Latest Articles about Central Asia
NAZARBAYEV’S ANTI-CORRUPTION CAMPAIGN: HONEST EFFORT OR ONE-MAN SHOW?
On April 14 Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a new presidential decree on stepping up the fight against corruption and strengthening discipline in state bodies. However, even the president's own entourage gave lukewarm support to the new campaign. Understandably, corrupt government officials could hardly be... MORE
KYRGYZ INTERIM GOVERNMENT CRITICIZED FOR POLICIES, LACK OF ACTION
One month after the Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan, the new government headed by interim president Kurmanbek Bakiyev is facing extensive criticism of its slow and sometimes ambiguous political program. The Kyrgyz mass media has condemned Bakiyev for taking foolish steps in building the interim government... MORE
RUSSIAN BORDER GUARDS BEGIN WITHDRAWAL FROM TAJIKISTAN
On April 15 Russian border guards began their long-awaited withdrawal from the "Moskva" patrolled areas of the Tajik-Afghan border, handing over control of the sensitive area to Tajikistani border units. Despite Russia's apparent step back from its well-established role in Tajik border security, Moscow will... MORE
KAZAKHSTAN OPENS NEW ANTI-TERRORIST TRAINING CENTER
Kazakhstan has opened a new anti-terrorist training center in Almaty designed to enhance the sophistication and professionalism of some of its most elite anti-terrorist personnel. Located within the existing Police Training Academy, the center will eventually provide courses in anti-terrorist techniques for police officers and... MORE
SINO-KAZAKH PIPELINE PROJECT HAS DEMOGRAPHIC, AS WELL AS ECONOMIC, DIMENSIONS
With its already enormous resources in the Caspian region, Kazakhstan's oil and gas sector has begun to turns its attention toward China's rapidly developing Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. On April 4, the Committee for Sino-Kazakh Energy Cooperation held its inaugural meeting in Astana. The deputy... MORE
TURKMENISTAN TO RESUME GAS DELIVERIES AFTER RUSSIAN CONCESSION
On April 15 in Ashgabat, Gazprom Chairman Alexei Miller satisfied Turkmenistan's President Saparmurat Niyazov's demand to switch to all-cash payments for Turkmen gas delivered to Russia. In return for this concession, Turkmenistan seems set to resume the deliveries, which it halted on January 1, 2005,... MORE
KAZAKH OPPOSITION IN DISARRAY AS DECISIVE BATTLE LOOMS
In the last days of March, members of the banned Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DCK) opposition party announced that they intended to establish a new party, "Alga, Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan!" ("Forward, Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan!") The founders signed a statement declaring that the new... MORE
KYRGYZ PARLIAMENT STRIPS AKAYEV OF PRIVILEGES
During his presidency, Kyrgyz leader Askar Akayev had secured guarantees of immunity for himself and members of his family by means of two referenda. Akayev officially resigned on April 3, but his departure did not become official until it was accepted by the Kyrgyz parliament... MORE
BISHKEK REASSURES BEIJING AFTER TULIP REVOLUTION
China invested considerable economic, political, and military resources in Kyrgyzstan, so it is no surprise that Beijing has been disconcerted by the rapid fall of the Akayev regime and the still-uncertain political evolution of the new regime. Not only did China provide considerable military and... MORE
TIES STRENGTHEN BETWEEN TASHKENT AND NEW DELHI
From April 4 to 6 Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov visited New Delhi to conduct negotiations with the Indian government and to sign 12 agreements with India. These accords ranged over such diverse fields as defense, education, trade, industry, tourism, and the struggle against terrorism. But... MORE