Tag Archives: politics

Khadija Ismayilova: Investigative journalist

MAY 27 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Beaming from ear to ear, Khadija Ismayilova blinked and smiled. It was Wednesday and Ms Ismayilova’s first taste of freedom after 537 days in prison for charges that she and her supporters have said were politically motivated.

In those 537 days, Ms Ismayilova has been transformed from a journalist known locally for her hard-hitting investigative reports that exposed corrupt schemes linked to President Ilham Aliyev to the international face of the fight for freedom of speech in Azerbaijan.

Her resilience and determination not to back down under intense pressure from the government and other dark forces, including a series of blackmail threats in 2012 linked to sex tapes made of her, won her many admirers in the West.

John McCain, a former US presidential candidate, was among the high- profile list of politicians from around the world who have been campaigning for Ms Ismayilova’s release.

After she was freed he said: “Khadija has played a critical role in uncovering government corruption and holding authorities accountable, and her commitment to freedom of the press and human rights serves as an inspiration for journalists everywhere.”

And this work has been recognised by a string of institutions who have given Ms Ismayilova various awards including the prestigious PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award and the Anna Politkovskaya Award. Both these awards are for reporters who focus on anti-corruption issues and human rights.

And Ms Ismayilova, who turns 40 on May 27, has already said that she plans to continue her work, despite the dangers.

“Regarding my plans for journalism, I am going to continue my investigations,” she said in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio

Liberty. “There is always a lot of work to do in a country like Azerbaijan where corruption is on such a massive scale.”

In Ms Ismayilova, President Aliyev and his cohort of supporters have found a dogged and determined anti-corruption opponent.

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(News report from Issue No. 282, published on May 27 2016)

Kazakh police detain hundreds before anti-government protests

ALMATY, MAY 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Perhaps betraying the authorities’ nervousness that anti- government demonstrations are gaining momentum, police in Kazakhstan detained hundreds of people ahead of planned protests against land reforms and worsening economic conditions.

The scale of the arrests showed just how much support the protests have gathered.

What started as an isolated demonstration in Atyrau, western Kazakhstan, in mid-April against proposed reforms to the land code, which would have allowed foreigners more rights, has now morphed into more general outpouring of discontent against the government.

In Almaty, police wearing black balaclavas detained people before they could reach a planned demonstration in the central square. In Astana, and other cities across the country, police detained smaller numbers of people.

Anti-government demonstrations are rare in Kazakhstan but ordinary Kazakhs, frustrated with worsening economic conditions brought on by a collapse in oil prices and a recession in Russia, have latched onto the land reform issue as a channel for their discontent. Even a pledge earlier this month by President Nursultan Nazarbayev to defer the land reforms has not quashed the protests.

Rinat, a protester in Astana, explained the protesters’ frustrations. “I do not want a change of power, a revolution or a war,” he told the Bulletin’s correspondent.

“I just want the authorities to hear public opinion, conduct fair elections so that the generation of my children can live without loans and be sure of their future.”

These complaints were echoed across the country. “It is not the issue of nationalism, separatism or about outside influences,” said Sergei, a protester in Atyrau. “It is about distrust in the administration that hasn’t done anything good for the economy for a long period of time.”

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(News report from Issue No. 282, published on May 27 2016)

Editorial: Kazakh demonstrations

MAY 27 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Make no mistake, the protests in Kazakhstan are no longer about land reform issues – they are almost entirely focused on ordinary Kazakhs’ frustrations with the elite and their government.

For nearly two years Kazakhs have watched as their economic outlook and livelihoods have worsened. Never mind what President Nursultan Nazarbayev says about Kazakhs never having had it so good. For ordinary Kazakhs it doesn’t feel that way.

The mass arrests last week ahead of planned protests are an indication of just how worried the authorities are over the groundswell of anti-government feelings. Mr Nazarbayev and his advisers look out of touch. They sit in their Ivory Towers while police wearing black balaclavas chase demonstrators around the streets. This doesn’t give the impression of being in control.

This year, the Kazakh authorities have clamped down on the press and forced through a snap election. Despite these heavy-handed tactics, they still don’t look fully in control.

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(News report from Issue No. 282, published on May 27 2016)

Georgian opposition members face violence in election

MAY 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Leaders and activists of the opposition UNM party were beaten in a fistfight outside polling stations in the village of Zugdidi in western Georgia. Local by-elections were being held in several municipalities across Georgia and the Georgian Dream ruling party won in seven out of nine races. The UNM cried foul, accusing Georgian Dream supporters of the beating. The interior ministry issued arrest warrants for the perpetrators.

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(News report from Issue No. 282, published on May 27 2016)

Ex-Georgia President says he has voice in UNM

MAY 24 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Mikheil Saakashvili, former President of Georgia, now head of the local administration in Odessa, Ukraine, said he would go back to Georgia to campaign for his UNM party ahead of parliamentary elections next October. Mr Saakashvili told the Georgian TV channel Rustavi 2 that he still has a say in the UNM, the party he founded, and that he wants to be engaged in both Ukraine and Georgia.

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(News report from Issue No. 282, published on May 27 2016)

Ex-Kazakh minister to head Baiterek

MAY 17 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Former Kazakh minister of economy Yerbolat Dossayev took the post of chairman of Baiterek, a state-owned holding that manages several financial vehicles. This is effectively a job swap. Mr Dossayev replaces Kuandyk Bishimbayev at Baiterek. Earlier this month Mr Bishimbayev was made the minister of economy. Mr Dossayev resigned as economy minister after protests over planned changes to the land code spread across the country earlier this month.

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(News report from Issue No. 281, published on May 20 2016)

Thousands of Tajik students march through Khujand in support of Rakhmon

DUSHANBE, MAY 13 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tens of thousands of students marched through Khujand, north Tajikistan, in support of constitutional changes that will extend the powers of President Emomali Rakhmon.

The authorities organised the demonstration, highlighting how they are increasingly using students to manipulate politics. Student rallies have previously been used to demonstrate outside embassies of countries where Tajik opposition activists have fled to.

Blocking roads, students marched through Khujand chanting: “We are with you, the Leader of Nation. Youth are for the country’s stable development.”

A Dushanbe-based analyst, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the authorities were using students to try to show how popular Mr Rakhmon is.

“Students are forced to rally. If they don’t obey, they will be kicked out of their universities and if they protest against the agitations, they are called traitors and imprisoned,” he said.

A referendum, planned for May 22, will scrap limits on presidential terms, lower the age a person can run for president to 30 from 35 and ban parties with religious affiliations.

Mr Rakhmon is hedging his bets. After the constitutional changes are approved through the referendum, and nobody doubts that this will be passed, he will be allowed to run Tajikistan for as long as he likes. And, by lowering the age a person can become president, he is also potentially allowing his son, who will be 33-years-old at the next presidential election in 2020, to take over

As for banning political parties with religious associations, the now banned Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan had been the main opposition group until its leaders were arrested or forced into exile last year.

Jamshed, a 22-year-old Tajik student, told the Conway Bulletin’s correspondent in Dushanbe that the authorities had forced the students to demonstrate in a faux show of support for President Rakhmon.

“I was told to prepare a speech in Russian language about the importance of referendum and speak during a state TV roundtable program,” he said. “Government officials checked my speech and then let me present it.”

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(News report from Issue No. 281, published on May 20 2016)

Kyrgyz court sentences for espionage

MAY 18 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – A Kyrgyz court sentenced Altynbek Muraliyev, son of former PM Amangeldi Muraliyev, to 12 years in prison for treason and espionage. Muraliyev was arrested in November 2014, while attempting to leave Kyrgyzstan. The National Security Service said he had given classified information to foreign governments.

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(News report from Issue No. 281, published on May 20 2016)

Turkmen President pardons prisoners

MAY 18 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov pardoned 853 prisoners to mark the Day of the Constitution. The presidential grace is a routine gesture that shows Mr Berdymukhamedov’s control over the essential institutions in the country. According to official media, around 4,000 people have been freed in the past year through presidential pardons.

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(News report from Issue No. 281, published on May 20 2016)

Georgia changes rules for Constitutional Court

MAY 14 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Opposition MPs in Georgia have protested against what they said was a rushed reform of the Constitutional Court that will curtail its power and subvert it to the government.

The ruling Georgian Dream coalition set the final vote on the bill for Saturday May 14, just 14 hours after it had sparked furious arguments in parliament.

The opposition, led by the United National Movement party (UNM), the party of former President Mikheil Saakashvili, said the bill was in effect a punishment against the Constitutional Court for ruling against the Georgian Dream several times in the past few months.

Shalva Shavgulidze, opposition MP for the Free Democrats, said: “The only purpose of this bill is for the ruling party to gain control over the Constitutional Court.”

These charges were rejected by MPs from the Georgian Dream. MP Eka Beselia said that the changes were needed to reduce the previous UNM government’s influence over it. “This Court has to be fully liberated from political influences,” she said.

The bill, now adopted, raised the quorum for the 9-member Court from five to six, effectively making it more difficult for the Court to veto laws supported by the government.

Democracy lobby groups have said that this will make the Court a less effective check on the government’s executive powers.

Under the new law the minimum numbers of judges needed to make a decision was also raised to seven from six, again making it more complicated to pass judgements.

In September, just a few weeks before what will be a fiercely fought parliamentary election, President Giorgi Margvelashvili, will appoint new judges to the Court after two of the sitting judges reach the end of their 10-year terms.

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(News report from Issue No. 281, published on May 20 2016)