Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Central Asia Report 3/7/2011 5:53:49 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 .

 

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   Russia Antiracism Campaigner Dies Galina Kozhevnikova, one of Russia's leading antiracism campaigners, has died at the age of 36 after a serious illness. Kozhevnikova was the deputy director of SOVA, a Moscow-based group credited with gathering the country's most reliable statistics on racially motivated murders and attacks. Her colleagues say her death is a setback for the fight against xenophobia in Russia. More   Kazakh Opposition Calls For Poll Delay Two Kazakh opposition parties have called on the three rival candidates to incumbent President Nursultan Nazarbaev to force a delay in next month's presidential election by withdrawing from the race. More   Russian Paper Targets Tajiks, Uzbeks A newspaper aimed at Central Asian labor migrants has debuted in the Russian city of St. Petersburg. More   Cash Payments For Kyrgyz Teachers Teachers in mixed Kyrgyz-Uzbek marriages are to receive cash payments in a bid to keep them from leaving a district in southern Kyrgyzstan. More   Tajiks Release Islamist Suspects A General-Prosecutor's Office official said the women have been amnestied and the criminal investigation into their activities was terminated. More   Uzbeks In London Spending Spree The head of residential research at London-based real-estate agency Knight Frank said that while still small in absolute figures, real estate purchases in the British capital by Uzbek citizens in the past year jumped from a few to 15. More   Kyrgyz Premier Supports Joining Regional Customs Union Kyrgyz Prime Minister Almazbek Atambaev says Kyrgyzstan would benefit from joining the Kazakhstan-Belarus-Russia customs union. More   Latvia Rejects Kyrgyz Extradition Request Kyrgyz Prosecutor-General Office's spokesman Talant Konokbaev told RFE/RL that Latvian authorities said they granted Aleksei Yeliseyev refugee status on February 4 and will not extradite him. More   OSCE Concern Over S. Kyrgyz Situation The chairman of the OSCE has expressed concern over the situation in southern Kyrgyzstan, including reports of human rights violations. More   Campaigning Starts In Kazakh Presidential Election Four candidates have been registered to run in Kazakhstan's presidential election next month that is all but certain to secure another term for longtime leader Nursultan Nazarbaev. More   Uzbeks Pass Constitution Changes The Uzbek parliament's lower chamber has passed constitutional amendments that would reduce the president's powers in favor of the prime minister and change the order of succession. More   Victims Of Kyrgyz Ethnic Clashes ID'd Twelve victims killed in deadly ethnic clashes between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in southern Kyrgyzstan last year have been identified in Moscow. More   Kazakh Opposition Claims Secret Deal With China A Kazakh opposition leader is urging President Nursultan Nazarbaev to confirm or deny a report about an alleged deal he made in Beijing to lease Kazakh farmland to China. More   Kyrgyz Deputy PM Optimistic About Economy Kyrgyz First Deputy Prime Minister Omurbek Babanov predicts that the Kyrgyz economy will grow 6.2 percent this year. More   Four To Run For Kazakh President Kazakhstan's Central Election Commission has announced that it has officially registered four candidates to run in the April 3 presidential election. More   Ahead Of Elections, Kazakhstan Blocks Websites It's election season in Kazakhstan and the government isn't risking an Arab-style revolt (a very unlikely prospect anyway). More   Self-Mutilation Reported In Kazakh Prison Eight inmates in a maximum-security prison in the central Kazakh town of Atbasar have maimed themselves by slashing their abdomens. More   EU 'Ready To Lend' To Kyrgyzstan EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has said that the European Union is ready to give budgetary support to Kyrgyzstan. More   Ethnic Tensions Flare In Kyrgyzstan Ethnic tensions in southern Kyrgyzstan flared today after police said around 500 people gathered to set fire to the house of a man they blame for the murder last week of a Kyrgyz inspector. More   Tajik Doctor Kidnapped In Yemen A Tajik doctor has been kidnapped by armed tribesmen in south-central Yemen. More   Tajikistan To Extend TV Broadcast Reach Tajik officials said it will still take several years before all parts of the northern Sughd Province can receive national TV and radio programs. More   Tajik President's Son Gets Customs Job The eldest son of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon was named to a senior position within the State Customs Service. More   Kyrgyz Protest Violent Drug Bust Relatives of people detained in a violent drug bust last fall in southern Kyrgyzstan picketed the office of the district governor today to demand his resignation. More