13 March 2013. 
New Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr with Adib Farhadi, Finish the Job: Jump-Start the Afghan Economy, December 2012.
Conference Report Cheryl Benard, Eli Sugarman, and Holly Rehm, Cultural Heritage vs. Mining on the New Silk Road? Finding Technical Solutions for Mes Aynak and Beyond (in cooperation with the Alliance for the Restoration of Cultural Heritage) December 2012.
Article Svante E. Cornell, "The 'Afghanization of the North Caucasus: Causes and Implications of a Changing Conflict", in Stephen Blank, ed., Russia's Homegrown Insurgency: Jihad in the North Caucasus, Carlisle, PA: U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute, 2012.