NOV. 22 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyz authorities have accused an Irish researcher, Conor Prasad, working for the Brussels-based think tank International Crisis Group (ICG) of stirring ethnic tension in Osh, media reported. The ICG, which publishes influential reports on Central Asia, and Kyrgyzstan in particular, denied the allegations.
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(News report from Issue No. 114, published on Nov. 23 2012)
NOV. 22 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – World Bank data showed, again, that Tajikistan’s economy is the most reliant in the world on remittances, media reported. In 2011, remittances, mainly from Russia, accounted for 47% of Tajikistan’s GDP. Second on the list was Liberia with a 31% share. Remittances made up 29% of Kyrgyzstan’s GDP last year.
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(News report from Issue No. 114, published on Nov. 23 2012)
Nov. 14 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – US-based Human Rights Watch accused police in southern Kyrgyzstan of stripping detainees and beating them. The Kyrgyz interior ministry denied the charges. Accusations of mistreatment of detainees have dogged police in southern Kyrgyzstan for years.
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(News report from Issue No. 113, published on Nov. 16 2012)
Nov. 13 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Police arrested the head of south Kyrgyzstan’s anti-drugs unit, Eldar Kudaiberdiyev, for bribe- taking, media reported. The arrest underlines the extent of corruption in Kyrgyzstan. This year a ruling parliamentary coalition collapsed, partly because of corruption allegations.
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(News report from Issue No. 113, published on Nov. 16 2012)
NOV. 8 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia is preparing to give millions of dollars to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to both modernise their armed forces and bolster its own position in Central Asia, Kommersant, a Russian business newspaper, reported by quoting sources. According to the report Kyrgyzstan will receive $1.1b and Tajikistan will receive $200m.
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(News report from Issue No. 112, published on Nov. 9 2012)
OCT. 29 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticised as unfair life jail sentences handed out to two more Uzbeks in southern Kyrgyzstan for offences related to ethnic violence in June 2010. HRW has documented several similar cases in southern Kyrgyzstan. It has said the courts are biased against Uzbeks and are seeking revenge.
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(News report from Issue No. 111, published on Nov. 2 2012)
OCT. 25 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – A fight between Kyrgyz and Chinese workers at the Altynken gold mine in northern Kyrgyzstan broke out, local media reported. According to reports, about 250 Chinese workers were evacuated from the mine, which is owned by a Chinese company, after the fight. Resource nationalism has intensified in Kyrgyzstan.
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(News report from Issue No. 110, published on Oct. 26 2012)
OCT. 12 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – British police detained Maksim Bakiyev, son of former Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, after the US issued an extradition request. The US wants to prosecute Mr Bakiyev for financial crimes. Since a revolution in 2011, Kyrgyzstan has wanted the Bakiyevs sent back to Bishkek to face various charges.
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(News report from Issue No. 109, published on Oct. 19 2012)
OCT. 12 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Hundreds of people have gathered each day over the past week in Osh, southern Kyrgyzstan, to protest against the detention of nationalist parliamentarians who tried to break into government offices in Bishkek on Oct. 3, media reported. Sustained discontent in the south has the potential to destabilise Kyrgyzstan.
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(News report from Issue No. 108, published on Oct. 12 2012)
OCT. 1 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan’s new PM, Zhantoro Satibaldiyev, pledged not to nationalise the country’s biggest economic asset — the Kumtor gold mine. Toronto-based Centerra Gold owns Kumtor, which contributes about an eighth of Kyrgyzstan’s national GDP.
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(News report from Issue No. 107, published on Oct. 5 2012)