 RFE/RL Central Asia Report 1/27/2010 5:58:52 PM 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 . |
 Tajik Religious Groups Declared Illegal Nine religious groups in Tajikistan failed to file documents for reregistration by the January 1 deadline and have been declared illegal, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports. More  Suspect In Journalist's Killing Detained Kyrgyz Interior Minister Moldomusa Kongantiev has repeated a report that a suspect in the killing of independent Kyrgyz journalist Alisher Saipov was detained in Tajikistan, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More  Tajikistan As A Model For Afghan Peacemaking A little over a decade ago, Afghanistan's northern neighbor succeeded in ending its bloody civil war, which pitted Islamists against the central government. While the country remains poor and faces numerous problems, it has forged lasting peace. Could it offer some useful lessons for Afghanistan? More A deadly accident at a Soviet-era military base in central Kazakhstan has sparked concerns about people's exposure to toxic materials, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More  Media Watchdog Concerned By Uzbek Journalist's Arrest The media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says it is concerned about the arrest of prominent Uzbek journalist Khayrulla Khamidov, RFE/RL's Uzbek Service reports. More  Slain Kyrgyz Journalist's Family Swaps Lawyer BISHKEK -- The family of Kyrgyz journalist Gennady Pavlyuk has a new lawyer recommended to them by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More  Turkmenistan Plans Construction Boom The global economic crisis has stopped or slowed construction projects around the world, but there are exceptions and Turkmenistan is one. The president has unveiled plans for a construction boom over the next two years at a cost of $23.6 billion. More  Kyrgyz Mark Anniversary Of First Anticommunist Protest The Ashar (Goodwill) political movement marked the 20th anniversary of Kyrgyzstan's first anti-Soviet protests in Bishkek today, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More  Isakov's Mother On Kyrgyz Hunger Strike Anipa Mamatisaeva, the 85-year-old mother of jailed former Kyrgyz Defense Minister Ismail Isakov, joined a hunger strike today to demand the release of her son, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More  Debit Cards Costly For Uzbeks Authorities' electronic experiment with other people's cash has some Uzbeks seeing red. More  The Man Who Won't Be King It's back to the drawing board for Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev in his search for a successor. It seemed as if Nazarbaev had found a suitable heir to the presidency in the form of his son-in-law, Timur Kulibaev, but reports surfaced this week claiming that Kulibaev had accepted huge bribes from Chinese oil companies. More  In Central Asia, Unofficial Madrasahs Raise Official Fears Officials in Central Asia fear that the rising number of students enrolled in unsanctioned madrasahs will fall prey to radical groups. More A member of Tajikistan's preeminent pop dynasty is in trouble. More  The Photographer Who Portrays Uzbeks As 'Barbarians' RFE/RL has covered the case of Umida Ahmedova, an Uzbek photographer who is being charged with defamation and damaging the country's image. More  Former OSCE Chair Says Time Ripe For 'Serious Look' At Reform The 56-member Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is facing hard times as observers increasingly question its relevance and effectiveness. At a Permanent Council session in Vienna on January 14, the new Kazakh chairmanship of the OSCE will lay out its plan for the coming year -- an agenda that former OSCE Chairman in Office and Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb describes as "an extensive and ambitious working program." Stubb, who chaired the organization in 2008, spoke to RFE/RL correspondent Robert Coalson about the challenges the OSCE will face in 2010. More  Journalists In Central Asia Struggle In 'Atmosphere Of Hopelessness And Fear' The recent brazen murders of two Bishkek-based journalists have shocked human rights groups that seek to pressure Central Asian governments into investigating such crimes and bringing the guilty to justice. But J.G. Cefalo says it is increasingly clear that those governments themselves are behind much of the violence, leaving any hopes that justice will prevail futile. More  Kyrgyzstan Relegated To The Back Of The Freedom Class That the rights situation in Kyrgyzstan is growing worse is no secret. There have been plenty of examples just in the last few weeks that demonstrate the deterioration of the rights situation in the country, once held up by Western democracies as a model for neighboring states to follow. More  Report: Democratic Decline Continues Across Former Soviet States The U.S.-based human rights watchdog Freedom House says 2009 saw more setbacks than improvements, with 40 countries and territories covered in its latest survey experiencing declines in democratic freedoms, including most of the post-Soviet area. More  Tajiks Buy Into State Power Plant Initiative Tajik citizens, who earn an average of $60 a month, collectively invested more than $90 million in their hydropower future in just one day last week. The government began issuing shares in the long-unfinished Roghun power plant on January 6 in order to raise $1.4 billion on its own after promised foreign funding never materialized. But while the Tajik state is selling the population on investing in the country's hydropower future, some say the effort is less than voluntary. More  Tajik Couple Names Baby After Power Plant A baby boy in Tajikistan has been named after the country’s Roghun hydropower plant. More  Uzbek Prosecutor's Office Interrogates Independent Journalists Uzbekistan's Prosecutor-General's Office interrogated two independent journalists today in Tashkent, RFE/RL's Uzbek Service reports. More  Kazakhstan Faces Responsibility, Scrutiny As OSCE Chair With the increased attention that comes with becoming the first former Soviet republic to chair the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, what does Kazakhstan hope to achieve? More  Turkmen Gas Exports To Iran A Boon For Both Countries Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad is in Turkmenistan to open a new pipeline to bring Turkmen gas to Iran. For Turkmenistan, the important symbolism is to show its growing independence from Moscow in gas exports, while for Iran, the benefit goes beyond the additional gas. More |
