SEPT. 11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tension between Georgia’s President, Giorgi Margvelashvili, and its PM, Irakli Garibahvili appeared to bubble to the surface. Mr Margvelashvili accused Mr Garibashvili of thwarting his attempt to speak at the UN by planning his own address at the UN General Assembly. Growing tension between the presidency and the PM is important to monitor.
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(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)
SEPT. 12 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Perhaps wanting an eye-catching policy to launch his campaign for next year’s parliamentary election, former Kyrgyz PM Feliks Kulov, a nationalist, has called for a referendum on renaming Kyrgyzstan as Kyrgyz El Republic, media reported. Mr Kulov said the suffix stan is an alien Persian word for country.
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(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)
SEPT. 15 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Although he is no longer Georgia’s PM, Bidzina Ivanishvili is still — probably — the most influential person in Georgian politics.
Mr Ivanishvili put together the Georgian Dream coalition that wrestled full control of Georgian politics from former president Mikheil Saakashvili, first in parliament, then in the presidential palace and then in town halls across the country.
In a rare newspaper interview published on Sept. 15, Mr Ivanishvili underlined his importance to the Georgian political scene by revealing that current PM Irakli Garibashvili had asked for his advice before reshuffling his government cabinet earlier this year.
“Before the government reshuffle, Garibashvili asked for my opinion, but I did not show interest and did not tell him to act this or that way,” Mr Ivanishvili said.
But, despite this apparent disinterest, Mr Ivanishivili is still, clearly, planning on playing a major role in Georgian politics through two major new projects.
“I want to participate in analysing the ongoing processes and to engage in discussions about the Georgian society’s development strategy,” he said.
Georgia has been vocal in its support for Ukraine and its condemnation of Russia’s alleged aid to the separatist forces. Mr Ivanishvili underlined this viewpoint. He was also quick to compare what he described as the measured response of the current government to what he has previously described as the hot-headed responses of the Saakashvili administration.
“God saved us that they [Mr Saakashvili and his United National Movement Party] are no longer in power or else we could have seen Georgia involved in this war” he said.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)
SEPT. 15 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Campaigning officially began in Uzbekistan for an election to its 150-seat parliament set for Dec. 21, media reported.The election is largely a formality as all the parties are pro- presidential. Uzbekistan has been described as one of the most repressive and least democratic countries in the world.
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(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)
AUG. 27 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Around 50 residents of an Ashgabat suburb blocked workmen from removing air conditioning units from their apartment block, media reported, a rare public protest in Turkmenistan. Turkmen officials have ordered apparently unsightly air conditioning units to be removed from apartment blocks despite the souring summer temperatures.
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(News report from Issue No. 198, published on Sept. 3 2014)
AUG. 30 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia’s authorities are piling pressure on former president Mikheil Saakashvili by asking Interpol to issue a so-called Red Notice for his arrest, media reported. A Red Notice doesn’t force countries to arrest Mr Saakashvili but it pushes his profile to the top of the wanted list.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 198, published on Sept. 3 2014)
SEPT. 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – On Independence Day, people in Bishkek crammed into cinemas to watch a film geared towards nation-building.
The film’s organisers think the film has a shot at the Best Foreign Film Category at the Oscars. Kurmandjan Datka, Queen of the Mountains received $1.5m from the threadbare republican budget and was part-organised by nationalist MP, Zhyldyz Zholdosheva.
The Kyrgyz-language picture, telling the story of a female clan ruler during the time of the Russian empire, was generally well received, although one viewer, 21-year old Maxat Dukenbayev, said it was some way short of Nomad, a Kazakh state-made epic with 25 times Kurmanjan Datka’s budget and featuring B-List Hollywood actors.
“That didn’t come close to an Oscar,” he said, standing outside Bishkek’s October Cinema.
Not that Nomad did either.
Still, Zholdosheva, who gained a reputation as an outspoken nationalist in the aftermath of ethnic violence between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in 2010 declared herself ready to win an Oscar.
Elsewhere, on a grassy stretch outside Bishkek’s Panfilov Park, scores of Kyrgyz families grilled skewered kebabs and took in national beer.
Kyrgyz films celebrating its independence, seemingly, are not for everyone.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 198, published on Sept. 3 2014)
SEPT. 2 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Less than two years after the government of Mikheil Saakashvili moved Georgia’s parliament from the centre of Tbilisi to a new-built glass dome in Kutaisi, 225km away, it is moving back. Parliament held its first session after the summer recess in Tbilis. The two parliaments will now split meetings.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 198, published on Sept. 3 2014)
AUG. 31 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Members of Armenia’s Yezedi community have been holding protests in Yerevan calling for more support to stop the attacks by them in Iraq. Armenia is home to around 50,000 Yezedi, one of the largest groups outside Iraq. Fighters from the Islamic State have been attacking and killing Yezedi members.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 198, published on Sept. 3 2014)
SEPT.1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Perhaps to prove his virility and good health, Uzbek president Islam Karimov danced with various other officials in public on Independence Day. The 76-year-old Mr Karimov has been the centre of much speculation over his health during the last few years.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 198, published on Sept. 3 2014)