This week Uzbekistan looked to China for energy infrastructure development with a fresh agreement to build a 530-kilometre natural gas pipeline. On Thursday the country’s president, Islam Karimov, launched his latest book, “Progress of the country and better living standards of the people as the ultimate objectives of all democratic innovations and economic reforms” amid a fanfare of state-sponsored publicity.
Meanwhile, Uzmetronom reports that the restrictions on liquor implemented on May 1 in Uzbekistan have had an invigorating effect on the black market. Prices have rocketed, while bazaar vendors continue to illicitly sell alcohol.
On May 24th, the Kyrgyz authorities approved a bill allowing the government to use technology to monitor the internet. News Briefing Central Asia correspondents suggest that such censorship would be both costly and ultimately impossible to achieve.
Felix Kulov of the opposition Front For The Worthy Future has said he does not rule out the possibility of a confederation between Kyrgyzstan and Russia, stating that it might, for example, help overcome corruption. 300,000 signatures in favour of the move need to be collected to allow a national referendum on the subject to be called.
Across the border in Kazakstan, commentators have denounced constitutional changes granting more powers to local government as ‘a smokescreen’, given that the president will still be able to dissolve them at any moment. According to political scientist Nikolai Kuzmin, the changes create ‘the preconditions for stronger elected assemblies, but fail to provide them with greater autonomy’.
On 29th May, police detained Yekaterina Belyayeva as she held a poster reading “Amendments to the constitution - the path to totalitarism” in Almaty’s Central Square, saying she had broken the law on holding mass gatherings. Under the amendments, which were adopted on May 22nd, President Nursultan Nazarbaev is entitled to remain in office indefinitely.
The Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov arrived in Russia this Thursday on his first official visit since taking office. He met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday to discuss the implementation of the declaration on the Caspian gas pipeline signed by the presidents of Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan in early May.
On Monday the Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov embarked on an official visit to Kazakhstan, reports Turkmenistan.ru. During the visit the heads of two countries will sign a series of bilateral documents, including an “agreement on comprehensive cooperation until 2020”.
Tajikistan’s interest in working with NATO is not at odds with its membership of former Soviet security groupings, say News Briefing Central Asia observers, based on the fact cooperation would be confined to military training, planning for emergencies and natural disasters, border security, combating drug-trafficking and certain technical projects.
Thanks to Katherine Boothby for this week’s digest. 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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