In our articles section this week there’s a photo essay by Erik Petersson illustrating Buzkashi, a traditional sport still popular throughout Central Asia.

The worst fears of foreign investors in Kazakhstan’s oil industry were realised this week as the government moved to suspend activity in the Kashagan oilfield, citing environmental violations. The lead company in the consortium developing the field, Eni, is Italian and the EU has stated that the move may have repercussions for EU-Kazakh relations. Meanwhile Tajikistan has cancelled a major contract with a Russian firm that was to complete a hydroelectric dam in the country. In contrast Turkmenistan is banking on good relations with outside investors, inaugurating a gas pipeline linking the country to China and sending its energy minister to UAE for a bilateral meeting. The Financial Times carried broad analysis of the politics of energy in the region on Saturday.

Babies born in Kazakhstan are still suffering the adverse effects of nuclear testing carried out in the republic by the Soviet Union, according to CNN. The conditions faced by children working in coal mines in Kyrgyzstan is the focus of a report by the BBC. In Tajikistan, where a Russian tourist has been killed in an accident in the Pamir mountain region, officials celebrated the opening of a US-funded bridge connecting the country with Afghanistan.

Opinion is divided as to whether an Islamic group proselytizing in southern Kyrgyzstan is a threat to security, according to the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. In Uzbekistan, a Christian group in Namangan province is apparently facing harassment, with the threat of prosecution hanging over one member. Border controls between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan were never an obstacle during the Soviet period. Now they’re stymieing trade between the two countries and separating Uzbeks from Uzbeks, reports Peter Fedynsky on Voice of America.

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

In the aftermath of last week’s SCO summit in Bishkek, The Economist puts paid to suggestions that it represents a new kind of Warsaw Pact. The Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) comments that it will not be admitting any new members, at least for the time being. EurasiaNet’s Igor Rotar looks at reasons existing SCO members are still far from a genuine diplomatic or military alignment.

In the host nation, Kyrgyzstan, attention returned to domestic problems, including the $2 billion national debt. The fund set up to encourage citizens to help pay off the debt has so far received about $4000.

On Friday a BP executive, in Turkmenistan to meet President Berdymukhammedov, raised the prospect of investing in the country to develop its rich oil and gas reserves. At the same time the Kazakh government has warned the consortium exploring the Kashagan oilfield that it may have its licence revoked for breaching environmental guidelines. This has prompted the Italian Prime Minister to schedule a visit to Kazakhstan. The Italian company Eni leads the consortium.

The think tank International Crisis Group warned on Thursday that Uzbekistan was a ‘threat to the region’ because of its regime’s lack of regard for human rights and the possiblity of a violent succession struggle. In Tajikistan two men who had been detained in Guantanamo Bay and were said to be members of the banned Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan were sentenced to 17 years imprisonment. A Russian human rights group has expressed concern at the number of Uzbek asylum seekers being extradited by Kazakhstan.

A delegation of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, in Turkmenistan for a five day tour, praised the release earlier this month of 11 prisoners, including a prominent Muslim cleric. Writing in EurasiaNet, Aisha Berdyeva warns that the amnesty doesn’t necessary signal a more liberal agenda and IWPR suggests that further pardons are unlikely.

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

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) began its annual summit in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek on Wednesday to discuss future political, military and economic relations between the six members states of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

With both China and Russia competing for access to the region’s rich energy resources, gas and oil dominated summit discussions. The fight against terrorism and narcotics was also a focal point, with a particular emphasis on the escalating problems in Afghanistan.

The attendance of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as guest of honour was a one particularly contentious aspect of the meeting. Coinciding with the summit, around 6,500 troops have been deployed by SCO member states for war games in what is being interpreted as a sign of the organisation’s growing assertiveness.

Meanwhile, tension is growing over Kazakhstan’s electronic voting system in the run up to parliamentary elections on 18th August. As RadioFreeEurope/Radio Liberty reports, IT experts have highlighted concerns over the risk that electronic votes can be manipulated. However, the authorities have dismissed such claims.

In Tajikistan, the freedom of the press came under threat as a new bill allowing courts to jail journalists for up to two years if they are found guilty of libel or insults came before the President. Media rights groups in both Tajikistan and Russia have petitioned Emomali Rahmon not to sign the new law.

On Tuesday the US urged Turkmenistan to diversify its energy market and allow more US companies to invest in the region, according to Reuters. In a veiled reference to Russian dominance of the Turkmen gas exports, Daniel Sullivan, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and Business Affairs called for the country not to limit itself to ‘only one option’.

China has begun oil and natural gas exploration in the Ferghana region of Uzbekistan. With the world’s second largest reserve of oil and gas, Uzbekistan is eager to attract foreign investment but, as with other Central Asian countries, corruption and political turbulence have put off Western businesses.

China’s investment in Uzbekistan is one of many projects in the region, among them the construction of a major gas pipeline, running east from Turkmenistan. RadioFreeEurope/Radio Liberty reports that Kyrgyzstan has expressed interest in participating in the project.

Thanks to Matthew Jenkin 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.
 
 

With the whole region gearing up for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek on 16th August, Kyrgyzstan can look forward to its first ever visit from Chinese President Hu Jintao. Hu will also be touring Kazakhstan and Russia during his SCO summit trip. This week in Turkmenistan, which will be joining SCO talks for the first time, it was announced that President Berdymukhammedov has been elected leader of the only political party in the country. And on Turkmenistan.ru, the first pictures of the planned Caspian Sea tourist zone.

The Bishkek summit has begun to excite a good deal of comment in the Western press. The Guardian focuses on the motives of the two great powers involved: Russia and China. The Times looks at the significance of the joint military exercises which are accompanying the talks.

The Guardian also carries a story on arms exports to countries with a poor record on human rights. British MPs have apparently called for closer scrutiny of arm fairs after Land Rover Defender vehicles were apparently used during violent clashes in Andijan, Uzbekistan, in 2005. Uzbekistan was also the centre of a visa scandal this week. UN official Vyacheslav Manokhin has been accused of conspiring to sell US visas to Uzbek nationals for $15,000 each.

On Wednesday in Tajikistan two former Guantanamo Bay detainees, members of the militant Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), were put on trial. Last month Tajikistan detained several members of the IMU, whom they accused of plotting to bomb the capital Dushanbe. Tajikistan’s religious crackdown continues, with Imams likely to face government tests to prove their competence.

Reuters AlerNet carries a piece on the return of ethnic Kazakhs to Kazakhstan since independence from the Soviet Union. Meanwhile Astana signed up to increased cooperation with Azerbaijan in trans-Caspian oil and gas transportation and with the parliamentary elections looming, Kazakh opposition leaders have complained about the government’s hypocrisy as it attempts to secure OSCE chairmanship.

Across the border in Kyrgyzstan, the body set up in 2005 to deal with government corruption has asked for new powers. And an attitudes survey finds a fall in the number of Kyrgyz people satisfied with the direction their country is taking.

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

The Economist highlighted a new assertiveness in Kazakhstan’s dealings with foreign investors after this week’s warning to members of the consortium developing the Kashagan oilfields. This will come as unwelcome news for BP, who have turned their attention to exploration in Central Asia as a less fraught alternative to Russia.

A historic moment for Tajikistan on Tuesday as the UN mission that mediated a peace settlement after the civil war of  1992-1997 finally closed its doors. At the same time, Turkmenistan prepared to take up position as Vice-Chairman of the UN’s General Assembly, according to the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. Though the appointment is being painted in some quarters as evidence of political progress in the country, others point out that it is in fact part of the normal rotation among member states. The same site carries a report on the Turkmen government’s proposed tourist zone on the Caspian coast, suggesting that it may run in difficulties attracting foreign investors.

A blow to free expression this week as Uzbek authorities closed down independent journal Odam Orasida, citing breaches of media law. In Tajikistan, a new law restricting freedom of religion looks set to close down many mosques. It will also make registration much harder for minority religions.

In events reminiscent of the Libyan HIV/AIDS trial, the Kyrgyz President’s office has told prosecutors to find those responsible for an outbreak of the disease in the south of the country. And in Kazakhstan, the prison sentences meted out to medical professionals after a wave of infections among children treated in public hospitals were upheld.

Japan’s continued policy of attempting to offset Russian and Chinese influence - so called ’silk road diplomacy’ - is analysed in relation to Kyrgyzstan by the Jamestown Foundation. Despite generous bilateral assistance from countries such as Japan, Kyrgyzstan suffers under a large national debt, which Kyrgyz citizens themselves are now being asked to help pay off.

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