Tag Archives: politics

Kazakhs do not express concerns about constitutional changes

ALMATY, MARCH 20 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Betraying a lack of interest in politics, most people in Almaty who spoke to The Conway Bulletin about changes to the Kazakh constitution made earlier this month just shrugged their shoulders.

Some were concerned that Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev made the changes to hand more power to parliament without consultation but they were in the minority.

Aigerim, a 25-year-old woman working in service sector, said casually: “I haven’t heard of the constitutional changes. I don’t know, I couldn’t care less. They will decide [do what they want] anyway, they will not ask us.”

There was also a degree of scepticism over how much power parliament will really be given.

Malik, 60, said: “Parliament will not be given decision-making power, it is just formality. Nazarbayev is and will be the only person in power.”

These views were echoed by most people that the Bulletin spoke to, although the issue of land ownership has dominated some discussion groups.

Land is a touchy subject in Kazakhstan. Last year, people protested in several cities across the country against a change to the law that was going to give foreigners improved rights to land ownership in Kazakhstan. The constitutional changes brought in by Mr Nazarbayev hasn’t touched the issue of land rights but that didn’t stop it dominating conversations.

Rabiga, a pensioner, said: “I do care, I have my family living here. I have heard of (the constitutional changes) but don’t know the details. But I heard there was one article on land that is changed from citizen to anybody. I have read about it a lot.”

Most analysts said that Mr Nazarbayev has tinkered with the constitution to try to split power between a number of people in order to avoid any one person dominating Kazakh politics when he leaves. The 76-year-old hasn’t yet unveiled plans for his accession.

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(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Tajik court increases lawyers sentence

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MARCH 26 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — A court in Tajikistan extended by two years a jail sentence imposed on human rights lawyer Buzurgmehr Yorov who was imprisoned in October 2016 for 23 years for allegedly calling for a coup. At his trial, Yorov called the allegations against him politically motivated. He then read out a verse from a poem likening officials to fools, leading to a charge of contempt of court and the additional two year prison sentence which have now been passed down.

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(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Protests grow in Armenian capital after ‘Bread Provider’ dies

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YEREVAN, MARCH 20 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Thousands of demonstrators have marched for four consecutive days through the Armenian capital demanding answers from the government about the death of 49- year old Artur Sargsyan, one of the men arrested and imprisoned last year for capturing a police station.

His death and the subsequent demonstrations have galvanized support for opposition groups only a fortnight before a parliamentary election, the first to be held under a new constitution that shifts power away from the presidential office.

The mainly young protesters have marched arm-in-arm through Yerevan shouting for the government to resign and holding aloft pictures of Sargsyan, known by his nicknamed as ‘The Bread Provider’.

During the two-week-long capture of the police station in July by a group of opposition gunmen, Sargsyan had broken through a police cordon to give them food. He was arrested when they surrendered, and died on March 16 in a hospital 10 days after ending a 25-day hunger strike.

For President Sargsyan and his Republican Party the death and protests, estimated at being 1,000-strong every night, have come at precisely the wrong time. They don’t want voters to see TV footage of police forcibly pulling young protesters off the roads and into their waiting vans.

Richard Giragosian, director of Regional Studies Center based in Yerevan, said that protests have been the defining image of Armenia over the last couple of years and that these latest demonstrations reminds voters of this.

In 2015 there were weeks of protests and clashes with police over a proposed electricity price increase and in 2016 there were more clashes between police and supporters of the gunmen who had captured the police station.

“Although the aftermath of his death may be fairly temporary, and limited to a spontaneous outburst of anger, nevertheless, public anger and deep discontent have also defined this country’s coming election,” said Mr Giragosian said.

The only public opinion poll so far, published on March 6 by Gallup, showed that the party led by millionaire Gagik Tsarukyan, who is broadly sympathetic to the current government, would receive 26.4% of the votes compared to 22.8% for the Republican party.

The poll also showed the other seven political parties and blocs, considered the real opposition forces, failing to pass the threshold to win seats.

The demonstrations may shift that, though, Mr Giragosian said “The government’s arrogance has already undermined both their position and popularity,” he said.

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(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Swedish officials arrest Russian over corruption in Azerbaijan

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MARCH 14 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Police in Sweden arrested a Russian national working for the Canadian company Bombardier for allegedly paying bribes in Azerbaijan to win contracts, media reported. The bribery allegations date back to 2013 and focus on contracts to sell train signalling equipment to the Azerbaijani railway company. Azerbaijan has a poor record for corruption.

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(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Venice commission praises Kazakh constitution amendments

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MARCH 14 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s constitutional analysis unit, said that amendments made to the Kazakh constitution by President Nursultan Nazarbayev earlier this year were “a clear step forward”. Without consulting ordinary Kazakhs, Mr Nazarbayev transferred some powers, mainly looking after domestic briefs such as education and pension reforms, to parliament, keeping state affairs such as security and foreign policy under the president’s remit. “There can be no doubt that the reform goes in the right direction and constitutes a clear step forward. Other steps should follow in the future,” the Venice Commission said in a statement.

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(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Kyrgyz officials charge ex-prosecutor with abuse of office

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MARCH 13 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Prosecutors in Kyrgyzstan are investigating Aida Salyanova, a former Prosecutor-General and now an opposition MP, with abuse of office. Her supporters have said that the charges are fabricated and an extension of the crackdown on the opposition party Ata-Meken. Kyrgyzstan is holding a presidential election this year. Ahead of it, tensions are running high.

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(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Putin persuaded me into exile, says former Kyrgyz president

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MARCH 7 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — In an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Belarusian service, former Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiyev said that Vladimir Putin — then Russian PM, now its president — had telephoned him during a revolution in 2010 to persuade him to flee into exile in Belarus. Kyrgyzstan wants to extradite Mr Bakiyev, who now lives permanently in Belarus, to face various corruption charges.

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(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)

Tajik police investigates Dushanbe ex-mayor

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MARCH 8 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Police in Tajikistan are investigating the former mayor of Dushanbe, Mahmadsaid Ubaidulloev, for corruption linked to the construction of a shopping centre, media reported. Mr Ubaidulloev had served as the mayor of Dushanbe for 20 years before, surprisingly, resigning in January. He was replaced by Rustam Emomali, the son of Tajik president Emomali Rakhmon. Analysts have said that before he quit as mayor of Dushanbe, Mr Ubaidulloev was considered the ultimate elite insider and that the corruption allegations are part of a power struggle.

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(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)

Azerbaijan considers smoking ban

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MARCH 10 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s parliament debated a bill that could ban smoking in public places, media reported, the first step towards imposing tougher rules over smoking and cigarette advertising in a country notoriously fond of the habit. Azerbaijan’s neighbours in the South Caucasus, and also in Central Asia, have already imposed some restrictions on smoking. Smoking is currently banned in Azerbaijan in sports facilities, educational area and healthcare buildings.

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(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)

Trump’s problematic Azerbaijan hotel deal

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MARCH 8 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — >> So what has Donald Trump, President of the United States, been doing in Azerbaijan?

>> Trump’s deals with Azerbaijanis have been getting him in trouble. Do you remember the dossier that a former British spy compiled on him last year, during the US presidential election? So incriminating were some of his discoveries about Trump’s alleged dealings with Russia and his potential for being blackmailed that the spy handed over the dossier to the US intelligence services. At the heart of these allegations was a visit that Trump made to Moscow in 2013 during the Miss Universe contest that he owns. There were some lewd allegations from that trip, too lewd to repeat in this family newspaper, but, and this is the point, the trip was set up by an Azerbaijani businessman, Araz Agalarov, with strong links in Russia.

>> Okay, but now I hear that there has been hotel project in Baku which is linked to Trump.

>> Yes, this is a different issue. Trump agreed to lend his brand to a hotel in a Baku suburb in 2012. This was before the US election and during a boom time for the Azerbaijani economy. It was a good place to invest. His daughter Ivanka visited the Tower in 2014 to make sure that the work was going to plan. While she was there, she also met with Trump’s Azerbaijani business partners, and this is where the trouble now lies for Trump. He either picked his business partners carelessly or, worse, was in some way complicit in various dodgy deals.

>> What do you mean? Who were his business partners for this Baku project?

>> Trump’s main business partner was Elton Mammadov, brother of Azerbaijan’s former powerful transport minister Ziya Mammadov who has various businesses, including in the hotel sector. The problem for Trump is that these businesses are alleged to be linked to corruption and also to dealings with Iran’s Republican Guard. This is illegal for Americans under US sanctions. Trump has vigorously denied any links to corruption or doing business with Iran.

>> What has Trump and his team done about this?

>> Before Christmas, Trump quietly cut his links to the unopened Baku hotel and last month, Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev sacked Ziya Mammadov as transport minister, although it is unclear if this was connected to the Baku hotel deal.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)