By Mamuka Tsereteli (4/21/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: The uncertainty created by the deteriorating relationships between the Georgian central government in Tbilsi and the Ajarian leadership in Batumi has caused producers and shippers from the Caspian to seek alternative transportation routes. This process has accelerated since the “economic blockade” of Ajaria in March. Although it was in theory a blockade of Ajaria only, its impact was felt from Caspian producers to European refineries.By Asma Shakir Khwaja (4/21/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: On March 28, Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai stated that national elections were to be postponed until September. This decision came after the United Nations said that elections could not be held in June, as outlined in the 2002 Bonn Agreement. The UN claimed that “Lack of security, slow progress in the disarmament of militias, slow voter registration and a weakly-developed legal and institutional framework for democratic politics are jeopardizing the success of any future elections.By Jaba Devdariani (4/7/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Georgia’s Central Election Commission has announced the results with all votes cast on March 28 counted. These results are not officially final, as re-vote was scheduled in two districts of the Ajarian Autonomous Republic, Khulo and Kobuleti, on April 18. The count shows the Mikheil Saakashvili’s National Movement-Democrats (NMD) in the lead with 67.By Sebastian Sosman (4/7/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Afghanistan\'s greatest historical challenge in the modern era has been establishing effective centralized administrative systems. The rugged Hindu Kush rises up in the center of the country, creating a \"ring\" of major economic hubs and arable regions. This ring system, by its very shape, acts to discourage centralization around one administrative hub.The Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst is a biweekly publication of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program, a Joint Transatlantic Research and Policy Center affiliated with the American Foreign Policy Council, Washington DC., and the Institute for Security and Development Policy, Stockholm. For 15 years, the Analyst has brought cutting edge analysis of the region geared toward a practitioner audience.
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