Tag Archives: politics

Tuleshov paid money to protesters, says Kazakh security committee

JULY 11 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee said that imprisoned businessman Tokhtar Tuleshov paid around $200 to each of the demonstrators that rallied in several Kazakh cities against proposed amendments to the land code in April and May. The Committee said that Tuleshov, in prison since Jan. 30, had organised the protests in 2015, in an effort to overturn the government.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 289, published on July 15 2016)

Two ministers quit in Georgia

JULY 12 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Two key Georgian ministers linked to the Republican party resigned as the campaign battle for the upcoming parliamentary election intensified. Defense minister Tina Khidasheli, one of the two outgoing ministers, had sparked controversy in June when she unilaterally decided to scrap conscription in the army. Paata Zakareishvili, the other outgoing minister, worked in the State Ministry for Reconciliation, which liaises with the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

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(News report from Issue No. 289, published on July 15 2016)

Turkmenistan imposes restrictions on Western Union

JULY 8 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Turkmen government has allegedly imposed restrictions on money transfers via the Western Union service at local banks, RFE/RL reported. Under new rules, recipients in Turkmenistan need to provide official documentation to prove their relationship to the sender. Neither the Turkmen government nor Western Union have confirmed the restriction.

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(News report from Issue No. 289, published on July 15 2016)

Kyrgyz President arranges anti-extremist posters

JULY 14 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev said that he arranged the financing of several posters across Bishkek designed to warn against the spread of more extreme foreign forms of Islam in Kyrgyzstan. Mr Atambayev was questioned on the posters during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He said that even minor changes in a country’s tradition, such as clothing or words, can foster radicalisation.

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(News report from Issue No. 289, published on July 15 2016)

Turkmen President sacks officials

JULY 8 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — During a working visit to the north-eastern Lebap province, Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov sacked 11 local government officials and reprimanded over a dozen others for failing to keep up with the government’s industrialisation and development plans. Mr Berdymukhamedov has already sacked dozens of public officials this year, in a major restructuring of the country’s regional powerhouses.

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(News report from Issue No. 289, published on July 15 2016)

Kyrgyz government strips interior ministry of control over powerful units

BISHKEK, JULY 4 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Looking to subvert its growing influence ahead of a presidential election next year, the Kyrgyz government stripped the ministry of interior of some control over its most powerful units.

The reform reshuffled government units, awarding more independence to departments responsible for combating terrorism, drug trafficking and cracking down on economic crimes. The Prosecutor-General has also been stripped of its power to launch independent investigations.

Pres. Almazbek Atambayev said the reforms will strengthen the law.

“Today’s decision can be called historic. The law enforcement system reform should strengthen law and order, so that ordinary citizens, business, and investments are protected by the law,” media quoted him as saying at a government meeting.

Analysts were more circumspect. Bishkek-based political analyst Mars Sariyev said that changes looked designed to subvert an increasingly difficult-to-control security system.

“The security authorities had tried to undermine the power of some interest groups and their political ambitions,” he said.

And another, anonymous, analyst said the changes were probably linked to the departure last month of Melis Turganbayev as Kyrgyzstan’s interior minister who was considered by government ministers as manoeuvring to position himself as a potential next president.

“There is no doubt that he was a very big political figure and that he was probably forced to leave to help bring the ministry of internal affairs more under the control of the government,” he said.

Kyrgyzstan is due to hold a presidential election in 2017.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 288, published on July 8 2016)

Armenia’s finance minister refuses does not respond

JULY 6 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia’s finance minister Gagik Khachatryan refused to respond to an investigative article that questioned his role in his sons’ real estate purchases in the US. His sons, Gurgen and Artyom, bought two houses in Los Angeles in 2010 for $11m and are now selling them for $35m. Transparency lobby groups have said there could be ties betweenMr Khachatryan’s ministerial position and his sons’ business deals.

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(News report from Issue No. 288, published on July 8 2016)

Kyrgyz President releases song

JULY 2 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev released a music video in which he sings a melancholic ballad. Mr Atambayev also wrote the Russian-language song, entitled ‘In spite of fate’. Mr Atambayev does not appear in the video which features scenes from a Soviet-era movie. Five days later, Mr Atambayev released a second music video.

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(News report from Issue No. 288, published on July 8 2016)

Georgia’s minister reiterates Saakashvili threat

JUNE 27 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia’s justice minister, Tea Tsulukiani, reiterated that former president Mikheil Saakashvili would be arrested if he travelled to Georgia to campaign in a parliamentary election set for October. The Georgian government has put out arrest warrants for Mr Saakashvili connected to various financial crimes when he was in power between 2004 and 2013. Mr Saakashvili is currently governor of the Odessa region in Ukraine. He has said that he would like to return to Georgia ahead of the election.

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(News report from Issue No. 287, published on July 1 2016)

200 people protest against drug law in Georgia

TBILISI, JUNE 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Roughly 200 people protested in front of the former parliament building in central Tbilisi against what they said was an excessively draconian and ineffective zero tolerance policy towards drugs.

The protest was one of several organised this year against the drug law in the run-up to a parliamentary election.

In Georgia, possession of even the smallest amount of drugs is considered a criminal offence that could lead to a jail sentence. The law allows police officers to stop people on the street and test them for drug use.

The Georgian Dream coalition takes a conservative approach to society, pulling in support from Georgia’s traditional Orthodox Christian society, but it risks alienating more liberal-minded voters ahead of the election that analysts have said will be hard fought.

Under the slogan ‘Don’t punish us’, demonstrators demanded the decriminalisation of drugs and the allocation of resources instead to social projects and drug rehabilitation schemes.

David Otiashvili, one of the organisers of the protest, said the current legislation was not effective and that it was being used by the police as a tool to impose control over society.

“The legislation is really strict and harsh and it focuses only on punishing people. Georgia is testing 50,000 to 60,000 people per year and it costs us millions and millions. And we know that this drug test does nothing good, there is zero effect,” he said.

The previous government under President Mikheil Saakashvili imposed the zero tolerance rules.

Tea Kordzadze, one of the protesters, said: “What has this repressive drug policy brought to Georgia? The number of drug users has increased.”

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 287, published on July 1 2016)