news digest March 31st-April 6th

Tajikistan’s President, fresh from dropping the Russian ending to his surname, this week demanded the return from Britain of the Oxus Treasure, a horde of artefacts from the Achaemenid period. Meanwhile, following last week’s Hizb-ut-Tahrir conviction, Tajik citizen and alleged member Akmal Akbarov was sentenced to more than nine years in prison and the confiscation of his property, according to Interfax. The site also reports the arrest in Kazakhstan of a man ahead of a planned leafleting campaign by the outlawed group in the capital Almaty.

Uzbekistan played host to a human rights delegation from the EU this week, the aim of which is to decide whether sanctions imposed in the wake of the Andijan massacre can be lifted. Meanwhile, in neighbouring Pakistan, a campaign by tribal leaders in Waziristan to rid the region of Uzbek militants began in earnest.

Before they got to Tashkent to talk human rights, the EU group were in Astana, to talk energy. The EU is energy hungry and Central Asia is seen as a key future supplier of hydrocarbon resources. Vladimir Socor, writing for The Jamestown Foundation, argues that Kazakhstan is being leaned on by Russia to stay away from energy transportation projects that marginalise that country - for example the Odessa-Brody pipeline - in favour of those in which Russia has a stake - such as the Burgas-Alexandroupolis venture.

In Turkmenistan, Berdymukhammedov-watchers were given further insights into the new Presidency’s direction with the decision on Wednesday to forge ahead with education and agricultural reforms, including a massive pay rise for teachers. In another sign that some of the bizarre excesses of Niyazov’s style of government are being dismantled, the ban on foreign travel by cabinet ministers, designed to pre-empted defections, was lifted on Tuesday, according to the Kyiv Post. In an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, US ambassador to the OSCE, Julie Finley, announced that she plans to visit Ashgabat in June.

Frustration at the pace of constitutional change in Kyrgyzstan was transformed into direct action, as opposition supporters led by Felix Kulov began a hunger strike in front of the national parliament. National actions are planned from April 11th unless the government meets the protesters’ demands.

Stay tuned to Central Asia Now for weekly news digests. Keep an eye out for our fortnightly analysis slots by regional experts. 

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