Category Archives: Uncategorised

Georgia sign gas deal with Iran

JULY 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Iran signed an agreement with Georgia to export gas via Armenia, Iranian official media reported. In February, Georgia had said that gas supplies from Iran would only be considered in the long term, as Azerbaijan was able to export enough gas to meet Georgia’s growing demands. With Azerbaijan’s production declining and Iran’s export to Armenia due to increase, Georgia could now find another supplier in Iran.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 291, published on Aug. 1 2016)

Yandex taxi to expand in Georgia and Kazakhstan

JULY 27 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Internet taxi service Yandex Taxi said it plans to enter the Georgian market and expand its presence across Kazakhstan from its base in Almaty. Yandex Taxi entered the Armenian market in July, triggering complaints of price dumping from the traditional taxi association in Yerevan. In June, mobile-based Uber started operations in Astana.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 291, published on Aug. 1 2016)

Gas tariff rise in Kazakhstan

JULY 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Kazakh anti-monopoly agency approved a 39% increase in the top rate it can charge for pumping gas through its pipeline network to 1,769 tenge/1,000 cubic metres ($5), in a move that will impact domestic and industrial gas prices. The new tariff ceiling will come into effect on Sept. 1 and will be valid until 2020. Gas price rises are a sensitive issue. Governments across the region have been raising prices slowly, moving away from Soviet subsidies. This, though, has frustrated people and triggered anti government protests.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 291, published on Aug. 1 2016)

Blast at Azerbaijani arms plant kills at least 2 people

JULY 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — An explosion killed at least two workers and injured at least 22 at an arms factory near Baku.

Officially the number of dead and injured from the blast has not risen since the initial assessment but workers said that many more could have been trapped inside.

Azerbaijan’s ministry of defence, which owns the factory in the town of Shrivan, said: “Sparks from the last batch of military products earmarked for disposal caused the explosion.”

The State Prosecutor said it was evaluating whether to open a criminal investigation.

Azerbaijan buys most of its armaments from Russia, where it also sends some of its old arms for disposal. Over the last few years, though, it has developed its own weapons manufacturing sector.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 291, published on Aug. 1 2016)

Two Kazakhs arrested for spreading rumours

ALMATY, JULY 27 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh police arrested two people for spreading false information of a major terrorist attack in Almaty via Whatsapp after a lone gunman killed five people earlier this month.

The authorities have said they will take a tough attitude against people who spread rumours. Many Kazakhs are signed up to a series of Whatsapp news groups through which they share information.

On July 18, after a gunman killed eight people in Almaty, security forces ordered people to stay inside. A series of Whatsapp messages about the deteriorating scenario filled the news vacuum.

Ruslan, a 23-year-old Almaty resident, explained.

“I received many pictures and voice messages on my chat groups on Whatsapp,” he told The Conway Bulletin. “But in the end most of that information from voice messages turned out to be fake.”

An interior ministry spokesperson said a 20-year old woman was arrested for spreading false information about hostages being taken at a shopping mall and another man was arrested for spreading rumours that hundreds of armed men were marching through an Almaty suburb.

In February 2014, rumours spread about the bankruptcy of three of Kazakhstan’s biggest banks, triggering a run on the banks and a shortage of cash. In response, a new law came into force making the spread of false information punishable by 10 years inprison.

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(News report from Issue No. 291, published on Aug. 1 2016)

Uzbekistan extends Beeline licence

JULY 25 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Uzbek government extended the telecoms licence for Beeline Uzbekistan until 2031. Beeline Uzbekistan said the extension of the licence was a key step for one of the company’s most important markets. Beeline Uzbekistan is a subsidiary of Amsterdam-based Russian telecoms company VimpelCom. In the past few months, VimpelCom has been fined millions of dollars for paying bribes to enter the Uzbek mobile market.

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(News report from Issue No. 291, published on Aug. 1 2016)

Kazakh court extends journalists detention

JULY 28 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — A court in Almaty extended the pre- trial house arrest by two months of Seitkazy Matayev, one of Kazakhstan’s most prominent journalists, and his son Asset. The Matayevs are accused of embezzlement and abuse of trust. In May, the prosecutor reduced his charges against Seitkazy Matayev, who continues to deny the accusations. Human rights groups have accused Kazakhstan of a systematic crackdown on its media.

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(News report from Issue No. 291, published on Aug. 1 2016)

Kyrgyzstan’s minister of culture resigns

JULY 28 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan’s minister of culture Altynbek Maksutov resigned, saying that he wanted to return to creative work. Mr Maksutov, a former actor and director of the Kyrgyz National Philharmonic was appointed minister of culture in October 2014. Earlier in July, PM Sooronbai Jeenbekov reprimanded Mr Maksutov for his so-called, and unexplained, inappropriate behaviour.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 291, published on Aug. 1 2016)

Turkish police arrests CEO of Azerbaijan’s state energy company for links to Gulen movement

AUG 1 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkish authorities have arrested Sadettin Korkut, former CEO of Petkim, an Azerbaijan-owned refinery on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, in what media said was part of a purge of people linked to exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen (July 28).

Azerbaijan’s state-owned energy company SOCAR dismissed the claim, saying that the arrest was linked to a spat with another employee of SOCAR Turkey Enerji, its Turkish subsidiary.

Mr Korkut had resigned as CEO, a position he had held for four years, the day before he was arrested. Twenty-seven other employees of SOCAR’s Turkish subsidiary, which operates the Petkim refinery, were also sacked at the same time.

Turkish media immediately linked the arrest and the sackings to the Gulenist movement, which they dub a terrorist network.

“Around 200 workers from Petkim and related companies were sacked due to their alleged ties to the Gulenist Terror Organisation (FETO),” the Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Around 60,000 public sector employees and dozens of journalists and businessmen were arrested in Turkey in the aftermath of an attempted military coup on July 15. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Mr Gulen of masterminding the coup from his exile in the US.

Azerbaijan is one of Turkey’s strongest allies. It backed the arrest.

“SOCAR’s management believes that Turkey will become stronger after these difficult days. We will continue to operate and invest in Turkey with all of our energy,” Vagif Aliyev, CEO of SOCAR Turkey Enerji said in a statement.

SOCAR Turkey Enerji and SOCAR Turkey Petrokimiya own a majority stake in Petkim.

Anar Mammadov, head of SOCAR’s Greek subsidiary, has been appointed new CEO of Petkim.

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(News report from Issue No. 291, published on Aug. 1 2016)

GM Uzbekistan appoints new head

JULY 25 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Car manufacturer GM Uzbekistan appointed Rustam Razhabov as the new CEO, after months of uncertainty over the top position at the Uzbek-US joint venture. The government-linked Novosti Uzbekistana confirmed the appointment. In June, unofficial reports had said that Mr Razhabov had been detained in May in relation to a criminal scheme that brought down his predecessor, Tokhirzhon Zhalilov. State-owned Uzavtoprom owns 75% of GM Uzbekistan, US-based GM owns the rest.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 291, published on Aug. 1 2016)