Read Uzbekistan’s Children of the Cotton, by Matthew Jenkin, Central Asia Now’s latest piece of analysis.
On Wednesday President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan dissolved the lower house of parliament and called early general elections. This, UK’s Guardian reports, was seen by the opposition as a maneuver to secure his grip on power. It also coincided with the divorce of Nazarbayev’s daughter Dariga Nazarbayeva from Rakhat Aliyev, who is currently facing kidnapping charges. The divorce is thought to strengthen Dariga Zazarbayeva’s position as a successor to her father.
The Kazakh government this week also presented plans to construct a 435-mile-long oil pipeline from the city of Atasu, central Kazakhstan, to the Caspian, which will become a part of the Atasu-Alashankou pipeline to China. According to Kazinform, this comes amid growing cooperation between the two states: at the same time a railway line is being planned from Western China to the Caspian Sea.
Kazakhstan was not alone in improving seeking to improve regional ties, as Caspian energy players Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan announced an ambitious plan to bolster cooperation. This, reports Rovshan Ismayilov, would take the form of a joint exploration of an offshore oil field.
Turkmenistan also extended its international diplomatic efforts as far as USA, with the president stating willingness to expand his relations with Washington and US businesses, and the need to cooperate on stabilizing Afghanistan.
The International Herald Tribune reports that Kyrgyzstan’s lawmakers voted on Tuesday to privatize two unfinished hydropower plants in an attempt to increase the nation’s exports of electricity. At the same time Uzbekistan was praised in an IMF report for high growth, and increasing economic confidence.
Norwegian website Forum 18 Agency continues to report on Uzbekistan’s religious intolerance, stating that a Full Gospel Pentecostal church in Andijan was recently forced to close. Pakistan’s Daily Times highlighted similar restrictions on freedom of religion in Kazakhstan, where police raided houses of International Society for Krishna Consciousness followers.
Radio Free Europe reported on Wednesday that three refugee families who fled a clampdown in eastern Uzbekistan more than two years ago have been reunited with their children, thanks to the efforts of Czech and UN officials.
In Tajikistan, on the eve of the Day of National Unity, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon signed into law an amnesty for certain convicted criminals, according to Itar-Tass. Eurasianet, meanwhile, reports on the effects of the drive for personal austerity currently being promoted in the country.
Thanks to Dorota Szawarska 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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