JAN. 29 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Delegations from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan continued their discussions on how best to delineate their troublesome border. This was the second Uzbek-Kyrgyz border meeting in January. Last year tension flared between the two sides around a disputed border area.
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(News report from Issue No. 170, published on Feb. 5 2014)
JAN. 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — So-called religious warriors who travel to Syria from Azerbaijan to fight alongside other radical Islamists are driven by cash and not beliefs, MP Govhar Bakhshaliyeva in an online debate.
The authorities in Azerbaijan have become increasingly worried by the number of radical Islamists who have made the relatively short journey to Syria to fight in the civil war.
They fear that many will return both with extremist views and battle hardened.
Ms Bakhshaliyeva, though, said the salary and not the religious cause was the main motivator for many of the men.
“In Syria, as in any other country where there is war and bloodshed, a lot of the fighting is conducted by mercenaries,” an Azerbaijani-language website quoted her as saying.
“As far as I know, the mercenaries in Syria, and these are also European and not just Muslims, are paid about $5,000 every month. People can solve financial problems, and I think this a major attraction for our people to go to Syria.”
Ms Bakhshaliyeva’s views hold more weight than others. She is also the respected head of the Baku Institute of Oriental Studies.
Estimates on the number of Azerbaijan’s who are fighting in Syria vary, but it is roughly around 200.
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(News report from Issue No. 169, published on Jan. 29 2014)
JAN. 28 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan’s government has banned private security firms from guarding businesses, media reported. From Feb. 1, companies wanting to employ security will have to hire guards from the interior ministry. The new law will hamper the independence of international companies working in Uzbekistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 169, published on Jan. 29 2014)
JAN. 23 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The EU Special Representative for Central Asia Patricia Flor travelled to Uzbekistan for the fourth time in 18 months.
Ms Flor met ministers and civil society leaders but not President Islam Karimov. The importance of another mission to Tashkent by Ms Flor is precisely that. It underlines Uzbekistan’s re-emergence in the international arena.
And this is most obviously down to Uzbekistan becoming the fulcrum for NATO’s co-called Northern Distribution Network to move its military kit out of neighbouring Afghanistan and back to Europe.
There has not been a discernible shift in Uzbekistan’s human rights record since government forces allegedly killed hundreds of people at a demonstration in Andijan in eastern Uzbekistan in 2005.
Instead realpolitik has elevated Uzbekistan. Last year, Mr Karimov visited Latvia when it held the rotating EU presidency and next month he travels to Prague. These are important successes for Mr Karimov.
While she was in Tashkent, Mr Flor underlined the EU’s belief in human rights and the rule of law. These are busy times in Uzbekistan for the EU and NATO.
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(News report from Issue No. 169, published on Jan. 29 2014)
JAN. 27 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyz security forces killed 11 armed men who crossed its north-eastern border with China, media reported. Bandits and smugglers are relatively common along this border. The Kyrgyz authorities initially said the group was made up of ethnic Uyghurs who were looking to smuggle arms back into China.
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(News report from Issue No. 169, published on Jan. 29 2014)
JAN. 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia met in Paris to continue their glacier-slow peace talks over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. In the region, though, reports said that there had been an increase in the number of shootouts between the two sides. Both sides reported casualties.
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(News report from Issue No. 169, published on Jan. 29 2014)
JAN. 20 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh defence minister Adilbek Dzhaksybekov flew to Tel Aviv to sign a military deal with his Israeli counterpart Moshe Ya’alon. Media reported the two states would hold joint military exercises and that Kazakhstan would buy various Israeli-made weapons. Kazakhstan has said it wants to modernise its military.
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(News report from Issue No. 168, published on Jan. 22 2014)
JAN. 22 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — With an easily accessible war to sign up for on their doorstep, Islamists in Azerbaijan have been slipping into Syria to fight in the conflict.
The APA news agency reported that seven Azerbaijani nationals have been killed this year in Syria.
The authorities in Azerbaijan worry that these men will return home radicalised, battle-hardened and keen to kick up old sectarian fights.
The exact number of Azerbaijanis who have travelled to Syria to fight in the conflict is difficult to pin down but it is probably between 100 and 200. Many, according to reports, are from the Sunni region of Sheki-Zagatala in northern Azerbaijan. Sheki-Zagatala nudges the Caucasus Mountains and the relatively lawless north Caucasus.
The problem for the Azerbaijani authorities is that recruiting videos for the radical Islamist groups fighting in Syria have become increasingly popular. They have given Islamists frustrated in Azerbaijan, the cause they have been looking for.
Writing for meydan.tv, Tamara Grigoryeva investigated reasons for this migration of Azerbaijan-based radicals to Syria. She quoted Gareth Jenkins at the Central Asia-Silk Road Studies programme as saying that it is not difficult for Azerbaijanis to travel to Syria.
“The Turkish government has recently been clamping down on the movement of jihadists across the border into Syria,” he was quoted by Ms Grigoryeva as saying.
“But people are still crossing. Even though it is more difficult than before, it is still relatively easy.”
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(News report from Issue No. 168, published on Jan. 22 2014)
JAN. 20 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Reports from the Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan border said tension remained high between the two sides following a shootout that injured several soldiers earlier this month. Radio Free Europe also reported that Kyrgyzstan had called up reservists living in the area for a three day military exercise.
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(News report from Issue No. 168, published on Jan. 22 2014)
JAN. 21 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan has completed the delivery of 24 attack helicopters from Russia, media reported. Rich from oil, Azerbaijan has splurged on its military, buying weapons and other equipment from Israel and Russia. Azerbaijan ordered the 24 Mi-35M helicopters from Russia in September 2010.
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(News report from Issue No. 168, published on Jan. 22 2014)