On Friday, the World Food Programme condemned a spate of aid hijackings that have taken place primarily in West and Southern Afghanistan. The amount of food stolen over the past 12 months — 500 tonnes — was worth a total of USD 350,000. The attacks have been increasing in incidence since April. Food was to be […]
New announcements from the Save Mark Seidenfeld site: Mr. Seidenfeld's new charges have now been announced, after a trial delay announced in April, when initial charges appeared to have been satisfied by evidence. The first new charge states that he took more money to pay for the originally-disputed equipment than it actually cost. Derek Bloom over at the […]
Now that Turkmenbashi is gone, I feel constrained to preserve the memory and teachings of his most amazing book, The Ruhnama. In my experience, there is no other book quite like it for range of subject matter, and reading it expresses a dedication to Central Asian affairs that is well worth remarking upon. Those of you who […]
It's sometimes difficult to get good information about the Xinjiang Autonomous Uighur Region of China, but these two blogs do an excellent job: On the serious side: Xinjiang Watch has a great article up now that should help us all read news about Xinjiang a little more intelligently: Xinjiang Man Throws Flaming Projectile at Picture […]
Targeting Xinjiang: According to the People's Daily online, the Chinese government is implementing a USD 2.6 million program to halt iodine deficiency in the Xinjiang area. 30 of Xinjiang's prefectures have significant populations suffering from iodine-deficiency diseases. The program will provide 5 yuan per person to equalize the costs between iodized salt and black market salt. […]
President Berdymukhammedov plans to open a new economic free zone along the Caspian Sea that would welcome tourists to his country. The zone would center around the town of Turkmenbashi and be called “Avaza”. Previously, Turkmenistan's tourism efforts were hampered by its stringent security. The new tourism zone would cut down on the constant […]
Uzbekistan's labor force has increasingly turned to migration in order to bring money home to families. Now it looks as if immigration is going to be a new revenue-builder for the state. According to a new resolution, immigrants must now register before going abroad. Not only that, but regional governors of Karapalkstan are also recalling […]
OJSC (Open joint stock company) Nurbank is the seventh largest of Kazakhstan's banks, opening for business in 1992. According to its Web site, it is owned by the largest oil, food, publishing and foreign trade firms operating in Kazakhstan, and also currently lends to oil, food, foreign trade, and publishing & information firms. Already part of many loan syndication networks (where […]
I’ve posted a couple of isolated reports on the CSTO recently. It now seems that these are part of some new, more comprehensive Central Asian security initiatives. The Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Nikolai Bordyuzha, was in Kyrgyzstan to attend a working meeting. He inspected Kyrgyz Defense and Interior special forces exercises. Mr. Bordyuzha also spoke at Kyrgyzstan's first Media Conference, on “The […]
Mark Seidenfeld is still in prison in Kazakhstan, after an April trial delay that pushes back legal presentations until probably June. In the meantime, according to the Save Mark Seidenfeld blog, both Russian and Kazakhstani press are publishing articles that make Mr. Seidenfeld look guilty, or that he is a spy. If you get a […]
Today's RFE/RL has an article on Kyrgyzstan's problems with border control. The Speaker of Parliament, Mr. Marat Sultanov, has sought Russian help via the CIS collective security arrangements now undertaken through the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization. Recently, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan implemented a short-term arrangement of greater access between the two countries, only to have it […]
Last week, Nathan Hamm at Registan.net posted twice on new constitutional reforms in Kazakhstan. In the first, he discussed how new constitutional changes would answer objections that many member states have toward Kazakhstan's OSCE leadership bid. In the second post, Nathan wrote that his earlier post might have been too optimistic, as some of the implications […]
RFE/RL's Daniel Kimmage noted in yesterday's and today's RFE/RL Newsline: May 16: Akmarat Rejepov, Head of Turkmenistan's National Guard, and Geldymurad Ashirmuhammedov, Turkmenistan's Minister of National Security, were dismissed from their posts. Mr. Rejepov was ostensibly going to be ‘reassigned’ to another position. May 17th: Mr. Rejepov was arrested. May 18: Ashirmuhammedov is reported as arrested […]
Three stories from the United Nations News Agency, IRIN, point to Tajikistan's poverty and resulting problems for children, families, migration, and a host of other problems that result from poverty. All three of these articles show how difficult it is to rise from poor circumstances. Furthermore, they show that even responsible choices by virtuous people […]
The first tidal wave In 1996, Martha Brill Olcott wrote an important paper on the pressures for migration in Central Asia during the 1990's: “Demographic upheavals in Central Asia.” In this paper, she discussed the many Central Asian natives, primarily of Russian ethnicity, who picked up stakes and left the five newly-independent Central Asian states […]