EurasiaNet provides information and analysis about political, economic, environmental and social developments in the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as in Russia, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia. http://www.eurasianet.org http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:25:29 -0500 Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:25:10 -0500 FeedForAll v2.0 (2.0.1.0) http://www.feedforall.com The battle for Afghanistan may well be won or lost in Uzbekistan. With the Taliban making it increasingly difficult to re-supply NATO and US troops in Afghanistan via Pakistan, Tashkent offers the easiest solution to a vital logistical dilemma. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111908.shtml B1566FF5-EDEF-4C4A-ADAF-4C65B6C985AC Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:25:10 -0500 Tajikistan’s cotton crop is lagging far behind government targets, officials say. The crop shortfall could serve as an early warning sign of a humanitarian crisis in the Central Asian nation. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111908c.shtml 02C7F74F-83FD-44FE-AAA7-59EAEE3BEC65 Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:24:54 -0500 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is endorsing Kazakhstan’s multi-billion dollar bailout program, which aims to shore up the country’s sagging banking sector. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav111908a.shtml 4B9AE30E-EC1C-4DA8-AA1D-E920F83ED8FD Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:24:38 -0500 BY JEFFREY DONOVAN, ABUBAKAR SIDDIQUE What would happen if the Taliban’s spiritual fathers denounced terrorism? That, in effect, is what has taken place in Deoband, the northern Indian hometown of the austere form of Sunni Islam followed by the Taliban. A EurasiaNet Partner Post from RFE/RL http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/pp111908.shtml CB1203FD-DCC9-44CF-9829-375ED5B48B6F Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:24:16 -0500 BY ARSLAN MAMATOV It is the main topic of conversation at every dinner table in the country. After nine months of erratic blackouts and broken government promises, the Kyrgyz are growing restless. Many are even saying the situation is worse than before the Tulip Revolution in 2005. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111808.shtml 41D4D155-082A-4932-8996-E3D8B3E5755B Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:01:50 -0500 An anti-government protest in Kyrgyzstan on November 18 drew a crowd of about 1,500. Organizers asserted that in the days leading up to the rally, authorities used violence and intimidation in an attempt to foil the event. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111808g.shtml 42C8E3BD-4EB0-4286-A25F-05822F7C70B7 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:01:31 -0500 A EURASIANET COMMENTARY BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR Afghanistan lately boasts few reasons for optimism. But on the short list that international community representatives and Afghan government officials regularly point to as cause for optimism, one holds pride of place: the fact that 5 million refugees have returned to their homeland since 2001. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111808a.shtml BF7AAC33-B517-4504-A040-30E9F1C9C658 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:01:14 -0500 The Uzbek Interior Ministry has announced the break-up of an all-female Islamic radical cell that had been operating in Tashkent. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111808d.shtml 628C3CA1-CFDF-4456-8320-BECDF32EF535 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:00:55 -0500 A EURASIANET COMMENTARY BY MARK N. KATZ There have been several news stories recently about talks taking place between the US-backed Karzai government and the Taliban aimed at achieving a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Afghanistan. But can these two parties actually reach such an agreement? If so, what would it look like? http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111808b.shtml 80D2E84B-803A-467E-968B-5AEA287102FF Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:00:40 -0500 President Imomali Rahmon’s administration in Tajikistan is shaking up the country’s diplomatic corps. The latest move came on November 18 with the announcement that Zubaydullo Zubaydov, formerly a counselor at the Tajik embassy in Moscow, would become ambassador to Pakistan. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111808c.shtml D14A6A6A-A26D-4BC9-BD55-1BD6976AFA6A Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:00:16 -0500 Sensing weakness on the part of Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government, representatives of the Taliban movement are talking tough. The radical Islamic group on November 17 brushed off a security guarantee offered by Karzai in order to enter into peace talks, saying that such negotiations can begin only after the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111708e.shtml 6D1D42DF-A33C-42B1-9289-89D37EE8F24D Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:28:14 -0500 BY SERGEI BLAGOV Russian leaders publicly have downplayed the significance of Uzbekistan’s withdrawal from the Eurasian Economic Community. Yet, experts in Moscow say that Tashkent’s action delivered a considerable blow to the Kremlin’s strategic economic plans in Central Asia. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111708.shtml AD8973DE-5EDD-4D78-983F-AB7E9F1D1D37 Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:27:39 -0500 Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov on November 17 wrapped up his first visit to Germany. Talks focused on ways to advance Turkmen-European Union cooperation, state-owned Altyn Asyr TV reported. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111708a.shtml 32CF5E8C-2207-4D17-B962-1F902D4DBAB6 Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:27:20 -0500 BY MOLLY CORSO The tenuous security situation in the Georgian village of Perevi has exposed a conundrum for both Georgia and European Union. Both want Moscow to fully withdraw its forces from the town, but they have been forced to tacitly acknowledge that an abrupt Russian departure could result in a renewal of fighting between Georgians and Ossetians. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111708c.shtml 52C29FCC-5371-4599-A5F0-E7D9823C04D3 Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:27:00 -0500 A court in Kyrgyzstan has ordered the Canadian-controlled company that operates the Kumtor gold mine to pay almost $2.5 million in back taxes. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111708d.shtml F80B37C5-1154-4944-AD8E-07DB9C89897D Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:26:31 -0500 A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY JOANNA LILLIS This year’s cotton harvest in Central Asia has been accompanied by the usual controversies over child labor, water shortages, and low returns for backbreaking work. Cotton pickers from Uzbekistan continue to be attracted by higher rates of pay in Kazakhstan, raising concern that a labor shortage in Uzbekistan results in more children being sent to the cotton fields. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111408.shtml B5E80498-B2DD-4B8B-B28A-F133C6E4FA34 Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:20:29 -0500 Some big names are popping up in a multi-million dollar graft trial involving Talco, Tajikistan’s largest aluminum smelting plant. The case is being heard in London. Among the prominent personalities with alleged connections to the case are Russian metals magnate Oleg Deripaska and Tajik President Imomali Rahmon. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111408a.shtml FC335249-060D-402F-B346-22A76F866295 Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:20:10 -0500 BY NINO PATSURIA Not just territorial disputes divide Georgia and Russia. With winter fast approaching, how the two countries will negotiate their natural gas contracts for 2009 is emerging as a pressing issue. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111408b.shtml 9F889A3E-A8DA-4FD0-92EF-A438291C8EBD Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:19:52 -0500 The Uzbek Ministry of Heath is denying claims that 43 children in Namangan contracted HIV at a regional hospital. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111408c.shtml 1C0CCFE7-0E42-4239-B467-5BBAE391C1A5 Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:19:29 -0500 BY JOANNA LILLIS The energy sector, Kazakhstan’s erstwhile reliable engine for growth, has stalled out. The trouble is related mostly to the global economic crisis, which has helped to spur a rapid decline in energy prices in recent weeks. But a backlash factor also may be at work, in which international energy companies start to push back against the hardball tactics that Kazakhstani leaders have been employing in recent months. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111308.shtml 4B66C324-3E7D-461D-9EE4-DA8B4994010F Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:32:55 -0500 Last winter, hundreds of thousands of Tajik citizens shivered in the dark as the country experienced widespread shortages of heating and electricity. The situation may end up being substantially worse in 2009, World Bank officials are warning. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111308a.shtml 8675D570-4AC7-4D29-8C89-9C03E781FA10 Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:32:39 -0500 BY GIORGI LOMSADZE Twenty minutes outside of Tbilisi, farmer Temur Leonidze is maintaining a 24-hour vigil outside a Lego-like town of tiny, red-roofed cottages. With his own village now in South Ossetian hands, Leonidze, like thousands of other Georgians displaced by the August war with Russia, sees the Georgian government’s newly built hamlets as his best bet for a normal life. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111308d.shtml E975663D-7291-4A63-A7A4-4C2C9A7179F8 Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:32:19 -0500 Development of the Kashagan oil field in north-western Kazakhstan will go ahead as planned, despite the ongoing global financial crisis, the US ambassador to Kazakhstan, Richard Hoagland, has announced. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111308c.shtml AF023C9C-9DD9-408D-A22D-8C2FE841B760 Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:32:02 -0500 Five Kyrgyz judges have been fired for a variety of misdeeds, ranging from bribery to gross violations of the law, Kyrgyz news agencies have reported. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111308b.shtml A553EE03-E50B-46A7-B874-09980DAC5475 Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:31:42 -0500 BY NICHOLAS BIRCH Can Dundar, a prominent filmmaker and journalist, is a darling of Turkey’s secularists. ... Or rather, he used to be before the release of his new documentary about Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the soldier-statesman who founded secular, modern Turkey. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111208.shtml 56F573CF-A79E-4418-A83B-256D63B1E99F Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:09:09 -0500 BY JOANNA LILLIS Kazakhstan expects to put the final touches on its fiscal stabilization plan by November 25. One of the government’s top priorities is shoring up the country’s wobbly banking sector. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111208a.shtml 75ED6AC1-48A6-4DD6-B2B2-F4B5B00EF5B1 Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:08:55 -0500 Despite signing two international treaties and adopting domestic legislation prohibiting the use of child labor, Uzbekistan continued to rely on a "state-orchestrated mass mobilization of children to bring in the 2008 cotton harvest," a new report has found. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111208b.shtml D9462A46-5F22-41B5-A598-9DBC6570A04C Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:08:38 -0500 Uzbekistan has announced its withdrawal from the Eurasian Economic Community, a grouping of former Soviet states that is dominated by Russia. Although Uzbek officials have not provided an explanation, Tashkent’s motive appears rooted in an impression that the organization is inefficient. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111208c.shtml 4ECE92DB-7D7E-41CF-99A2-C124A94A002B Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:08:18 -0500 BY RICHARD WEITZ US President-elect Barack Obama is considering a sweeping overhaul of Washington’s approach to the war in Afghanistan, according to a report in the Washington Post, which cited advisors close to the incoming chief executive. The new approach would seem to place heavy emphasis on diplomacy and negotiations. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav111108.shtml 574DD3F0-3EBA-4430-80E1-A78470A7FAE4 Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:13:08 -0500 BY MOLLY CORSO When Russian forces occupied South Ossetia in August, a two-year initative by Tbilisi to win back the hearts and minds of Ossetians seemed to collapse instantaneously. The primary instrument in those efforts was the Tbilisi-backed administration of Dmitri Sanakoyev, who claimed authority over mainly Georgian-populated pockets of the separatist-minded territory. The future of Sanakoyev’s parallel authority is now up in the air. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav111108a.shtml EF54C64F-990E-4044-AF87-F2EE40ADF617 Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:12:48 -0500 BY MINA MURADOVA In the end, the announcement did not generate surprise. Re-elected in October with 89 percent of the vote, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev re-appointed all members of his former cabinet except for one minister. Experts say that the lack of change indicates that the government is unlikely to pursue reforms in the near future. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav111108b.shtml 71698FDF-0732-4A5B-B83F-0E95902CEA23 Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:12:33 -0500 Kyrgyzstan is facing the possibility of power shortages this winter, Minister of Industry, Power and Fuel Resources Saparbek Balkibekov has warned. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav111108c.shtml B026F40E-6192-4E47-B1E3-3847EFD80C0B Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:12:10 -0500 The state-owned South Korean National Oil Corporation (KNOC) has signed a deal with its Uzbek counterpart, Uzbekneftegaz, to begin exploring and drilling for oil and gas deposits, local media have reported. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav111108d.shtml 54D96C0A-9B57-4E04-8B74-285BCB09F7CE Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:10:11 -0500 BY DEIRDRE TYNAN A financial catastrophe is looming for Central Asia’s poorest countries, as migrant workers in the once booming powerhouses of Russia and Kazakhstan are having increasing trouble finding work, and are thus unable to send cash back to loved ones in impoverished Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111008.shtml 5AD9F226-3AD5-4058-ADD6-A2A9645D42E1 Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:18:13 -0500 President Hamid Karzai is pressing ahead with a government reshuffle in Afghanistan as part of an overall effort to bolster his administration’s image. The latest casualty in Kabul is Transportation Minister Hamidullah Qadri. The governmental make-over is coming at a time when the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has issued a warning about food shortages in northern and western provinces. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111008a.shtml FE3693E7-C2EB-4012-AF5F-6791418DE283 Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:17:58 -0500 Uranium from Kazakhstan will soon be powering Indian nuclear plants, the Kazakh ambassador to India revealed in a newspaper interview. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111008b.shtml 53D1C44E-075E-4E1A-A6F6-DD08992B8540 Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:17:42 -0500 The brother of Ghaffor Mirzoyev, a jailed warlord and former key ally of President Imomali Rahmon, is to be extradited from the United Arab Emirates "very soon," the Tajik news agency Asia Plus reports. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav111008c.shtml 27E31BD7-0041-4615-A6D2-F1F48742E606 Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:17:24 -0500 BY DAISY SINDELAR Barack Obama’s election may have prompted celebrations from Chicago to Nairobi. But in Tbilisi, it was disappointment that carried the day, with many Georgians ruefully contemplating what John McCain’s defeat would mean for them. A EurasiaNet Partner Post from RFE/RL http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/pp111008f.shtml 850ADCA3-8773-4D65-BCCC-7EEE809EE170 Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:17:10 -0500 A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY: TEXT BY MOLLY CORSO; PHOTOS BY TEMO BARDZIMASHVILI In the first massive street protests since the August war, Georgian opposition parties on November 7 demanded new presidential and parliamentary elections in 2009. A newly formed coalition of five parties presented a list of demands -- and deadlines -- to the authorities and threatened large-scale protests to force President Mikheil Saakashvili’s resignation if the government does not comply. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav110708f.shtml C1BC4A87-2EF6-45C6-9329-FDC53BFF521E Fri, 7 Nov 2008 17:17:14 -0500 A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY DAVID TRILLING WITH REPORTING BY ALINA DALBAEVA After decades of cross-breeding with stronger and larger Russian and European horses, the distinctive Kyrgyz breed, which is smaller and more agile than other equine types, appeared headed toward extinction. But the Kyrgyz horse has made a comeback in recent years, thanks in part to the efforts of Jacqueline Ripart, founder of Kyrgyz Ate (Kyrgyz Horse), a French-Kyrgyz non-profit dedicated to saving the animal. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav110708b.shtml 97E3C73C-A5C2-47D8-A100-D69A2DFE91F2 Fri, 7 Nov 2008 17:16:55 -0500 BY JEAN-CHRISTOPHE PEUCH International mediators are encouraged by the outcome of the recent Russian-sponsored Armenian-Azerbaijani talks in Moscow, saying it allows for "cautious optimism" with regard to the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav110708c.shtml 9CF9E4EC-35A8-41EE-9A67-C11B48AF3AE2 Fri, 7 Nov 2008 17:16:38 -0500 BY YIGAL SCHLEIFER The growing number of websites being banned by Turkey’s courts and government is giving rise to concerns about Internet censorship. It is also stoking criticism of Ankara’s already troubled record on freedom of speech. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav110708a.shtml 60F7CEF5-EC3B-476B-8C3C-CB88D73EAB81 Fri, 7 Nov 2008 17:16:24 -0500 BY AHTO LOBJAKAS The fate of the Nabucco pipeline project appears to be hanging by a thread. No EU official would publicly admit this, but the signs tell their own story. A EurasiaNet Partner Post from RFE/RL http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/pp110708.shtml 85413CE6-A44E-4966-A323-1CBCD5A3ABAB Fri, 7 Nov 2008 17:16:07 -0500 The presidency of George W. Bush may have started with a soulful glance into the eyes of Vladimir Putin, but ties between Russia and the United States have deteriorated ever since. A EurasiaNet Partner Post from RFE/RL http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/pp110508.shtml 4B13694F-A2EE-4871-A825-B47F76E3192D Wed, 5 Nov 2008 14:03:53 -0500