APRIL 15 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Scotching concerns over his health, Uzbek President Islam Karimov flew to Moscow for a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Officially, the two leaders discussed NATO’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. Rumours of Mr Karimov’s declining health circulated last month after he disappeared from public view for a few days.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 132, published on April 22 2013)
APRIL 12 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Citing the Uzbek authorities’ refusal to allow private access to inmates, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) cancelled all future prison visits in Uzbekistan.
The ICRC released a terse, unequivocal statement from its Geneva headquarters.
“The decision to terminate visits to places of detention is a rare occurrence and is never taken lightly,” it said.
The ICRC, which had suspended trips since October 2012, said prison visits are pointless unless inmates feel they can talk freely and the Uzbeks simply weren’t willing to allow this.
The cramped, Soviet-built prisons in Uzbekistan are considered some of the worst in the world. Allegations of torture and mistreatment litter activists’ accounts of prison life.
ICRC’s decision will embarrass Uzbekistan’s Western military partners.
Rowing back on years of criticism of alleged human rights abuses by the authorities, NATO governments led by the US have been eager to make deals with Uzbekistan to help withdraw their military forces from neighbouring Afghanistan by the end of 2014. Uzbekistan has a useful railway network and is considered more stable than Pakistan.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 131, published on April 12 2013)
MARCH 29 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — In comments made on a trip to Dushanbe, Kazakh foreign minister Yerlan Idrissov appeared to signal Kazakhstan’s intent to mediate in a long-running dispute between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan over water rights, media reported. With Iran’s help, Tajikistan is building a dam that will effect water flow to Uzbekistan.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 130, published on April 5 2013)
MARCH 29 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – It doesn’t take long these days, for rumours and speculation to start flying around on the health of a Central Asian leader if they disappear from the public’s gaze for a few days.
Earlier this month Kazakh president Nurtulan Nazarbayev popped up in Israel on a surprise trip. He was photographed with Israeli president Shimon Peres but that didn’t quell speculation that the real reason he was in Israel was to make use of the country’s hospitals.
Now 75-year-old Uzbek president Islam Karimov is at the centre of speculation over his health. Unsubstantiated rumours have lingered for years that Mr Karimov is unwell but when he, unusually, disappeared from sight for a few days in mid-March the intensity of the leadership gossip increased. Opposition sources said that Mr Karimov had suffered a heart-attack shortly after being filmed dancing at a Norouz celebration on March 19.
On March 27, the presidential website did publish a video of Mr Karimov meeting with Kazakh foreign minister Yerlan Idrissov. His apparent good health was confirmed by Kazakh officials later who said they witnessed the meeting.
But, crucially, Mr Karimov hasn’t actually appeared in public. Until he does, the speculation will continue.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 129, published on March 29 2013)
MARCH 28 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Swedish investigators said they may consider fining or confiscating assets from the part state-owned telecoms operator Teliasonera if criminal charges stick over an investigation into whether the company illegally paid bribes to a Gibraltar-registered firm in 2007/8 for 3G licences in Uzbekistan, media reported.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 129, published on March 29 2013)
MARCH 13 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – In a telephone conversation, Uzbek foreign minister Abdulaziz Komilov and US secretary of state John Kerry discussed improving cooperation between the two countries, Uzbekistan’s government said. Strategically, Uzbekistan has become increasingly important ahead of NATO’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 127, published on March 15 2013)
MARCH 14 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Anvar Azimov, a senior Russian diplomat, suggested that Central Asian nationals will need visas to enter Russia from 2015, media reported. Mr Azimov’s comments caused a stir because the economies of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and, to a lesser extent, Uzbekistan are heavily reliant on remittances from workers in Russia.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 127, published on March 15 2013)
MARCH 4 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – The value of Uzbekistan’s energy exports nearly doubled to $5b in 2012, the Eurasianet website reported quoting the Uzbek State Statistics Committee. Most of the increase was due to the opening of a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to China.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 126, published on March 8 2013)
FEB. 20 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbek hackers attacked the websites of various Kyrgyz government ministries and state-owned companies leaving the message “We’re against racism!”, media reported. Tension between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz has been growing in the south of the country since the beginning of the year.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 125, published on Feb. 22 2013)
FEB. 20 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbek hackers attacked the websites of various Kyrgyz government ministries and state-owned companies leaving the message “We’re against racism!”, media reported. Tension between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz has been growing in the south of the country since the beginning of the year.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 125, published on Feb. 22 2013)