JAN. 29 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Unsurprisingly after a year clamping down on the press, Kazakhstan slipped six places to 160th position in the Reporters Without Borders press freedom index of 179 countries. This placed Kazakhstan next to Rwanda. Uzbekistan also fell seven places to 164th position. Azerbaijan rose six places to 156.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 122, published on Feb. 1 2013)
JAN. 31 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s government approved the purchase by India’s state-owned energy company ONGC Videsh, of a 2.72% stake in the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) oil fields and a 2.36% stake in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline from the US’s Hess for $1b. Both ACG and BTC are Azerbaijani flagship projects.
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(News report from Issue No. 122, published on Feb. 1 2013)
JAN. 18 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – It wasn’t until police reinforcements arrived on Jan. 24, according to media, that the authorities were able to regain control of the town of Ismayilli.
Since the previous afternoon, the town, about 200km north-west of Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, had been the scene of street fighting between police and young men frustrated by the lack of jobs and an increasingly high-handed political elite.
The fighting erupted on Jan. 23 after a car crash reportedly involving the son of a government minister. Both the trigger, alleged favouritism towards the political elite, and the resulting vicious backlash, were telling.
This was Azerbaijan’s worst violence for a decade. It came less than a year after similar, though smaller, street fighting, also triggered by the political elites’ arrogance, in another town.
The fighting in Ismayilli will no doubt draw a similar reaction from the authorities. They will pour in police to clampdown on dissenters and mount a PR campaign to discredit the protesters.
Azerbaijan’s economy is booming, luxury goods crowd Baku’s streets and millions are lavished on prestige projects such Eurovision last year. The street violence, though, suggests that there are large swathes of Azerbaijan’s under-classes who are not so happy.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 121, published on Jan. 25 2013)
JAN. 25 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – It wasn’t until police reinforcements arrived on Jan. 24, according to media, that the authorities were able to regain control of the town of Ismayilli.
Since the previous afternoon, the town, about 200km north-west of Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, had been the scene of street fighting between police and young men frustrated by the lack of jobs and an increasingly high-handed political elite.
The fighting erupted on Jan. 23 after a car crash reportedly involving the son of a government minister. Both the trigger, alleged favouritism towards the political elite, and the resulting vicious backlash, were telling.
This was Azerbaijan’s worst violence for a decade. It came less than a year after similar, though smaller, street fighting, also triggered by the political elites’ arrogance, in another town.
The fighting in Ismayilli will no doubt draw a similar reaction from the authorities. They will pour in police to clampdown on dissenters and mount a PR campaign to discredit the protesters.
Azerbaijan’s economy is booming, luxury goods crowd Baku’s streets and millions are lavished on prestige projects such Eurovision last year. The street violence, though, suggests that there are large swathes of Azerbaijan’s under-classes who are not so happy.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 121, published on Jan. 25 2013)
JAN. 24 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan has issued an official protest note to Armenia after it emerged that dozens of ethnic Armenians who had fled a civil war in Syria were resettling in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, media reported. An estimated 6,000 ethnic Armenians who had been living mainly in Aleppo have fled to Yerevan.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 121, published on Jan. 25 2013)
JAN. 24 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan has issued an official protest note to Armenia after it emerged that dozens of ethnic Armenians who had fled a civil war in Syria were resettling in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, media reported. An estimated 6,000 ethnic Armenians who had been living mainly in Aleppo have fled to Yerevan.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 121, published on Jan. 25 2013)
JAN. 18 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Over the past decade, it’s become an increasingly familiar story. At almost every budget, the Azerbaijani authorities have boosted spending on weapons and other military hardware.
This year, though, the jump in military spending was more significant than normal.
According to media reports, Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev said that military spending would hit $3.7b in 2013, up from 3b in 2012. A decade ago, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) estimated that Azerbaijan spent roughly $414m on its defence budget.
And Azerbaijan is not short of neighbours it considers to be problematic.
Azerbaijan’s military shopping spree is aimed mainly at Armenia. The two countries are still officially at war over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. A 1994 ceasefire keeps the peace around Nagorno-Karabakh but shootouts and death puncture this peace every week.
Azerbaijan’s relations with Iran have worsened considerably over the past 18 months too.
There have been a number of reported shootouts on their border. In Baku, the Azerbaijani authorities have arrested several people accused of being Iranian agents. The Iranians have also arrested several Azerbaijanis in Iran.
The Azerbaijani authorities are unlikely to relax their policy of rearmament any time soon.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 120, published on Jan. 18 2013)
JAN. 18 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Over the past decade, it’s become an increasingly familiar story. At almost every budget, the Azerbaijani authorities have boosted spending on weapons and other military hardware.
This year, though, the jump in military spending was more significant than normal.
According to media reports, Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev said that military spending would hit $3.7b in 2013, up from 3b in 2012. A decade ago, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) estimated that Azerbaijan spent roughly $414m on its defence budget.
And Azerbaijan is not short of neighbours it considers to be problematic.
Azerbaijan’s military shopping spree is aimed mainly at Armenia. The two countries are still officially at war over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. A 1994 ceasefire keeps the peace around Nagorno-Karabakh but shootouts and death puncture this peace every week.
Azerbaijan’s relations with Iran have worsened considerably over the past 18 months too.
There have been a number of reported shootouts on their border. In Baku, the Azerbaijani authorities have arrested several people accused of being Iranian agents. The Iranians have also arrested several Azerbaijanis in Iran.
The Azerbaijani authorities are unlikely to relax their policy of rearmament any time soon.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 120, published on Jan. 18 2013)
DEC. 30 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s oil production dropped by 3.7% in 2012, mainly due to lower-than-expected output at the BP-led Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli field, the head of Azerbaijan’s state oil company, Rovnag Abdullayev, said. Oil and gas are the mainstays of Azerbaijan’s economy.
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(News report from Issue No. 119, published on Jan. 11 2013)
JAN. 4 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan is close to agreeing a deal with top Spanish soccer side Athletico Madrid to sponsor their shirt for the next 1-1/2 seasons, media reported. Flush with cash from energy revenues, Azerbaijan has been on an international marketing drive.
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(News report from Issue No. 119, published on Jan. 11 2013)