Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Central Asia Report 4/18/2011 9:12:39 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 .

 

Kazakh President Suggests Staying In Power Until 2030 Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev said today at the Assembly of Peoples of Kazakhstan that he wants to remain in power until 2030. More   Kyrgyz Opposition Defection Is 'Illegal' Kyrgyzstan's opposition Ar-Namys (Dignity) party says a decision by 10 of its members to join the ruling majority in parliament is illegal because it was made before they quit the Ar-Namys parliament faction. More   Kyrgyz-Tajik Border Tense After Arrest About 100 people from a southern Kyrgyz village have gathered on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border demanding the immediate release of a man being held by Tajiks. More   Inmates Report Torture In Kyrgyzstan A Kyrgyz human rights group says inmates have been tortured in detention in the southern town of Bazar-Korgon. More   Tajik Electricity Rationing Eased A spokesman for Tajikistan's state energy supplier said that thanks to the increased volume of water in the Vakhsh River, electricity rationing has been lifted in the capital. He said other parts of the country would have electricity from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m.and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. More   Kazakh Floods Evacuate Thousands Some 6,000 people have been evacuated from the city of Oral and several other towns and villages in western Kazakhstan hit by severe floods this week. More   Kyrgyz National Hero Comes Back From The Dead Bewildered authorities in Kyrgyzstan try to unravel the mystery of how one of the 87 national heroes declared dead in fateful clashes a year ago has turned up alive and well. More   Kyrgyz Opposition Deputies Defect Ten Kyrgyz opposition deputies have defected to the government's parliament majority. More   Tajikistan Says Militant Leader Killed Tajikistan's Interior Ministry says the country's most wanted man, militant leader Abdullo Rahimov, has been killed. More   Uzbek President's Daughter Sues Uzbek President Islam Karimov's youngest daughter is suing a French website for defamation. More   How Should Russia Deal With Central Asia? Will the ongoing popular uprisings in Arab countries spread to Central Asia and what role should Russia play in the region? More   Podcast: Debating France's Contentious New Veil Ban; Russia's Forgotten 'Butterfly Children' In this week's show, a roundtable discussion of the new French law banning the niqab or burqa in public; Russia's tragic "butterfly children"; and our regular "Uncovered" segment about important stories that aren't getting their due in the Western media. More   Nazarbaev Sacks Supreme Court Judges Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev today sacked six Supreme Court judges suspected of corruption. More   Is Tajikistan's 'Google Generation' Looking For Change? Despite official denials that anything is amiss, steps taken by Tajik authorities in recent weeks to placate public sentiment hint at some nervousness in Dushanbe in the wake of North African and Mideast unrest. More   Tajiks Prosecute Madrasah Students' Parents A Tajik prosecutor's aide says that during the first three months of 2011, eight criminal cases of violating the law on religious freedom and worship went to court and 10 people were sentenced. More   Tajik Parliament Enacts Prison Reform Tajikstan's lower chamber of parliament has voted to improve prison conditions for convicts serving life sentences. More   Fire Destroys Tajik Music Collection A massive fire today destroyed much of Khujand University's Arts Faculty and the headquarters of a traditional music ensemble. More   '30 Contract Killings' Under Bakiev A state commission says there were 30 high-profile contract killings in Kyrgyzstan during Kurmanbek Bakiev's five-year tenure as president. More   Kyrgyz Deputies Apologize For Scuffle Two Kyrgyz parliament deputies today publicly apologized for their fistfight in parliament earlier this month. More   Kazakhstan Demands Tajik Probe Of Diplomat's Beating Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry says an investigation has been launched into the beating of a Kazakh diplomat in Tajikistan. More   Tajik Fatwa Bans SMS-Divorce Tajikistan's Council of Ulema is set to issue a fatwa banning a so-called SMS-divorce, the state religious committee announced today. More   Kyrgyzstan Wants Customs Union Kyrgyzstan will try to join the Belarus-Kazakhstan-Russia Customs Union this year. More   New Image For Tajik 'Police' Tajik Interior Minister Abdurahim Qahhorov said a new draft law on the police would officially rename the "militsia" as "police." More   Tajik Flash Mob Protests Energy Shortages Internet users in Dushanbe have staged Tajikistan's first-known flash mob in order to protest the state electricity provider's inability to provide uninterrupted power supplies. More