 RFE/RL Central Asia Report 08.07.2009 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 Tighten Controls On Chinese Border Kyrgyzstan has tightened border controls with China after violence in China's western autonomous region of Xinjiang. More  Afghan, French Presidents Thank Kyrgyzstan For Base Kyrgyzstan's President Kurmanbek Bakiev has received letters from Afghan President Hamid Karzai and French President Nicolas Sarkozy thanking Kyrgyzstan for allowing U.S. troops to continue using a base in the Central Asian country for supporting efforts in Afghanistan. More  China's Uyghurs -- A Minority In Their Own Land? The Uyghurs of western China are an ethnic Turkic people who are by tradition Muslim, and who feel more kinship with the peoples of Central Asia than with the Han Chinese -- the communist state's dominant population. After decades of Han immigration into their region, the Uyghurs are close to being a minority in their own land. More A journalist in the Kyrgyz town of Nookat has been hospitalized after being severely beaten, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More  China Suspends Visas To Kazakhs For Xinjiang Chinese and Kazakh officials have agreed to suspend Chinese visas for Kazakhs wishing to visit Xinjiang, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More Officials in Kyrgyzstan's southern Osh Oblast have increased passport controls, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More Uyghurs Abroad Blame Beijing Policies For Unrest Chinese officials have blamed "separatists" in Xinjiang and plotters abroad for rioting that broke out on July 5. But a former Uyghur activist in neighboring Kygyzstan says the woeful rights situation is to blame for the kind of deep resentment that might have spawned this weekend's deadly violence. More  Tajik Town Removes Busts Of Civil War 'Heroes' Officials in the southern Tajik city of Qurghon-Teppa have decided to remove the prominent sculptures of three People's Front commanders from a main street, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports. More  Meet The New Public Face Of Beleaguered Nabucco It's been an up-and-down year for the Nabucco natural gas pipeline. Just as work on the long-stalled project seems set to finally begin, some shift -- usually at the hand of Russian energy giant Gazprom -- alters the commercial landscape and Nabucco's chances appear to recede. But the pipeline's supporters have just selected a big name in European politics to help push the project toward realization -- former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer. More  Turkmenistan, EU Hold Human Rights Talks Officials from the European Union and Turkmenistan have held a second round of human rights talks in Brussels, RFE/RL's Turkmen Service reports. More  Arrested Kazakh Executives Shown In 'Secret' KNB Flats A program on Kazakhstan's state television channel Khabar showed four arrested Kazatomprom executives living in comfortable conditions at secret Kazakh security service (KNB) apartments, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More  Tajik President's Son Marries Magnate's Daughter Rustami Emomali, the eldest son of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, married the daughter of the owner of the Shirin (Sweet) chocolate factory on June 28. More Suleyman Mountain is located in the center of Osh, and is considered one of the ancient centers of Central Asia and the Great Silk Road. More  Public Skateboarding, Drinking Banned In Dushanbe Officials in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe have banned alcohol consumption, skateboards, and roller-blading/skating in public places, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports. More  Kazakh Reporter Cites Death Threats After Article The article Zhanara Davletova thinks spawned the death threats includes a suggestion that a local hotel owner runs a brothel out of his hotel, and the claim that local police are taking hush money to cover up the illegal activities. More  Hard-Scrabble Life In A Kazakh Village Villagers in Koshkarata, Kazakhstan, live without telephones, running water, or a local hospital. Many would like to see more assistance from local authorities, but have little hope that help will come. More  Kyrgyzstan Opens New AIDS Center The director of a leading Kyrgyz NGO working to prevent the spread of AIDS has announced the opening of a new HIV-AIDS diagnostic center in the southern city of Osh, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More  How Big Was Michael Jackson? In a jolting leap of the geographical fence, dozens of Michael Jackson look-alikes take the stage at a Norouz celebration in Kazakhstan, dressed in black and white and wearing top hats. Striking all the familiar poses, they conclude the spring spectacle with a dance-at-your-seat rendition of "Billie Jean" that leaves the audience cheering. More  Kyrgyzstan Says Slain Militants Were Uzbek Nationals A Kyrgyz parliament deputy has said that five armed individuals killed by Kyrgyz national security forces near Jalal-Abad on June 23 were citizens of neighboring Uzbekistan, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More  Salafi Cleric Detained In Tajikistan Police in Dushanbe have detained the alleged leader of the banned Salafi movement, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports. More |
