Category Archives: Uncategorised

Turkmen GDP still growing

SEPT. 13 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Central Banks of Central Asia have been warning of slowing economic growth because of the impact of sanctions on Russia.

Remittances from workers living in Russia are falling, manufacturing imports from Russia have dropped and Russian petrol supplies have reduced, driving up overall inflation.

There is no panic, yet, but there is a lot of great concern.

Except in Turkmenistan. Its economy has virtually decoupled itself from Russia. A row over gas prices forced Turkmenistan to look for new clients several years ago. Now China it its major client.

Russia is still a client, as well as a handful of other countries, but China holds most sway.

Turkmenistan underlined its different trajectory when it announced that GDP between January and July in 2014 had risen by 10.3%, one of the fastest growth rates in the world. For now, at least, China appears to be good partner, especially compared to Russia.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)

Israeli defence minister visits Azerbaijan

SEPT. 10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Israeli defence minister Moshe Ya’alon visited Baku for a two day trip aimed at bolster military ties and trade.

This was the first trip by an Israeli defence minister to Azerbaijan for 22 years, media reported.

“I’m happy to be hosted here in the first historic visit by an Israeli defense minister to Azerbaijan,” Mr Ya’alon said.

“We have bilateral strategic relations and cooperation in different areas.”

Azerbaijan has become an unlikely ally for Israel over the past few years. For Azerbaijan the attraction is two-fold. It wants to buy military equipment that Israel produces to bolster its own military and it wants Israel as an energy client.

For Israel, the attraction is mainly military. A couple of years ago it emerged that Israel had drawn up contingency plans to set up a forward airbase in Azerbaijan if war ever broke out with Iran. Israel and Iran are sworn enemies. Azerbaijan lies next to Iran.

Last month Iranian media said that Iran had shot down an Israeli drone that had taken off from an airbase in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan’s situation has grown slightly more complicated over the past year as ties with Iran have improved. Its links with Israel, though, appear solid.

Kulov desires to rename Kyrgyzstan

SEPT. 12 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Perhaps wanting an eye-catching policy to launch his campaign for next year’s parliamentary election, former Kyrgyz PM Feliks Kulov, a nationalist, has called for a referendum on renaming Kyrgyzstan as Kyrgyz El Republic, media reported. Mr Kulov said the suffix stan is an alien Persian word for country.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)

Turkmenistan names envoy to Bishkek

SEPT. 15 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan named its first ambassador to Kyrgyzstan as Batyr Niyazliev, media reported. Under president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, Turkmenistan has adopted a more open international outlook.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)

Kazakh politician says DNA samples will uncover gays

SEPT. 11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The message was clear.

In front of a coarse sign with a line running through it showing two stickmen having gay sex beside the warning “Homosexualism is a threat to the nation”, Kazakh politician Dauren Babamuratov, leader of a small nationalist faction in parliament, called on the government to ban gay men from holding various positions in parliament. He also claimed that blood samples could determine the sexual orientation of a person.

“I think it is very easy to identify a gay person by his or her DNA,” he said according to media.

“A blood test can show the presence of degeneratism in a person.”

His comments will find support in Kazakhstan where anti-homosexual sentiment is running high.

Last month a poster for an Almaty gay club depicting Russian poet Alexander Pushkin and Kazakh composer Kurmangazy Sagyrbayuly sparked an uproar.

There have been moves in Kazakhstan to introduce the type of laws that Russian already has in place that bans the discussion of homosexuality in schools.

Attitudes towards homosexuality in Kazakhstan have improved over the past few years. A handful of gay friendly bars have popped up but the homosexual community is still wary of flaunting itself too publicly.

Earlier this year, The Conway Bulletin carried a report from outside a nightclub in Almaty that described verbal abuse being hurled at people standing in the queue to enter the club.

Relatively, though, Almaty is the most liberal city for gay rights in Central Asia. Homosexuals from across the region tend to migrate to Almaty to work and live as there is a degree of tolerance. In most other cities in the region, homosexuals are often beaten in the street.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)

Armenian invests in education

SEPT. 11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s parliament ratified two loan deals with the International Development Association (IDA) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) worth $30m to modernise the state education system, media reported.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)

Ex-Georgian PM shows influence

SEPT. 15 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Although he is no longer Georgia’s PM, Bidzina Ivanishvili is still — probably — the most influential person in Georgian politics.

Mr Ivanishvili put together the Georgian Dream coalition that wrestled full control of Georgian politics from former president Mikheil Saakashvili, first in parliament, then in the presidential palace and then in town halls across the country.

In a rare newspaper interview published on Sept. 15, Mr Ivanishvili underlined his importance to the Georgian political scene by revealing that current PM Irakli Garibashvili had asked for his advice before reshuffling his government cabinet earlier this year.

“Before the government reshuffle, Garibashvili asked for my opinion, but I did not show interest and did not tell him to act this or that way,” Mr Ivanishvili said.

But, despite this apparent disinterest, Mr Ivanishivili is still, clearly, planning on playing a major role in Georgian politics through two major new projects.

“I want to participate in analysing the ongoing processes and to engage in discussions about the Georgian society’s development strategy,” he said.

Georgia has been vocal in its support for Ukraine and its condemnation of Russia’s alleged aid to the separatist forces. Mr Ivanishvili underlined this viewpoint. He was also quick to compare what he described as the measured response of the current government to what he has previously described as the hot-headed responses of the Saakashvili administration.

“God saved us that they [Mr Saakashvili and his United National Movement Party] are no longer in power or else we could have seen Georgia involved in this war” he said.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)

Azerbaijan and Turkey started military exercise

SEPT. 13 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan started a week-long military exercise with its closest ally Turkey. The military exercise acted as a major show of force by Azerbaijan which is still officially at war with neighbouring Armenia over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)

Vatican FM visits Georgia

SEPT. 14/15 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Vatican’s foreign minister, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, visited Georgia for talks with the Georgian leadership and with the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church Patriach Ilia II. Archbishop Mamberti’s trip was the first by a Vatican foreign minister for 11 years. Pope John Paul II visited Georgia in 1999.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)

More CCTV cameras In Kazakhstan

SEPT. 16 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s deputy General- Prosecutor Andrei Kravchenko has said he wants CCTV installed more widely in public areas, media reported. Kazakhstan is increasingly worried about home- grown Islamic extremists and may be looking for ways to monitor them.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)