Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Central Asia Report 5/30/2011 8:19:01 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 .

 

Afghan Drug Smugglers Abduct Tajiks, Steal Cattle Tajiks living near the border with Afghanistan say armed Afghan drug smugglers routinely kidnap Tajiks for ransom and steal livestock. More   Kyrgyz Man Stabbed To Death In Moscow A Kyrgyz citizen has been stabbed to death in Moscow. Almaz Abdisyaev, a lawyer at the Kyrgyz Embassy in the Russian capital said that three workers at the Moscow Trade Center near Tikhoretsky Park got into a fight on May 29 and one of them, a Kyrgyz man, was stabbed and died before medical workers arrived. More   Kyrgyz To Probe Young Soldier's Death A court in the southern Kyrgyz town of Isfana will hold hearings on May 31 into the circumstances of a young Kyrgyz soldier's death. More   Unkind Words About Author Of Int'l Report On Kyrgyz Violence Kyrgyz lawmakers not only disagreed with the international commission's conclusions about the June 2010 violence (much of them pointing to a significant Kyrgyz role in the violence); some, guided by articles in newspapers in Kiljunen's Finnish homeland, alleged he had not been an objective investigator and in fact may have been bribed to smear the Kyrgyz people. More   Welcome To The Yurt Of The Future There is good news for Mongolian nomads on both sides of the Russian-Mongolian border: Your centuries-old traditional dwelling is about to receive a welcome upgrade. More   Jailed Kazakh Human Rights Activist Released On Furlough Kazakhstan's most prominent human rights activist, who is serving a four-year prison term over a fatal road accident, has been released from a low security labor camp on furlough for the first time. More   Striking Kazakh Oil Workers Fired The QarazhanbasMunai Oil Company in Kazakhstan's western Manghystau Oblast today fired eight workers from among the dozens who have been on strike since May 17. More   Peace Talks With The Taliban In Turkmenistan? A ranking member of the Afghan High Peace Council has added a new name to the list of possible hosts for peace talks with the Taliban. He even described it as "one of the most promising." It's Turkmenistan. More   Hearings Start In Trial Over Kyrgyz Journalist's Killing Preliminary hearings have begun in Kazakhstan in the trial of three people accused of throwing a journalist to his death from a high-rise building More   Kyrgyz Group Slams Kiljunen Decision The Council of Human Rights Defenders of Kyrgyzstan released a statement today criticizing the a move by the country's parliament on May 26 to declare Finnish politician Kimmo Kiljunen "persona non grata." More   Former Kazakh Minister Released A former Kazakh Health Minister on trial for financial crimes is to be held under house arrest after a court today ordered him released from custody for health reasons. More   Kazakh Oil Workers Hunger-Strike An OzenMunaiGaz spokesman said the hunger strikers are demanding a pay rise, while others are demanding the revision of the collective contract between the company and the workers and changes to the pay scale. More   Tajiks 'Recruit' Former Oppositionists Some former United Tajik Opposition fighters say they have again been offered, and have accepted, employment in the Interior Ministry forces. More   Kyrgyz Commission Chief Unwelcome The Kyrgyz parliament has declared as "persona non grata" the head of an international commission that investigated last year's deadly interethnic clashes in the south of the country. More   EU Lawmakers Put Brakes On Turkmen Deal The European Parliament has postponed a decision to upgrade the European Union’s relationship with Turkmenistan until July and might even delay the process till the autumn. More   Global Index Charts Year Of Continued Setbacks To World Peace The world became slightly less peaceful in the past year, punctuated by violent uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East, but also marked by successes in countries like Slovenia and Georgia. More   Afghan War Veterans Oppose Kazakh Participation In ISAF Kazakh veterans of the Soviet-era war in Afghanistan are protesting a parliament decision to send troops to serve with the NATO-led international force in Afghanistan (ISAF). More   Labor Union Activist Jailed In Kazakhstan A Kazakh labor union activist has been jailed for eight days for taking part in a weekend protest by striking oil workers. More   Kyrgyz Parliament Deputy Requests Police Protection A Kyrgyz parliament deputy has asked the legislative assembly to provide her and her family with security guards after video footage from her personal archive on last summer's ethnic clashes in southern Kyrgyzstan was screened for lawmakers. More   Kyrgyz Deputy PM 'Guilty Of Graft' A Kyrgyz parliamentary commission says it has evidence that First Deputy Prime Minister Omurbek Babanov was involved in illegal financial activity. More   Tallest Flag Raised in Dushanbe A new flagpole erected in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, this week looks set to enter the Guinness Book of Records. More   Indonesia Jails Kyrgyz Woman For Drug Trafficking A court in Indonesia has sentenced a Kyrgyz woman to 10 1/2 years in jail for illegal drug-trafficking. More   Tajik Authorities Criticized For Restricting Access To Religious Website A prominent Tajik religious and political figure has criticized authorities for restricting access to his religious website, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports. More   Kazakh Bank Picketed After Suicide Several dozen activists have picketed a bank in the Kazakh city of Almaty after a foreclosure-related suicide. More   Tajik By-Election Result Challenged A defeated candidate in a recent Tajik by-election has filed a complaint to demand the revision of the results, which he says were rigged. More   Kyrgyz MP Urged To Resign For 'Insult' Dozens of activists have protested in Bishkek to demand that a parliamentary deputy step down for allegedly insulting a legendary Kyrgyz hero. More   Kazakh Trade Unionist Fined A labor union activist in Kazakhstan's western Manghystau Oblast has been fined for taking part in a protest by striking oil workers last week. More   Kazakhstan Offers Token Troop Presence For Afghanistan Kazakhstan is close to making it official -- the country's troops will return to Afghanistan. More   Tajik Lawmakers Serve Their Constituents, With A Lawsuit Local lawmakers in Tajikistan have found a new way to serve their constituents -- with a lawsuit. More   Kyrgyz Tank Flips Over Victory Day Kyrgyzstan's May 9 celebration commemorating the end of World War II featured a unique and unplanned event this year. More   Released Uzbek Poet Says Torture Common In Uzbek Jails Yusuf Juma, 53, who was jailed in 2008 for "resisting police and injuring two policemen" during an antigovernment protest in the city of Bukhara, was released on May 18 after serving three years of his five-year prison term. He left for the United States the next day. More   Two Killed In Kazakh Blast A car has exploded near the Kazakh national security service's detention facility in the capital, Astana, killing two men inside the vehicle. The explosion is the second blast outside a national-security-forces building in just a week in Kazakhstan, where such incidents are nearly unheard-of. More   Celebrating Bob Dylan's 70th Birthday, In A Multitude Of Languages Iconic American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan is turning 70. His heartfelt songs have been translated into dozens of languages and have inspired poets around the world, changing the global landscape of popular music. Here's a look at Dylan's lasting imprint in RFE/RL's broadcast area. More   Kazakh Oil Workers Start Hunger Strike Ten of the several hundred oil workers on strike in western Kazakhstan have gone on hunger strike. More   'Peace Caravan' To Call For Ethnic Concord In Kyrgyzstan Rights activists and representatives of Kyrgyzstan's ethnic minorities have set off on a "Peace Caravan" to call for interethnic harmony. More   Kazakh Suicide Bombing Puts Spotlight On Western Regions Rahimjan Makhatov's neighbors in western Kazakhstan say they were shocked to hear that he had become the country's first-ever suicide bomber. But others, looking at the political and economic situation in his home region, say allegations of religious extremism aren't outside the realm of possibility. More   More Livestock Lost To Wolves In Southern Tajikistan Residents of Tajikistan's southern Kulob region say attacks by wolves on livestock are becoming more frequent. More   Third Palace Is A (Pricey) Charm For Turkmen President President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov took part in the opening ceremony for the aggregation of palaces on May 18. The facilities reportedly cost some 250 million euros ($350 million) to build. More