DEC. 10 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – The authorities in Uzbekistan have banned Uncle Frost, the Russian version of Santa Claus, from national TV, Russian news agency RIA-Novosti reported. RIA-Novosti said a group of hard-line Uzbek nationalists had forced through the ban on Uncle Frost and other Russian folklore characters.
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(News report from Issue No. 117, published on Dec. 14 2012)
DEC. 12 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp sacked three executives for their role in alleged bribe paying in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to win contracts, media reported. The news once again highlights a culture of corruption that still exists in Central Asia.
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(News report from Issue No. 117, published on Dec. 14 2012)
DEC. 3 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbekistan has found a painting it described as a lost masterpiece by the 16th century Italian artist Paolo Veronese, media reported. The authorities said that Russian Tsar Nicolas I had brought the painting over to Uzbekistan in the 18th century. The Italian embassy has urged caution over the veracity of the art.
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(News report from Issue No. 116, published on Dec. 7 2012)
DEC. 7 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – It is dry, that’s for sure, but Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index is also a decent benchmark of how countries are dealing with corruption in their systems — an issue that foreign investors, local businessmen, politicians and economists follow closely.
The 2012 edition makes for interesting reading on Central Asia and the South Caucasus.
Topping the table for the region is, again, Georgia at 51st place in the 176 country list. Armenia is next at 105th position, alongside the likes of the Philippines and Mexico.
Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan occupy 133 position with Russia and then follows Kyrgyzstan (154) and Tajikistan (157). Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan prop up the table in 170th position. Behind them lie only Somalia, North Korea, Sudan, Afghanistan and Myanmar.
And the big changes from last year? Well, Georgia continues to rise through the ranks, it was placed in 64th position last year, and Armenia has also jumped forward, from 129th in 2011. Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan have also improved their rankings, slightly.
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have remained fairly consistent.
By comparison, though, the biggest faller from the Central Asia and South Caucasus region was Kazakhstan which fell 13 places in the rankings from 120th position in 2011.
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(News report from Issue No. 116, published on Dec. 7 2012)
DEC. 6 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Nine human rights groups have combined to appeal to the Uzbek authorities to release all their political prisoners on the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the country’s constitution on Dec. 8. Activists regularly criticise Uzbekistan for its poor human rights record.
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(News report from Issue No. 116, published on Dec. 7 2012)
NOV. 26-30 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Catherine Ashton, the EU’s foreign policy representative, completed a whirlwind tour of Georgia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. On her travels she met with opposition leaders as well as the heads of states. Her office said she discussed bilateral cooperation as well as human rights.
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(News report from Issue No. 115, published on Nov. 30 2012)
NOV. 23 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Fuel shortages are creating frustration and long queues outside petrol stations in Uzbekistan, local media reported. The scenario is a repeat of last year. The actual trigger for the shortages is unclear although most people blame a combination of poor infrastructure and official corruption.
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(News report from Issue No. 115, published on Nov. 30 2012)
Nov. 9 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Local media quoted sources in the Uzbek government as saying that the Saudi Arabia-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) will finance part of a $168m scheme to modernise two hydropower plants near Tashkent. The IDB has not confirmed the finance deal which some media said would total $100m.
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(News report from Issue No. 113, published on Nov. 16 2012)
NOV. 8 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – An Uzbek court overturned a ruling ordering the state to confiscate the local assets of Russian mobile operator MTS. The surprise ruling could allow MTS’s local subsidiary, Uzdunrobita, to resume operations. Uzdunrobita stopped operations in August after prosecutors accused it of a series of tax violations.
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(News report from Issue No. 112, published on Nov. 9 2012)
NOV. 2 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Investigators in Moscow seized an apartment belonging to Gulnara Karimova, eldest daughter of Uzbekistan’s president, media reported. Media outlets said the seizure of Ms Karimova’s apartment, which is reportedly worth $10m, was designed to counter pressure in Uzbekistan on Russian mobile operator MTS.
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(News report from Issue No. 112, published on Nov. 9 2012)