Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Central Asia Report 8/15/2011 9:19:15 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 .

 

Eastern Uzbek City's Mayor 'Dismissed' The mayor of the eastern Uzbek city of Ferghana is reported to have been dismissed. More   Building A New Generation Of Central Asians To Remedy Regional Ills Many of the problems that plague Central Asia are a result of neighbors who see each other more as rivals than allies. But institutions like the OSCE Academy in Bishkek are trying to reverse that trend by providing rigorous educations for future politicians, entrepreneurs, and civil-society workers, while also encouraging them to think beyond their national borders to the Eurasian region overall. More   Tajik Ruling Party 'Pressuring Principals' Some school principals in northern Tajikistan say they are under pressure to attract new members to President Emomali Rahmon's ruling National Democratic Party of Tajikistan (NDPT). More   Conflicting Accounts Of Kazakh Jailbreak Kazakh officials have made contradictory statements about the reported escape of three inmates from a minimum-security labor camp. More   Uzbek Activist 'Detained Over Article' A rights activist in central Uzbekistan says she was detained on August 15 for an article criticizing the government requirement that citizens use state-issued bank cards for cash withdrawals or purchases. More   Kyrgyz Robbery Suspects Surrender Two guards from a private security company in Kyrgyzstan suspected of robbing an armored car of nearly a quarter of a million dollars last week have surrendered to police. More   Beaten Kazakh Tourist Dies In Kyrgyzstan A Kazakh tourist who was robbed and severely beaten near Kyrgyzstan's Lake Issyk-Kul has died in Bishkek while undergoing surgery. More   Kyrgyz PM Joins Wide Presidential Field Kyrgyz Prime Minister Almazbek Atambaev has announced his plan to run for the presidency in the election scheduled for October 30 and said he would step down temporarily to comply with election laws. More   Kyrgyz Police Face Dismissal Over Death The Kyrgyz Interior Ministry has recommended firing seven police officers following the death of a Russian suspect beaten in a police station. More   Activists, Lawyers Urge Tajiks To Release Ex-Guantanamo Detainees Human rights activists and lawyers are calling on the Tajik president this year to consider using an upcoming amnesty to release two former Guantanamo detainees who were sentenced to 17 years in prison upon their release from the U.S. detention center in 2007. More   Kazakh Tourist Beaten Into Coma A Kazakh tourist who was robbed and severely beaten in a resort on Kyrgyzstan's Lake Issyk-Kul is in critical condition, amid reports that attacks on foreigners have increased in the country. More   Kyrgyz Demand Turk's Extradition About a dozen Kyrgyz activists have protested in front of the Turkish and Kazakh embassies in Bishkek to demand the extradition of a Turkish man wanted for assault. More   Access Blocked On Uzbek Web Dozens of popular websites in Uzbekistan have suffered from intermittent bouts of inaccessibility over the past week. More   Communist Party Leader Fined For Joining Kazakh Oil Worker Protest A Communist Party leader in western Kazakhstan has been fined for taking part in protests held by thousands of striking oil workers. More   Committee To Inspect Kyrgyz Jails Amid Abuse Reports A committee recently established by the Kyrgyz government to monitor the country's penitentiary system says it will inspect all of Kyrgyzstan's jails. More   Uzbek Court Jails Tajik Citizen For Espionage A military court in Uzbekistan has sentenced a Tajik citizen to 12 years in prison on espionage charges. More   Striking Kazakh Oil Workers Quit Ruling Party Thousands of striking oil workers have gone to the ruling Nur-Otan party's headquarters in western Kazakhstan to officially quit the party. More   Kyrgyzstan Extradites Journalist Wanted By Turkey For Terror Links A Turkish journalist wanted on suspicion of terrorist links has been extradited to Turkey from Kyrgyzstan. More   Slain Kyrgyz Journalist's Brother Beaten A younger brother of slain journalist Alisher Saipov has been badly beaten in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh. More   Preparing A New Generation For The Ramadan Fast As Muslims across the world celebrate the holy month of Ramadan, many parents take care to teach their children lasting lessons of self-discipline, charity, and understanding. More   Security Staff Sought After Kyrgyz Heist The Kyrgyz Interior Ministry says an armed robbery on a armored car in Bishkek was carried out by two security guards. More   Kyrgyz Rights Activists Blame Security Forces For Suspect's Death Kyrgyz human rights activists have blamed security forces for the death of a suspect who officials say jumped from a high-rise building last month to evade arrest. More   Kyrgyz Protest At Belarusian Embassy For Bakiev Extradition A small group of activists in Bishkek has protested outside the Belarusian Embassy to demand the extradition of former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev More   Russian Citizen Dies After Kyrgyz Police Beating A Russian citizen has died in southern Kyrgyzstan after what Kyrgyz authorities say was a beating by local police. More   Kazakh Rights Defenders Slam Presidential Decree On Prisons Kazakh human rights defenders have criticized a presidential decree that returns control of Kazakhstan's Committee to Control the Penitentiary System to the Interior Ministry. More   Afghan Drug Smugglers Reportedly Abduct Tajik Villager Tajiks living near the border with Afghanistan say Afghan drug smugglers have abducted a man after he cooperated with Tajik border guards. More   Former Kyrgyz Defense Minister Transferred To House Arrest Former Kyrgyz Defense Minister Baktyek Kalyev has been transferred from a detention center to house arrest due to health reasons. More   Tajik Police Bust Drug Smugglers Three men have been detained in northern Tajikistan in possession of what police say was more than 31 kilograms of heroin. More   Kyrgyz PM Sets Deadline For Meeting Protesters' Demands Kyrgyz Prime Minister Almazbek Atambaev has given local officials two days to solve the problems faced by residents in a part of the capital who have been protesting over their settlement's lack of amenities. More   Suspected Terrorist Held In Kyrgyzstan A Russian citizen wanted by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) on terrorism charges has been detained in Kyrgyzstan. More   Global Poll Finds Strong Pro-Russian Sentiment In Armenia Three in four people in Armenia approve of the track record of Russia's current leadership, making it the fifth-most pro-Russian country in the world, according to a recent Gallup opinion poll. More   Madrasahs Closed In Northern Tajikistan Tajik authorities have suspended teaching at four higher education Islamic schools in the northern part of the country. More   Kyrgyz Protesters Block Highway Some 200 people blocked a highway today in a northern part of the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, to demand infrastructure and their registration as residents. More   Kazakh Lawyer Gets 6-Year Jail Term A lawyer for striking oil workers in western Kazakhstan has been sentenced to six years in jail for "igniting social unrest. More   Kazakh Journalist 'Ignited Ethnic Hatred' The chief editor of a weekly newspaper in northern Kazakhstan has been found guilty of "igniting ethnic hatred" over a crossword clue deemed insulting to the Kazakh nation. More

RFE/RL Headlines 8/15/2011 9:29:41 PM A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty RFE/RL is looking for guest bloggers, preferably writing from and about our broadcast region. If you're interested, drop us a line at webteam@rferl.org.

 

Features Building A New Generation Of Central Asians To Remedy Regional Ills Many of the problems that plague Central Asia are a result of neighbors who see each other more as rivals than allies. But institutions like the OSCE Academy in Bishkek are trying to reverse that trend by providing rigorous educations for future politicians, entrepreneurs, and civil-society workers, while also encouraging them to think beyond their national borders to the Eurasian region overall. More   Why Is The North Caucasus An Unholy Mess? How did a predominantly rural, mountainous region of fewer than 10 million people degenerate so swiftly into chaos, misery, endless bloodshed, and religious and social polarization? More   Russian Health Care Provides No Real Safety Net Two decades after the demise of the Soviet Union, Russia still prides itself on providing cradle-to-grave health care for everyone. On paper, that is. In fact, many Russians have to pay for medical care that's supposedly free. Although the government is spending billions of dollars to overhaul the creaking health-care system, there are few hopes of reversing its decline. More   Interview: Social Media, New State TV Change Face Of International Broadcasting Simon Spanswick discusses how social media -- and start-up television broadcasters in China, Iran, and the Middle East -- are shaping a new landscape for international broadcasting. More   Interview: Morton Abramowitz On The 'End Of Bosnia' Morton Abramowitz, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation and former president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, recently co-wrote an article titled "The Death of the Bosnian State." RFE/RL asked him what he meant by this. More   News Pakistan Denies Sharing Chopper Info The Pakistani military has moved quickly to refute allegations that Chinese military experts were allowed to examine and take samples from a top-secret U.S. helicopter destroyed in the early May raid that killed Osama bin Laden. More   From Our Bureaus Belarusians 'Entitled' To Seek Clemency Prominent Soviet-era dissidents Sergei Kovalyov and Vladimir Bukovsky say nine jailed Belarusian opposition activists pardoned by President Alyaksandr Lukashenka last week should not be condemned for requesting clemency. More   Eastern Uzbek City's Mayor 'Dismissed' The mayor of the eastern Uzbek city of Ferghana is reported to have been dismissed. More   Tajik Ruling Party 'Pressuring Principals' Some school principals in northern Tajikistan say they are under pressure to attract new members to President Emomali Rahmon's ruling National Democratic Party of Tajikistan (NDPT). More   Conflicting Accounts Of Kazakh Jailbreak Kazakh officials have made contradictory statements about the reported escape of three inmates from a minimum-security labor camp. More   Uzbek Activist 'Detained Over Article' A rights activist in central Uzbekistan says she was detained on August 15 for an article criticizing the government requirement that citizens use state-issued bank cards for cash withdrawals or purchases. More   Bear Kills Man, Daughter In East Russia A Russian man and his daughter were killed and likely eaten by a brown bear on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula over the weekend. More   Kyrgyz Robbery Suspects Surrender Two guards from a private security company in Kyrgyzstan suspected of robbing an armored car of nearly a quarter of a million dollars last week have surrendered to police. More   Beaten Kazakh Tourist Dies In Kyrgyzstan A Kazakh tourist who was robbed and severely beaten near Kyrgyzstan's Lake Issyk-Kul has died in Bishkek while undergoing surgery. More   Kyrgyz PM Joins Wide Presidential Field Kyrgyz Prime Minister Almazbek Atambaev has announced his plan to run for the presidency in the election scheduled for October 30 and said he would step down temporarily to comply with election laws. More   Armenia Adds Military Might In Karabakh The commander of Armenian-backed forces in the breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh has said his military acquired significant amounts of new weapons this year and will continue its buildup. More   Armenian Opposition May End Dialogue The opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK) threatened to pull out of its dialogue with the government as police pressed charges against most of seven HAK activists who were arrested this week. More   Russian Activists Detained In Moscow Some 30 activists have been detained in Moscow for holding an unsanctioned public gathering. More   Kyrgyz Police Face Dismissal Over Death The Kyrgyz Interior Ministry has recommended firing seven police officers following the death of a Russian suspect beaten in a police station. More   Kyrgyz Demand Turk's Extradition About a dozen Kyrgyz activists have protested in front of the Turkish and Kazakh embassies in Bishkek to demand the extradition of a Turkish man wanted for assault. More   Transmission There's A Riot Goin' On: The Songs That Rise From The Rubble Of Civil Unrest Now that the dust is settling on a week of violence on the streets of London and other major English cities, the riots of August 2011 are likely to be dissected and analyzed for years to come. Looking at previous riots, however, the analyses and interpretations that seem to reverberate most strongly in the public consciousness are those contained in the songs these events inspired. More   Chaikhana Activists, Lawyers Urge Tajiks To Release Ex-Guantanamo Detainees Human rights activists and lawyers are calling on the Tajik president this year to consider using an upcoming amnesty to release two former Guantanamo detainees who were sentenced to 17 years in prison upon their release from the U.S. detention center in 2007. More   Commentary I Was There When They Built The Wall On August 13, 1961, my longest working day ever lay ahead of me: 36 hours. Then for the next three months Bernauer Strasse became my most important place of work. I was there when East German workmen unrolled bales of barbed wire and later replaced it with a wall. More   Photo Gallery Archive The Eight Horsemen Of The North Caucasus Apocalypse More