JAN. 17 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Another Chinese company opened up a factory in Uzbekistan. Under a joint venture with Uzbek partners, Puyang Sanshun Commerce Co. ltd will produce mobile phones and tablets in the Navoi Economic Free Zone, media reported. The Navoi Free Economic Zone has attracted a clutch of companies from Korea and China.
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(News report from Issue No. 168, published on Jan. 22 2014)
JAN. 22 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbek President Islam Karimov has expanded the number of crimes that can be punishable under anti-terrorism laws, local media reported.
The authorities have said this move was necessary to protect the country from Islamic militants who have previously attacked government targets. Human rights defenders, though, said the expansion was an excuse to lock up more people and silence the government’s critics.
It will now be punishable by up to seven years in prison if a person is convicted of the loosely defined term of training for a terrorist act.
The expansion of the state’s anti-terrorist powers came shortly after the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) released its annual global report.
HRW was bleak on Uzbekistan.
“Uzbekistan’s human rights record remained abysmal across a wide spectrum of violations,” HRW said in its report.
HRW also accused the United States and the EU of ignoring these human rights violations in return for help extracting their soldiers from Afghanistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 168, published on Jan. 22 2014)
JAN. 13 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan’s government ordered the country’s largest industries to cut production costs by 10%, media reported quoting an official document. The order is a reflection of the bloated nature of Uzbekistan’s industrial base and also of the poor health of the Uzbek economy. It may also herald potential job cuts in 2014.
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(News report from Issue No. 167, published on Jan. 15 2014)
JAN. 14 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — In a speech at a military parade, Uzbek President Islam Karimov said the withdrawal of NATO soldiers from Afghanistan would increase tension along the Uzbek-Afghan border and could give Islamic militants the chance to attack. NATO soldiers are planning on withdrawing steadily through 2014.
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(News report from Issue No. 167, published on Jan. 15 2014)
JAN. 10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Uzbek government increased the price of petrol by 20% because of continued shortages. Uzbeks are already labouring under a series of price rises, from food to general utilities. The jump in petrol prices could cause resentment to grow.
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(News report from Issue No. 167, published on Jan. 15 2014)
JAN. 9 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan plans to test the genes of children to determine which will make world-beating athletes, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported quoting Rustam Muhamedov, director of genetics at Uzbekistan’s Institute of Bio-organic Chemistry. While controversial, genetic testing is not banned.
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(News report from Issue No. 167, published on Jan. 15 2014)
JAN. 9 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The embattled eldest daughter of Uzbek President Islam Karimov, Gulnara Karimova, alleged that the son of foreign minister Abdulaziz Kamilov held dual Russian-Uzbek citizenship, illegal under Uzbekistan’s laws. Ms Karimova is battling to retain her power and influence in Uzbekistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 167, published on Jan. 15 2014)
JAN. 9 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan’s financial authorities have shut Samarkand Bank for undisclosed violations, media reported, the second bank it has closed in the last two months.
After the authorities withdrew its trading license, Samarkand Bank, just like Credit Standard Bank before it, transferred its assets to the state-owned People’s Bank of Uzbekistan.
There is, typically, a political reason, for this sort of targeted action in Uzbekistan and in the case of Samarkand Bank, the clue is, possibly, in the name.
Shortly after the Uzbek authorities cut the license of Credit Standard Bank in November 2013, allegations appeared on Uzbek websites linking it to Gulnara Karimova, the embattled eldest daughter of Uzbek President Islam Karimov. She is currently locked in a power battle with rival clans and analysts said the closure of Credit Standard Bank may have been an attempt to undermine her.
The Karimovs are part of the Samarkand clan, named after Uzbekistan’s second city. Samarkand Bank’s name and origins suggest a link between the bank and the clan. Disbanding it will play into the hands of the so-called Tashkent clan, headed by various members of Uzbekistan’s intelligence service.
Once again, politics may well be the root cause of another banking closure in Uzbekistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 167, published on Jan. 15 2014)
JAN. 14 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Uzbek government has quietly increased the price of fuel by 20%, media reported. The new prices came into effect from Jan. 10.
The main cause of the petrol shortages in Uzbekistan are problems at the country’s largest oil refinery in Ferghana.
It’s still unclear what impact this price rise will have on Uzbek society. Tension is already rising because of price increases for basic utilities and food. Last year in Samarkand a group of women held a rare anti-government protest. Still, in Uzbekistan’s tightly controlled society there has so far been few signs of dissent.
And Uzbeks have already been adapting to steadily rising fuel prices.
The main problem for drivers is a deficit of oil in Uzbekistan. This means that state-owned UzGazOil has had to import and refine oil at more or less commercial rates, pushing up the price of petrol.
Reports from Uzbekistan have said that many drivers have already modified their vehicles to run on gas, which is cheaper, rather than petrol. This can be a dangerous practice as these gas fired wagons are prone to exploding.
The Uzbek authorities announced the petrol price rise quietly and official media didn’t cover the event.
But there was more bad news for drivers. From April, the government is introducing a 3% so-called road maintenance tax on new cars.
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(News report from Issue No. 167, published on Jan. 15 2014)
JAN. 14 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — A court in Tashkent released from prison Khasan Choriev, the 71-year-old father of a United States-based Uzbek human rights activist, media reported. Mr Choriev had been convicted in August 2013 of rape, an allegation that his supporters said was fabricated. The authorities said Mr Choriev had earned his amnesty through his good behaviour.
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(News report from Issue No. 167, published on Jan. 15 2014)