Something new and significant: a possible two-party state? Recently Nur-Otan, President Nazarbaev's party, has consolidated with some smaller opposition parties. Now the opposition takes steps: Kazakhstan's opposition parties, Ak Zhol and the National Social Democrats, have merged. The new opposition party hopes to make a difference in the next Parliamentary elections.
While we’re all waiting for the next act of King Lear only with full faculties, starring Mr. Aliev as the Duke of Cornwall, the new opposition as the Duke of Gloucester, and Mr. Kulibaev as the silently loyal Cordelia, it's time to post just a few updates:
1. According to the Save Mark Seidenfeld site, Mr. Seidenfeld's trial was put off again from its June 4 date, and again rescheduled for the 15th of June. Since this is a Friday, I suppose that really means it is rescheduled for the 18th of June, but we’ll see.
2. There is still no news on journalist Oralgaisha Omarshanova, who disappeared on March 30, 2007 in the middle of an investigation of the root causes of some ethnic riots. This blog posted on her disappearance on April 19–I am still keeping track–but there's nothing to track. No news is not good news.
3. Joshua Foust at Registan.net talks about the new Caspian-Black Sea Pipeline that President Nazarbaev has proposed, and which is probably impossible under every constraint known to politicians, engineers, and real estate agents. It does show, however, that oil transport is still an area for big ideas and large gestures in Central Asia.
