Tag Archives: society

Mirziyoyev sets up his own youth movement for Uzbekistan

TASHKENT, JUNE 30 2017 (The Bulletin) — In a speech to hundreds of youth activists, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said that he was renaming their organisation as the Uzbekistan Youth Union, a deliberate break from the Kamolot brand it had used under former President Islam Karimov.

Kamolot had been one of Karimov’s most successful propaganda tools, sweeping up thousands of people aged between 14 and 30. Kamolot, which means perfection in Uzbek, was set up in 2001 as a successor to the Soviet-era Komsomol. Its detractors said it was used by Karimov to create thousands of pliant Uzbeks who would spread his ideology. It was not compulsory to join Kamolot but those that did often found their path smoothed to good government jobs.

During his speech, Mr Mirzioyev, who appears to be relishing his role as the arch-reformer since taking the over the presidency in September 2016 a few days after Karimov died, said that Kamolot had been a narrow project aimed at promoting a few people above everybody else.

“The activity of the movement has been limited to a narrow circle, and was aimed only at its members. The youth who did not join the movement remained out of sight,” he said, also announcing a doubling of the youth movement budget to $51m.

Still, he appeared to contradict himself shortly afterwards with the appointment of 23-year-old Alisher Sadullayev, a former Kamolot member, as his education minister.

And people commentating online after the announcement were sceptical, suggesting that Mr Mirzioyev was aiming to ape Mr Karimov’s Kamolot rather than build a new all-inclusive youth movement.

“I don’t think that there will be a lot of difference between Kamolot and UYU (Uzbekistan Youth Union). The only difference I’m sure about is how UYU members will call them- selves the children of Mirziyoyev’,” one commentator said.

Another was more whimsical. He wrote on Facebook: “Kamolot is dead, long live UYU!”

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 335, published on July 3 2017)

Uzbek President orders new airport

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JUNE 30 2017 (The Bulletin) — Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has ordered officials in Tashkent to build a new airport from scratch, apparently dropping plans to build a new terminal for international flights at the current airport. The decree, did not say when the new airport would be completed or how much it would cost.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 335, published on July 3 2017)

Australia’s Ricciardo wins GP in Azerbaijan

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JUNE 25 2017 (The Bulletin) — Australian Daniel Ricciardo won the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Baku after what commentators described as a chaotic race with several crashes. Ricciardo races for the Red Bull team. This was the second F1 race in Baku, but the first called the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The first race, held in 2016, was called the European Grand Prix.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 334, published on June 26 2017)

Tajikistan bans Hajj for under 40s

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JUNE 20 2017 (The Bulletin) — The authorities in Tajikistan have banned people under the age of 40 from travelling to Mecca this year for the Hajj, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. Officials said that ban was designed to give older people the chance of completing the Hajj but analysts said it could be designed to try and prevent young people from becoming radicalised. Tajikistan and other Central Asian countries are worried about the spread of radical Islam.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 334, published on June 26 2017)

Kazakhstan strips IS fighters of citizenship

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JUNE 22 2017 (The Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s upper house of parliament approved a bill that will strip people accused of fighting for the extremist IS group in Syria and Iraq of their citizenship. The Kazakh authorities are increasingly worried about returnees from Syria and Iraq spreading radical ideology and fighting techniques if, and when, they move back to Kazakhstan.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 334, published on June 26 2017)

Comment: Ignore the corporate feel, EXPO-2017 is worth a visit

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JUNE 19 2017 (The Bulletin) — After a build-up lasting five years, Kazakhstan has finally opened EXPO- 2017. If you’re in Astana between now and mid-September when it closes, you should go. It feels excessively corporate and you’ll probably come out of the EXPO-2017 site none-the-wiser on what exactly its Orwellian-tinged ‘Future Energy’ means, but don’t dwell on this — it’s not the real point of the exposition.

EXPO-2017 is a source of national pride and a must-do event for most ordinary Kazakhs this summer, at least for the ones who live in and around Astana. And this pride and sense of fun is evident throughout EXPO-2017. The dozens and dozens of uniformed guides are courteous, speak excellent English and are genuinely helpful. The student volunteers beam with joy and are relishing the internationalism of the whole event.

As for the visitors, when I was there it must have been 95% Kazakh. These were groups of families and friends touring the pavilion, drinking in each country’s take on EXPO- 2017. This ranges from Britain’s glowing yurt to Iran’s focus on promoting its carpets.

The visiting Kazakhs, armed with selfie sticks and aging smartphones, weren’t the super rich who travel effortlessly around the world, these were Kazakhs who may never have left Central Asia, or been on a solitary trip to Europe. EXPO-2017 feels as if it has returned the international exposition series to its original mid-19th century Victorian era roots of bringing the world to a particular city.

The human rights lobby draws visitors’ attention to Kazakhstan’s poor record for tolerating dissent and media freedom, and there have been widely documented corruption issues around EXPO-2017, but push this aside for now and enjoy the spectacle.

And make sure you don’t miss out on the Caribbean pavilion, the least scripted section. The women from Belize, Haiti and Dominica will tell you how they are coping with four months in Kazakhstan, a country they hadn’t heard of until earlier this year.

By James Kilner, Editor, Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

Uzbekneftgas does not plan upgrade for domestic gas system

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TASHKENT, JUNE 14 2017 (The Bulletin) — Dashing hopes of any major infrastructure development for domestic gas supplies, Uzbekneftegas chairman Alisher Sultanov said that Uzbekistan’s regions should get used to only having sporadic access to gas.

Speaking at a press conference in Tashkent, Mr Sultanov said that “there was no hope for this” when asked by a journalist if he expected an improvement in domestic gas supplies. Instead he blamed ordinary Uzbeks of disrupting the gas system by stealing from it.

His comments are important as they fly in the face of an ambitious development and investment programme promoted by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who took over as leader in September last year.

Irregular gas supplies outside Tashkent have become a persistent complaint since the early 2000s. Local residents rely on firewood and coal to cook and keep warm or on canisters of liquefied natural gas.

Mr Sultanov was blunt and said people should save energy rather than rely on the government.

“The gas supply systems in the regions have been abused by the people for 25 years,” he said. “There will be no gas.”

Previously, Uzbeks have accused the government of putting profits ahead of domestic supplies and also of being prepared to risk people’s lives by not providing proper gas supplies during Uzbekistan’s often freezing winters.

And ordinary Uzbeks met Mr Sultanov’s comments with derision.

“Can Uzbekneftegaz still not decide on its main task as a national company? What is more important for the company? Increasing natural gas supplies to the population or increasing exports to China?” said one man who asked to remain anonymous.

The reaction on Facebook, which ordinary Uzbeks use to discuss their affairs, was also incredulous.

“Let Alisher Sultanov spend a week in the regions where there are no gas and electricity in the winter and then he will think over whether giving gas is worth it or not,” another man said.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

Georgian prosecutors investigate police over rapper arrest

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JUNE 11 2017 (The Bulletin) — Georgian prosecutors said that they had launched an investigation into police conduct over the arrest of the Birja Mafia rappers, 28-year-old Mikheil Mgaloblishvili and 21-year- old Giorgi Keburia, who accused security forces of planting drugs on them. The Birja Mafia are popular in Georgia and the arrest of Mr Mgaloblishvili and Mr Keburia sparked demonstrations in Tbilisi and Batumi. They said that the police wanted revenge for a song that they released earlier this year that mocked them.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

Wolf attack kills 100 sheep in Armenia

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YEREVAN, JUNE 16 2017 (The Bulletin) — Wolves have ripped apart around 100 sheep in a province in Armenia, media reported, one of the worst attacks for years.

The attack highlights a long standing dispute between conversations who want to try to preserve the wolf population and farmers who want it culled.

The recent attack was recorded in the mountainous region of Aragatsotn in central Armenia. Wolf attacks in Aragatsotn and other upland parts of central Armenia are not uncommon but they are normally limited to killing around a dozen sheep.

An attack in which 36 sheep were killed in 2014 was considered significant, so an attack in which 100 were killed is a major incident.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

Georgia starts processing law to ban foreigners from owning land

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TBILISI, JUNE 14 2017 (The Bulletin) — Georgia’s parliament started processing a law that will forbid foreigners from owning farmland, despite warnings from experts that the ban will stunt the growth of the agriculture sector.

The Georgian Dream government dominates parliament and has said that it is bringing in the law because of the pressure on farmland, although opponents have said that its main aim is to roll back another key policy of former president Mikheil Saakashvili.

Levan Davitashvili, the minister of agriculture, said that under the new legislation foreigners would only be allowed to own land if they inherited it, if they married into it or if they already had a permanent residence or an investment permit.

“Land is a particularly limited resource and, with the population growth, land resources are becoming more significant and valuable,” media quoted him as saying. “It is crucial that agricultural land has to be for Georgian citizens and they have to have the property rights.”

When he was in power between 2003 and 2013, Mr Saakahvili had courted Afrikaans to move to Georgia from South Africa, promising them access to good farmland. He followed this up with campaigns to persuade Indian farmers to also move to Georgia too. Essentially he wanted the expertise and investment potential the foreign farmers would bring.

But alongside the expertise, the farmers from South Africa and India generated resentment and frustration from locals, something that the Georgian Dream picked up on and campaigned to change.

After winning a majority of MPs in Parliament in 2012, the Georgian Dream brought in a moratorium to suspend the sale of farmland to foreigners. This moratorium was declared unconstitutional in Dec. 2014 and revoked.

Earlier this month, with the Georgian Dream now dominating Parliament, constitutional amendments were passed banning land sales to foreigners. The new law being discussed, though, will come into play before constitutional amendments.

Phatima Mamardashvili, head of the Agricultural Policy Research Centre, said the ban was negative.

“Our agriculture is so unproductive. We should welcome any investment,” she told The Bulletin. “Foreign investor bring knowledge, capital, new technology. These new limitations are negative. foreign investment flow will be reduced. Georgia will be a less attractive market.”

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)