MAY 20 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyz president Almazbek Atamabayev said that he would respect the constitution which limits him to one 6-year term in office, media reported. Mr Atambayev was voted into power in 2011. His election was the first peaceful transition of power in Kyrgyzstan since the 1991 break-up of the Soviet Union.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 186, published on May 28 2014)
May 19 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbek President Islam Karimov clearly intends to remain in power for some time to come.
At a conference in Samarkand, Mr Karimov, 76, said that he had no intention of relinquishing power any time soon.
“I am one of those who is criticised for staying too long,” AFP quoted Mr Karimov telling diplomats and scholars gathered for a conference on the Golden Age of Islam.
“I am criticized, but I stay. I am criticised but I want to keep working. What’s wrong with that?”
Mr Karimov’s comments are pertinent for two reasons. Over the past six months or so some doubt has crept in over the strength of the Karimov family’s grip on power. Mr Karimov’s eldest daughter, Gulnara, has disappeared from public life since she was reportedly placed under house arrest earlier this year. Prior to that she had been stripped, very publicly, of power and influence.
As, seemingly, her father’s successor, these attacks on Gulnara were seen as an attack on Mr Karimov himself. His powerful intelligence chief, Rustam Inoyatov is widely thought of to be behind the discrediting of Gulnara Karimova.
Mr Karimov has ruled over Uzbekistan since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Next year, Uzbekistan holds a presidential election. This may only be a Potemkin election but it is still important and it looks as if Mr Karimov will be one of the candidates.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 185, published on May 21 2014)
JAN. 6 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Human rights groups have said they are concerned about the pre-trial conditions of Anar Mammadli, arrested last month in Azerbaijan on tax evasion charges, media reported. Mr Mammadli is the head of the independent Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center and has previously criticised Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 166, published on Jan. 8 2014)
DEC. 19 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Rights groups criticised Turkmenistan’s parliamentary election, officially heralded as the start of multi-party politics, as mere window dressing. The vote on Dec. 15 was the first time an election in Turkmenistan has been contested by two parties. In reality the opposition party was staunchly pro-president.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 166, published on Jan. 8 2014)
DEC. 23 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazkommertsbank, Kazakhstan’s biggest bank by assets, and businessman Kenes Rakishev agreed to buy a majority stake in the beleaguered BTA Bank. The deal is a relief for the government which has been looking to offload its 97.3% stake in BTA Bank.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 166, published on Jan. 8 2014)
DEC. 15 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmenistan held a parliamentary election it described as its first multi-party vote. In reality the opposition parties vowed fidelity to Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov. Rights groups describe Turkmenistan as one of the most repressive countries in the world.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 165, published on Dec. 18 2013)
NOV. 16 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Emomali Rakhmon was sworn in as Tajikistan’s president for the fourth time after winning an election on Nov. 6 with 83% of the vote. He will serve for another seven years as president. Observers said the election was unfair and undemocratic.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 161, published on Nov. 20 2013)
NOV. 20 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Mikheil Saakashvili, 45, the now ex-president of Georgia, is not leaving on a high. His party’s candidate for president was trounced at the polls in October and he may face trial for alleged crimes committed during his time in office.
Nevertheless, his tenure saw Georgia go from failed state to top reformer. Georgia’s leaders now have to earn their mandate through elections rather than by revolution.
Mr Saakashvili spearheaded an ambitious programme of reforms firing the entire corrupt traffic police force overnight, slashing red tape and improving services. The World Bank now ranks Georgia 9th in the world for ease of doing business. Stiff penalties and better salaries eliminated petty corruption and the country’s crumbling infrastructure was improved.
But he was always a moderniser before a democrat and these gains were often made using strong-arm tactics. Georgia’s courts were at the mercy of the prosecutor’s office, the prison population mushroomed and torture and rape were widespread throughout the penal system. He mishandled relations with Russia, leading to a brief but disastrous war in 2008.
Most Georgians are glad to see him go and Mr Saakashvili has said he will stay out of politics. For now.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 161, published on Nov. 20 2013)
NOV. 17 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Giorgi Margvelashvili took the oath to become the new president of Georgia, ending a decade dominated by Mikheil Saakashvili, leader of the 2003 Rose Revolution. Mr Margvelashvili is an ally of billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, Mr Saakashvili’s biggest rival. Mr Margvelashvili has pledged to improve relations with Russia.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 161, published on Nov. 20 2013)
NOV. 7 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Incumbent Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon won re-election with 83.1% of the vote in a presidential election. Mr Rakhmon didn’t face any genuine opposition in the election which observers have described as a sham. Mr Rakhmon, who consolidated his power in the mid-1990s after a civil war, will now rule until 2020.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 160, published on Nov. 13 2013)