RFE/RL Central Asia Report
2/27/2012 8:35:00 PM
A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about the five countries of Central Asia.
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OSCE Urges Kyrgyz To Lift Website Ban
The media-freedom representative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has called on Kyrgyzstan's government to immediately lift its block on the Fergananews.com news website. More 
Kyrgyz PM Sacks Border Officials
Kyrgyzstan's Prime Minister Omurbek Babanov has decided to sack all customs officials, border guards and police at the country’s two international airports, in what's being described as a bid to curb corruption. More 
Era Of Happiness Declared In Turkmenistan
State-run media in Turkmenistan have declared that the Central Asian country has entered a new "era of supreme happiness of the stable state" in the wake of President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov's landslide reelection victory. More 
Kazakhs Protest For Political Reforms, Freeing Of Dissidents
Around 1,000 Kazakh protesters have concluded a "Day of Disagreement" demonstration to call for political freedom despite preemptive detentions and official efforts to block any gathering in Kazakhstan's commercial hub and former capital, Almaty. More 
Turkish Soap Operas Taken Off Air In Uzbekistan
Three Uzbek state-owned television channels have removed Turkish soap operas from their airwaves because of material deemed "inappropriate" by the authorities. More 
Putin's Unlikeliest Supporters: Tajik Migrant Workers
A recent viral video of an ethnic Tajik singing a heartfelt ode to Vladimir Putin highlighted a curious aspect of Russia's upcoming presidential election. Members of the Tajik diaspora in Russia appear to be among the prime minister's biggest supporters. More 
Tajik Islamists Jailed
A court in Tajikistan’s northern Sughd Province has given jail sentences to seven members of the banned Islamist Jamoat-i Tabligh organization. More 
Kyrgyzstan Bans Unification Church
A court in Bishkek has ruled that the South Korean-based Unification Church can no longer operate on Kyrgyz territory. More 
Wounded Uzbek Cleric Moved
RFE/RL's Uzbek Service is reporting that Uzbekistan's prominent religious cleric Imam Obidkhon Qori Nazarov, who has survived an apparent assassination attempt in the Swedish town of Stromsund, has been transferred to another Swedish town under protection of police guards. More 
Kyrgyzstan Blocks News Website
A state-controlled Internet provider in Kyrgyzstan has blocked access to a leading independent news website. More 
Media Watchdog Criticizes Kyrgyzstan
Reporters Without Borders has strongly criticized Kyrgyzstan for denying access to the website of a news organization. More 
5 Kazakhs Sentenced On Terror Charges
Five men in Kazakhstan have been sentenced on terrorism charges to jail terms varying from five to 13 years in the northwestern city of Aqtobe. More 
Tajiks Allow Iranian Drivers To Leave
Tajikistan's Foreign Ministry says two Iranian drivers, blocked from leaving Tajikistan for nearly a year, have now left the country. More
Kazakh Ex-Nuclear Executive Arrested
The former vice president of Kazakhstan’s KazAtomProm national nuclear company has been arrested in Canada. More Uzbek authorities have reportedly convicted and deported a group of Turkish businessmen for economic crimes. More 
Uzbeks, Tajiks In Border Talks
An Uzbek delegation has arrived in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, to discuss the delimitation of the Tajik-Uzbek border. More 
Goethe Medal For Kazakh Activist
A theater director and pro-reform activist who faces charges of "inciting social hatred" in his native Kazakhstan has been awarded the Goethe Medal from Germany’s Goethe Institute. More 
Berdymukhammedov Makes Cabinet Moves
Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has made the first appointments to his new cabinet in the wake of his landslide reelection win earlier this month. More 
Kyrgyz Signal U.S. Troop Exit
Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambaev has announced at a meeting with visiting U.S. State Department officials that that "no foreign troops" should remain at Kyrgyzstan's Manas airport after 2014. More |
