Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Central Asia Report 3/14/2011 6:52:07 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 .

 

Chinese Traders Killed In Bishkek Two major markets in the Kyrgyz capital have been closed after the killings of two ethnic Chinese traders. More   Kyrgyzstan Gets Its 'Mt. Putin' Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin now has a mountain peak named after him in Kyrgyzstan, all for the sake of improved of bilateral relations. More   Official: No Troops Sent To Kazakh Jail A Kazakh prison official has denied a report that troops were deployed to a maximum-security jail. More   Baby Snatcher Nabbed In Kazakhstan A woman has been jailed for seven years for snatching a newborn baby from a maternity hospital in the Kazakh city of Almaty last year. More   Murder Rekindles Kazakh Ethnic Tension Dozens of residents of the village of Besaghash in Almaty Oblast's Talghar district staged a protest late on March 10 demanding the expulsion from the village of the family of the murder suspect, a man of Kurdish origin. More   Victims Of Southern Kazakh Floods Remembered A ceremony was held today in Kazakhstan's southern town of Qyzylaghash to commemorate those who died in massive flooding one year ago. More   Kazakh Bus Driver Kills Himself After Job Dispute A bus driver employed by a Kazakh oil company who commited suicide after a work dispute has been buried. More   Activists: Extradite Bakiev From Belarus A dozen Kyrgyz activists have picketed the Belarusian Embassy in Bishkek to demand the extradition of ousted Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev More   Russian Duma Deputies Accuse Kyrgyz Deputy Premier Of Corruption The leader of a ruling party faction in the Kyrgyz parliament says if corruption allegations made by Russian politicians against First Deputy Prime Minister Omurbek Babanov are proven then his party will leave the coalition government. More   Former Kyrgyz Officials Walk Free The trial of two former Kyrgyz officials charged with organizing mass unrest in two southern cities and attempting to seize power last year ended today with their release. More   A Russian Cell Phone Company Lands A Punch On The Government In Ashgabat The Turkmen government's suspension of mobile phone service through Russian provider MTS has paralyzed communications for months. In a letter warning investors of the 'perils of Turkmenistan,' MTS fights back. More   Russia Refuses To Extradite Tajik Businessman Russian authorities have extended by six months the detention of a Tajik businessman accused of serious crimes in Tajikistan and who is seeking asylum in Russia. More   Exiled Uzbek Journalist 'Unable To Obtain Kazakh Entry Visa' An Uzbek journalist who lives as a political refugee in Canada has complained that he is unable to obtain an entry visa to Kazakhstan. More   Pop Stars Urge Young People To 'Vote For Kazakhstan' Some of Kazakhstan's hottest pop idols have recorded a song urging young people to go to the polls on April 3 and "vote for Kazakhstan." More   Alcohol Impounded On Kyrgyz-Tajik Border Kyrgyz customs officers have impounded a Tajik truck carrying a hidden stash of technical alcohol. More   U.S. Honors 'Women Of Courage' The U.S. says its 2011 International Women of Courage include honorees from Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Belarus whose "quiet moral authority has come from putting the well being of others before their own." More   Czechs Award Kyrgyz Rights Activist Azimjan Askarov is this year's recipient of the Homo Homini prize, awarded annually by the Prague-based NGO People in Need "to an individual in recognition of a dedication to the promotion of human rights, democracy, and nonviolent solutions to political conflicts." More   Uzbek Snubs U.S. Over Otunbaeva Honor In an open letter made public on March 7, one day before Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbaeva was to be honored, Mutabar Tajibaeva said the U.S. State Department's decision to give the International Women of Courage award to Kyrgyz president "killed my nation's trust in the United States to [maintain] justice and truth." More   Tajiks Disagree On Celebrating Mothers Or All Women Political parties in Tajikistan are at odds over a decision to celebrate Mother's Day on March 8, which was previously marked as International Women's Day. More   Journalist Sanobar Shermatova Dies Well-known Central Asian specialist and prominent Russian-Uzbek journalist Sanobar Shermatova has died in Moscow of cardiac arrest at the age of 59. More   Rock 'N' Roll Is Dead (Wrong) In Uzbekistan Rock 'n' roll and rap music have been added to Uzbek media's unofficial list of cultural forms to be wary of. The contemporary forms of music are only the latest victims of a campaign to mold model citizens in Uzbekistan, citizens who avoid the excesses of both the East and the West. More   Probe Launched Into Tajik's Death Following Detention By Police Tajik authorities have opened an investigation into the death of a Dushanbe man whose relatives say was beaten by police. More   Kyrgyz Woman Arrested For Smuggling Police in southern Kyrgyzstan have arrested a woman who allegedly tried to smuggle heroin to Russia. More