MAY 2 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – In its annual global press freedom index, the United States-based group Freedom House ranked Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as the second and third-worst countries for media freedom. Only North Korea was ranked lower in the 196- country index.
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(News report from Issue No. 38, published on May 2 2011)
APRIL 26 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – China secured more control over energy supplies from Central Asia when it agreed to lend Turkmenistan $4b to develop the South Yolotan gas field. South Yolotan is one of the largest gas fields in the world. Most of its gas is expected to be pumped to China.
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(News report from Issue No. 38, published on May 2 2011)
APRIL 25 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – In contrast to the cool reception he received when he visited the European Union in Brussels in January, China laid on smiles and a guard of honour for Uzbek President Islam Karimov’s state visit on April 19/20.
Mr Karimov was in Beijing to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao and to sign deals worth billions of dollars including an agreement to double the amount of gas Uzbekistan sells to China. The Uzbek state news website uza.uz said the deals were worth $5b and that Chinese banks had also agreed to lend $1.5b to 4 Uzbek banks for joint-ventures.
The numbers underscore just how much power and impact China can buy in Central Asia. Mr Hu hosted a similar visit to Beijing by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in February.
Over the last few years China has steadily bought up assets across the region, subverting the influence of both Russia and the West.
For the Central Asia states, China allure is not just its wealth, its proximity and its hunger for oil and gas. For now, at least, China is also less troublesome to deal with.
Former colonial power Russia has quarrelled with Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan over the price of gas and the West has previously condemned human rights abuses, such as the shooting in 2005 of around 500 people at a protest in eastern Uzbekistan. China, instead, talks of jointly defeating terrorism, is welcoming and lays on the charm.
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(News report from Issue No. 37, published on April 25 2011)
APRIL 25 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Senior officials from Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Oman and Iran signed an agreement to link their railway systems to create a transport corridor between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. The deal potentially creates another important export route for oil and gas.
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(News report from Issue No. 37, published on April 25 2011)
APRIL 24 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov judged a horse beauty contest, part of a campaign to promote Turkmenistan after years of isolation. Horses and horsemanship are revered in Turkmenistan. The owner of the winning horse won a Toyota Land Cruiser, media reported.
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(News report from Issue No. 37, published on April 25 2011)
APRIL 4 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Frustration is growing among thousands of people in Turkmenistan without mobile phone access since the government cancelled a service agreement with Russia’s MTS in December, said the Initiative of Turkmen Human Rights. Altyn Asyr, now the only Turkmen mobile phone operator, has had to cope with a 400% jump in demand.
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(News report from Issue No. 35, published on April 11 2011)
APRIL 11 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – The patience of Turkmenistan’s estimated 3.1m mobile phone subscribers is wearing thin. Services have been heavily disrupted since the Turkmen government terminated a contract with Russia’s biggest mobile phone operator MTS.
Under the agreement, MTS had serviced around 80% of Turkmen’s mobile phone market. When it rescinded the deal, the Turkmen ministry of communications said MTS had broken the terms of the contract which had also expired. MTS said the government just wanted the lucrative contract.
That all happened in December. Since then it appears Altyn Asyr, the trading name for Turkmen mobile phone provider TM-Cell, has struggled to meet demand. Even President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has become frustrated. In March, according to media reports, he called Altyn Asyr “bungling”.
Mobile phones are essential in Turkmenistan where fixed lines are unreliable and decrepit.
On April 4, the Initiative of Turkmen Human Rights reported how hundreds of people queued for hours outside an Altyn Asyr shop which promised to sell SIM cards. Instead they were only able to buy a voucher which could be swapped for a SIM card next month when new supplies arrive.
This report could not be independently corroborated but 3 days later news reports said the Turkmen government had signed a deal with equipment makers Nokia Siemens Networks and China’s Huawei Technologies to help improve services. The saga continues.
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(News report from Issue No. 35, published on April 11 2011)
APRIL 7 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Following warnings of low water levels, Tajikistan has now extended its seasonal electricity restrictions, AP reported. Water running off the Pamir Mountains is vital for both Tajikistan’s hydroelectric dams and the cotton fields of downstream Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 35, published on April 11 2011)
MARCH 29 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov sacked national security minister Charymyrat Amanov for unspecified “shortcomings”, state TV said. Mr Amanov had been in the post since 2007. President since December 2006, Mr Berdymukhamedov has often sacked minsters suddenly and with no explanation.
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(News report from Issue No. 34, published on April 4 2011)
MARCH 31 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajikistan’s Hydrological Agency warned that significantly less snow in its Pamir mountains this year will lead to lower water levels for downstream Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, media reported. Arguments over water supplies are a major source of tension in Central Asia.
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(News report from Issue No. 34, published on April 4 2011)