 RFE/RL Central Asia Report 12.06.2009 A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about the five countries of Central Asia.For more stories on Central Asia, please visit and bookmark our Central Asia page . |
 Kyrgyz Presidential Candidate Loses Office In Osh One of the Kyrgyz opposition's two offices in the southern city of Osh has been shut down, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More  Taliban Threat -- Real Or Useful Fear Mongering? As Central Asian leaders have increasingly sounded the alarm of the security threat posed by foreign militants, a familiar name has entered the argument -- the Taliban. Is the threat of the Taliban real, or merely fear mongering? More Uzbek border guards have returned the body of a Kyrgyz citizen they shot dead on June 7 to his relatives, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More  Associates Of Fugitive Tajik Businessman Jailed A court in Dushanbe has sentenced 31 associates of a fugitive Tajik businessman to long prison terms, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports. More  'Engagement' Best Way To Promote Rights, Democracy Engagement and dialogue will be the hallmarks of the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama in its approach to regimes struggling with democracy and human rights, according to Karen Stewart, the principal assistant deputy secretary at the U.S. State Department's bureau of democracy, human rights, and labor. Stewart recently spoke with RFE/RL's Brussels correspondent, Ahto Lobjakas, about the Middle East, Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Belarus, and well as attempts by the United Nations to tackle global rights issues. More  Obama Asks Kyrgyzstan To Expand Cooperation U.S. President Barack Obama has written a letter to the Kyrgyz government, expressing his hope for further cooperation between the two nations, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. In the letter, Obama expresses his thanks to the Kyrgyz nation and its leadership for their contribution to efforts to stabilize the situation in nearby Afghanistan. More  Uzbekistan Digging Trenches Along Disputed Kyrgyz Border Uzbek authorities have started digging trenches in the disputed areas along the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz and Uzbek services report. More  New Era As Gas Giant's Profits Plummet A year ago, Gazprom was sitting on top of the world, but the fortunes of Russia's state gas company have taken a dramatic turn for the worse. While the company still ranks among the world's most valuable, it's worth less than half what it was in 2008, and a number of problems lurk on the horizon. More  HRW Urges EU To Press Uzbekistan On Rights Concerns European Union representatives are due to begin a human-rights dialogue with Uzbek authorities today in the capital, Tashkent. Ahead of the meeting, the New York-based watchdog Human Rights Watch has issued a lengthy report that details HRW's main concerns with respect to the human rights situation in Uzbekistan. More  Wife Of Jailed Kazakh Official Says Received Threats The wife of the jailed chairman of Kazakhstan's top uranium producer, Kazatomprom, says she is being threatened by the National Security Committee (KNB), RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More  Opposition Journalist Severely Beaten In Kyrgyzstan A Kyrgyz journalist who wrote for an opposition periodical was severely beaten on June 5, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More  Turkmen, Uzbek Eyes Stray Toward Brussels Boasting huge hydrocarbon reserves, Central Asia has become accustomed to the stream of foreign companies and politicians who visit hoping to lock up energy deals. For the most part, European representatives have returned home empty-handed. But with Central Asian states seeking to break Russia's dominance of their energy-export routes, they are hitting the road to court the EU. More  Slighted By Russia, Ashgabat Courts EU Hastily arranged high-level meetings between Turkmenistan's Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov and EU officials are being seen in the EU capital as a sign of Ashgabat's growing frustration with Russia. This spring, Russia reneged on an agreement to buy large volumes of natural gas from Turkmenistan at what was then a "European" price, causing the regime in Ashgabat to approach other potential suitors. More  Islam's Reformation and Obama's Speech President Obama can say very little about the specifics of the ongoing reformation of Islam. But modestly voicing support for those brave Muslim champions of Islamic diversity and civiilizational richness would actually be saying a lot. More |
