AUG. 13 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – People protesting against the alleged use of child labour in Uzbekistan’s cotton fields have targeted South Korea’s Daewoo International Corporation, media reported. According to demonstrators Daewoo buys 5% of Uzbekistan’s cotton. The protests are a reminder of just how sensitive the use of Uzbek cotton is in western clothing.
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(News report from Issue No. 196, published on Aug. 20 2014)
AUG. 18 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Coca-Cola has re-started drinks production in Uzbekistan a year after manufacturing stopped, media reported.
This is significant in the internal Uzbek power struggle and may show that after a turbulent 12 months Uzbekistan’s politics are calming.
Coca-Cola production in Uzbekistan had been closely associated with Gulnara Karimova, daughter of Uzbek President Islam Karimov, through her company Zeromax which also owned several other major Uzbek companies.
Over the past year or so, though, the influence of Ms Karimova has waned. She is now under house arrest in Tashkent and her closest associates have been jailed for various economic crimes.
Information coming out of Uzbekistan is scant but analysts have said that Ms Karimova’s rivals moved to weaken her before she could set herself up as the heir apparent to her father.
In any case, Coca-Cola products had virtually disappeared from supermarket shelves in Uzbekistan this year. It appears now that control of Coca-Cola has been handed over to Ms Karimova’s rivals, marking their ascendency as well as the return of Coca-Cola’s soft drinks.
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(News report from Issue No. 196, published on Aug. 20 2014)
AUG.11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Sixty paintings by Uzbekistan’s Victor Ufimtsev, considered one of the masters of the mid-20th century futurist movement, have been lost or been stolen, an Uzbek opposition website reported. Opposition members in Uzbekistan have previously alleged that members of the Uzbek elite have stolen the paintings.
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(News report from Issue No. 195, published on Aug. 13 2014)
AUG. 5 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbekistan’s military detained five Tajik shepherds and their livestock for a week after they strayed into Uzbek territory, media reported, briefly heightening tension between the two neighbours. Uzbekistan- Tajikistan relations are particularly important to monitor for stability in Central Asia.
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(News report from Issue No. 194, published on Aug. 6 2014)
AUG. 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The United States denied it was discussing setting up a base in Uzbekistan after media reports said a deal was imminent. The US pulled out of its base outside Bishkek this year and speculation has been rising that it may be looking to set up a new Central Asia hub.
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(News report from Issue No. 194, published on Aug. 6 2014)
JULY 6 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbekistan has, arguably, the world’s most experienced football referee. Ravshan Irmatov, 36, made history by taking charge of his ninth World Cup game, a record, at the quarter-final between the Netherlands and Costa Rica. Uzbekistan’s national football team has never qualified for the World Cup finals.
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(News report from Issue No. 193, published on July 30 2014)
JULY 19 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – A court in Tashkent reportedly sentenced to jail 13 associates of Gulnara Karimov, the eldest daughter of Uzbek president Islam Karimov.
The prison terms for the 13 people severely damage Ms Karimova and will virtually end any hopes she may have harboured of succeeding her father. She had been touted as a potential successor but her position has been steadily undermined over the past year by rivals.
Ms Karimova has not been seen in public for several months. Her London-based son has said that she is under house arrest in Tashkent.
Among those sentenced to jail for tax evasion and money laundering were Ms Karimova’s alleged boyfriend Rustam Madumarov and Gayane Avakyan. Ms Avakyan is an ethnic Armenian and one of Ms Karimova’s most loyal associates. She has been implicated in a major money laundering case involving Swedish-Finnish telecoms company TeliaSonera in 2007.
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(News report from Issue No. 193, published on July 30 2014)
JULY 10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkey’s foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, visited Tashkent, a hugely symbolic gesture between the two countries. Relations between Uzbekistan and Turkey have been stained over the past few years and Mr Davutoglu was the first Turkish foreign minister to visit Tashkent for 10 years.
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(News report from Issue No. 193, published on July 30 2014)
JULY 22 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – A court in Uzbekistan has annulled a takeover of cement producer Akhangarancement by Russia’s Eurocement in 2006, paving the way for the state to renationalise it. The ruling is a blow for foreign businesses in Uzbekistan and underlines their suspicion of the Uzbek government.
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(News report from Issue No. 193, published on July 30 2014)
JULY 7 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Remittances to Uzbekistan from workers in Russia decreased by nearly 10% in the first quarter of the year, compared to the same period in 2013, media reported quoting the Central Bank. This is roughly similar to figures reported by other countries in the former Soviet Union and reflect Russia’s weakened economic state.
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(News report from Issue No. 192, published on July 9 2014)