Latest Articles about Central Asia
ASTANA YIELDS TO WESTERN PRESSURE OVER UZBEK DISSIDENT
In a seemingly democratic gesture, Kazakh authorities handed over prominent Uzbek human rights activist Lutfulla Shamsuddinov to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on July 1. With this move the government resolved a difficult dilemma that had brought a flood of criticism from... MORE
KYRGYZ EXPERTS OPPOSE BISHKEK’S DECISION TO LIMIT U.S. MILITARY PRESENCE
At the July 5 Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Astana member states agreed to request a deadline for ending the U.S. military presence in Central Asia, now that the situation in neighboring Afghanistan has stabilized (see EDM, July 6). This request inevitably concerns Kyrgyzstan not... MORE
OPPOSITION TRIAL BEGINS IN TAJIKISTAN
On July 7 Eribek Ibraghimov, a former Tajik opposition field commander, went on trial before Tajikistan's Supreme Court. Better known by his nickname "Sheikh," Ibraghimov stands trial with four other former militants of the United Tajik Opposition: Davlat Sahovarov, Umar Shomahmadov, Hudoer Saidov, and Ahkomiddin... MORE
U.S. MILITARY PRESENCE IN CENTRAL ASIA IN DOUBT
The future of the U.S. military deployment in Central Asia has been thrown into doubt by Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Both local politics and the geopolitical dynamics have changed since the Andijan crisis in May and the July 10 Kyrgyz presidential election. As the Shanghai Cooperation... MORE
BAKIYEV WINS PRESIDENCY IN ONE ROUND — HOW LONG WILL THE HONEYMOON LAST?
With roughly 90% of the vote, Kurmanbek Bakiyev won Kyrgyzstan's July 10 presidential elections in the first round. Bakiyev had served as acting president since the March 25 Tulip Revolution. He was able to unite many former opposition figures, among them Azimbek Beknazarov, Daniyar Usenov,... MORE
WILL NAZARBAYEV SACRIFICE HIS GOVERNMENT TO SECURE HIS RE-ELECTION?
Rumors of the impending dismissal of Kazakhstan's current government, headed by Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov, have circulated since September 2004, when President Nursultan Nazarbayev criticized the government for distorting administrative reform efforts and inflating the ungainly administrative machine up to 16 ministries and a dozen... MORE
U.S. MILITARY PRESENCE AT RISK IN CENTRAL ASIA
With Moscow in the lead, the Russo-Chinese tandem has advanced from a containment policy to a rollback policy toward the United States in Central Asia. Moscow and Beijing have used the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's (SCO) July 5 summit in Kazakhstan to challenge the rationale for... MORE
BEIJING MOVES TO INCREASE INFLUENCE IN CENTRAL ASIA
Chinese President Hu Jintao made his second visit to Kazakhstan July 3-6, ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit and after a visit to Moscow. The high point of the mini-summit was the signing of a Chinese-Kazakh Strategic Partnership agreement. President Hu reiterated his "anti-terrorism"... MORE
MAJOR RUSSIA-KAZAKHSTAN OIL PRODUCTION-SHARING AGREEMENT SIGNED
On July 6 in Astana, Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan witnessed the signing of a production-sharing agreement on Kazakhstan's Kurmangazy offshore oilfield. State oil company Rosneft President Sergei Bogdanchikov signed the agreement for the Russian side; Kazakhstan's Energy and Mineral... MORE
KAZAKHSTAN PREPARED TO USE FORCE AGAINST “REVOLUTIONARIES”
The authorities in Kazakhstan, reacting carefully and deliberately, are preparing security agencies to use force in the event of revolutionary activity similar to events in Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan. It is predictable that the regime of President Nursultan Nazarbayev should choose to flex its muscles in... MORE