Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Central Asia Report 20.08.2012 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 .

 

Military Orders Issued For Tajik Males Tajikistan's Defense Ministry has denied that recent deadly clashes are behind an order calling on all males aged between 18 and 45 years of age to report to military offices in the Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous region. More   Belarus Silent On Bakiev 'Sighting' Belarus's Interior Ministry has declined to comment on reports by bloggers that a man looking like the brother of ex-Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev has been living in Minsk. More   Celebrating Eid al-Fitr Muslims across RFE/RL's broadcast region have been celebrating the festival of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. More   Silly Dictator Story # 16: Berdymukhammedov Is A Sore Loser With A Plan When Turkmenistan's 10 Olympians returned medal-less from London, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov did not hold back in criticizing his athletes. Talk about constructive criticism. More   Tajik Medalist Gets New Flat Local authorities in Tajikistan's capital, Dushanbe, have rewarded the country's only Olympic medalist, Mavzuna Chorieva, with a three-room apartment in the city. More   In Kazakhstan, A Season Of Murder And A Lost Local Hero This week, police in Kazakhstan's idyllic Ile-Alatau national park made a grisly discovery: the bodies of 11 people, including several forest rangers, all bearing multiple stab wounds and some burned beyond recognition. Officials have made no arrests and offered no motive for the bizarre killings, which have sparked comparisons to another unresolved crime -- the mass shooting in May of 14 border guards and another ranger on the remote Kazakh-Chinese border. More   Tajik Checkpoints Removed In East Authorities have removed military checkpoints in the eastern Tajik town of Khorug, the scene of recent deadly clashes between government troops and illegal armed groups. More   Kyrgyzstan Gives Russia Base Extension A top Kyrgyz official has said an agreement has been reached to extend a lease on a Russian military base in Kyrgyzstan by 15 years. More   U.S. Official In Uzbekistan For Talks U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake has met with Uzbek President Islam Karimov in Tashkent. More   Kazakh Opposition Leaders On Trial The trial of opposition leaders Vladimir Kozlov and Serik Saparghali and activist Akzhanat Aminov has begun in a regional court in Kazakhstan's western city of Aqtau. More   Kazakhstan Denies Mass-Murder Links Kazakhstan's Interior Ministry has denied any link between two mass murder cases in the southeastern Almaty region. More   Chinese, Kazakh Workers Clash In Atyrau The owners of an engineering company in Kazakhstan have announced that they are separating Kazakh and Chinese workers who lived in the same dormitory after clashes on August 13 between the two groups. More   Snitch On A Driver: Kazakhstan's Bad Parking Vigilantes Like many city dwellers, Roman Slegin has had his fill of bad drivers. But what he hated the most were the drivers who "parked like asses." More   11 Bodies Found In Kazakh Park Kazakh authorities have launched investigations into the apparent killings of at least 11 men and women in the Ile-Alatau national park in southern Almaty Oblast. More   Uzbek Court Cancels All MTS Licenses A court in Uzbekistan has canceled all operating licenses for the country's largest mobile-phone provider, a decision that the Russian-controlled company is vowing to appeal. More   Surrendered Tajik Opposition Commander: 'We Don't Want To Fight. We Want Peace.' Shortly before surrendering on August 12 to authorities in eastern Tajikistan, Tolib Ayombekov -- a former opposition commander from the Tajik Civil War linked to the recent killing of a high-ranking security chief -- gave an exclusive interview to RFE/RL's Tajik Service. More   Turkmen President Surveys Country's New Tourist Hub A clip from state TV in Turkmenistan showing Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov meeting with tourists and surveying the country's new tourist hub, Awaza. More   Turkmen President Amnesties 1,300 Turkmen media report that President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has signed a decree to amnesty 1,327 convicts, including 44 foreign nationals. More   Silly Dictator Story #15: 'Luckiest Day' For Turkmen Tourists Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov isn’t known for unscripted public appearances -- outside of Turkmenistan, anyway. More   Head Of Tajik Rebel Group Surrenders To Authorities Tajik authorities say that Tolib Ayombekov, head of a rebel group accused of killing a high-ranking security official, has surrendered to the authorities in the eastern Gorno-Badakhshan Province. More