NOV. 7 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned an assault on Turkmen journalist Soltan Achilova, who had also been briefly detained and questioned by the police. In a statement, HRW said that the October attack on Ms Achilova, who works for US- funded RFE/RL, had been organised to silence criticism.
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(News report from Issue No. 304, published on Nov. 11 2016)
NOV. 5 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbek deputy PM Ulugbek Rozukulov led a delegation to Ashgabat to meet with Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, official Turkmen media reported. Mr Rozukulov’s mission is part of a drive by acting president Shavket Mirziyoyev to improve Uzbekistan’s international relations since the death in September of Islam Karimov.
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(News report from Issue No. 304, published on Nov. 11 2016)
ALMATY, NOV. 8 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — A closed court in Astana sentenced Tokhtar Tuleshov, the self- styled beer king of southern Kazakhstan, to 21 years in prison for attempting to stage a coup against Kazakh leader Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Prosecutors had said that Tuleshov had financed a series of anti- government protests in April and May that focused on land ownership. The breadth of the protests and their leaderless nature unnerved Mr Nazarbayev. Police arrested the protest organisers and charged Tuleshov, detained in January for unrelated charges of illegally owning weapons and fraud, with financing the demonstrations.
Tuleshov made his millions through the Shymkentpivo brewery, one of the biggest in Kazakhstan, in the southern city of Shymkent.
His supporters say that he has been framed and point out that it is not possible for him to have paid for the protests from prison.
An ostentatious and dapper figure, Tuleshov used to drive through the scruffy streets of Shymkent in a chauffeured Rolls Royce. Birthday parties for his daughter were lavish affairs with pop stars flown in to sing and guests dressing up in outlandish fancy dress.
The trial was held behind closed doors with journalists only allowed into the courtroom for the final verdict. Human rights activists have said that the arbitrary and closed nature of the trial worried them and could set a precedent.
Analysts have also speculated that Mr Nazarbayev and other senior members of the government from the central and northern tribes in Kazakhstan used Tuleshov to send a warning to high-ranking members of the southern tribe not to challenge their dominance.
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(News report from Issue No. 304, published on Nov. 11 2016)
NOV. 9 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Baiterek, a Kazakh government holding, said it secured a $300m loan from Japan’s SMBC, part of the Sumitomo group. The agreement, signed during President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s visit to Japan, will support the supply of high-tech equipment. The Kazakhstan Development Bank, a subsidiary of Baiterek, will receive the funds and finance joint projects with Japanese companies.
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(News report from Issue No. 304, published on Nov. 11 2016)
NOV. 9 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — A senior Afghan army commander in the north of Afghanistan said that the Taliban was encouraging Uzbek and Tajik radical militants to infiltrate Central Asia. The Pajhwork reported that Lt. Gen. Sher Aziz Kamawal had said that the Taliban was using instability in Kunduz region, on the border with Uzbekistan, as a launchpad for militants to move into Central Asia. Governments in Central Asia have been increasingly concerned about Taliban encroachment north.
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(News report from Issue No. 304, published on Nov. 11 2016)
TBILISI, NOV. 4 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Two charging points for electric cars have been installed in Tbilisi, media reported, the first move in a push to promote the sector.
E-space, a Georgian company, plans to install 25 more chargers across the city by the end of the year, then 70 more by the end of 2017, followed by chargers along motorways.
Sulkhan Gvalia, former deputy CEO of Bank of Georgia and now E-space CEO, said the sector was ripe for development in Georgia.
“The problem in Georgia is that there is no infrastructure. So that is why we started with that,” he told The Conway Bulletin.
Recharging an electric car will be free until the end of 2017. The Tbilisi city government has said it will pay for the power supply bills at the first two charging points. For the next charging points, E-space wants to sign agreements with shops to host and pay for the power. The shops will benefit from the extra trade generated by drivers stopping to re-charge.
So far, there are 50 electric cars registered in Tbilisi but Nata Kasradze, E-space’s chief product development officer, said sales will rise.
“The visibility of the chargers will change the mentality of people,” she said. “We haven’t imported a single car yet but we already have about 30 requests from people who want to buy a car.”
E-space has five founders and is self-funded. The founders said they had developed a three-point plan for its business. To develop the infrastructure, then open a showroom to sell cars, scooters and motorcycles and finally develop a service centre.
On the streets of Tbilisi not everybody was convinced, though.
Dato, 32, said Georgians with money want to flaunt their wealth by buying a BMW or Mercedes .
“Electric cars are still very expensive,” he said. “Georgians who can afford to spend this amount of money will not spend it on an electric cars which still do not represent wealth.” Gocha, a businessman, agreed.
“This market is for the middle class, but it has to be well marketed so that people can see the benefit coming from it. I do not think that Georgians are ready for that”
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 304, published on Nov. 11 2016)
NOV. 11 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Donald Trump, the incoming US president, has a long list of issues that need tackling in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, not least the dominance of China and Russia.
Central Asia, in particular, has traditionally been an arena where the world’s great powers have shadow-boxed, testing each other’s strengths and weaknesses. This is just as true today as it was during the 19th century’s Great Game between Russia and Britain. Now, though, China has entered the fray and the West is led by the US and not Britain.
Since NATO withdrew most of its forces from Afghanistan in 2013/14, US interest in Central Asia has waned and it has ceded diplomatic, economic and cultural influence to Russia and China.
When she was Secretary of State between 2009 and 2013, Hillary Clinton promoted a new north-south Silk Road running from Central Asia to India. This was to be US soft power in action, a commercial push to rival influences exerted by China through its loans and by Russia through its diplomatic and energy levers. It hasn’t shaped up to much, and Clinton wont now be able to see it through, but Trump, a businessman and reality TV star, may be well-placed to invigorate this north-south Silk Road.
Governments in Central Asia and the South Caucasus will also be watching his policies on NATO, Russia and Iran.
Georgia has, perhaps, the most to be concerned about. It has struck out on a determinedly Western direction and needs a strong US and NATO as a counterpoint to Russia. If the US’ commitment to NATO wanes, Georgia will be more vulnerable to Russian aggression. Certainly its two breakaway states, Russia-backed Abkhazia and South Ossetia, will feel emboldened.
Barack Obama brought Iran back into the international community by partly lifting sanctions linked to the development of its nuclear sector. Its reemergence was heralded in Central Asia and the South Caucasus as an opportunity. They will be looking to a US led by Trump to boost, and not deflate, Iran’s place in the world. They want Iran to be an economic driver.
And the US’ relationship with Russia is important too. If US-Russia relations don’t improve, and the Russian economy continues to shrink, this filters through to Central Asia and the South Caucasus.
They will be looking for an improvement in US- Russia relations to generate a boost for the Russian economy.
By James Kilner, Editor, The Conway Bulletin
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(News report from Issue No. 304, published on Nov. 11 2016)
NOV. 8 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Sandra Roelofs, the Netherlands born wife of former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, has pulled out of taking a seat in Georgia’s parliament, media reported. The United National Movement party performed below expectations at a parliamentary election last month but Ms Roelofs had been second on the party list and could have claimed one of the 27 seats it won through proportional representation.
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(News report from Issue No. 304, published on Nov. 11 2016)
NOV. 9 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — In the first ten months of 2016, consumer prices in Armenia decreased by 3.1%, the country’s Statistics Committee said. Importantly, food prices decreased by 6%. Deflation in the country has continued throughout the year, although October registered inflation of 0.5% compared to September. Low economic activity has depressed prices in Armenia and could hinder growth.
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(News report from Issue No. 304, published on Nov. 11 2016)
NOV. 4 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Just weeks after announcing the new connection between Turkmenistan and Georgia, Turkmenistan Airlines suspended direct flights from Ashgabat to Tbilisi because of commercial concerns, Agenda.ge reported. The state-owned company had planned to start flights in September and later delayed the start date to November.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 304, published on Nov. 11 2016)